• CDS stands for Combined Defence Services. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts a national-level examination twice a year to select candidates for admission to renowned military training institutions, including the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Air Force Academy (IAF), Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Officer Training Academy (OTA).
• The CDS exam is open to unmarried graduates, and applications are invited in December and May, with examinations held in April and September.
• The selection process consists of two stages: a written test followed by an interview conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB). Successful candidates are admitted into their respective academies after clearing both stages.

Overview

Name of the Examination	Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS)
Conducting Body	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam Level	National
Exam Frequency	Twice a year
Exam Mode	Online
Exam Duration	Two Hours
Language of Question Paper	English and Hindi
Exam Purpose	To select candidates as Commissioned Officers in Indian Army, Navy and Air Force
Number of Exam Centres	41
Frequency of Exam	Twice a year
	April and Sept
For April Session (CDS I): Application Form Submission: Typically from mid-December to the end of December
For September Session (CDS II): Application Form Submission: Typically from late May to mid-June

Eligibility Criteria and Age Limit

Age Limit	Indian Naval Academy (INA) – 19 to 22 Air Force Academy – 19 to 23 Indian Military Academy (IMA) – 19 to 24 Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course) – 19 to 25 Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for Men) – 19 to 25
Qualification	Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA)	Bachelor’s Degree From a recognised university
	Indian Naval Academy (INA)	Bachelors in Engineering from a recognised University
	Air Force Academy (AFA)	Graduation (with Physics and Mathematics at Class 12) or Bachelor of Engineering
Nationality / Citizenship	A candidate must be an unmarried male/female and must be:- A citizen of India, or A subject of Nepal, or A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st Jan, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India).
Physical and Medical Standards	Candidates must be physically and mentally fit according to prescribed physical and medical standards/guidelines.

Selection Process

• The selection process comprises the following two stages:

Stage I –  Written Examination

The written exam for the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Indian Military Academy (IMA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) is divided into three sections: English, Maths, and General Knowledge (GK). 

The written exam for the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) has two sections: English and General Knowledge.

To advance to the next phase, the candidate must pass a written examination.

Stage II –  Intelligence & Personality Test

The next stage to be cleared after the written examination is the SSB interview which includes the Personality test/Interview. SSB interview is divided into two phases. The first step is an intelligence and personality test, followed by a psychology test that includes an interview, group discussion, and conference round.

Note: Candidates who clear Stage – I are permitted to appear for Stage – II.

Candidates who pass both the interview and the document verification rounds are eligible for the medical exam.

Exam Pattern

• The UPSC CDS Exam pattern differs for each military academy.
• The number of sections in the exam for the Officers’ Training Academy varies slightly.However, the questions in both papers will be of the objective variety. The questions, except for the English language, will be bilingual.

WRITTEN EXAMINATION

CDS Exam Pattern for IMA, INA and Air Force Academy
Subject	Code	Maximum Marks	Duration
English	11	100	2 Hours
General Knowledge	12	100	2 Hours
Elementary Mathematics	13	100	2 Hours
CDS Exam Pattern for Officers’ Training Academy
English	11	100	2 Hours
General Knowledge	12	100	2 Hours

Note

• The papers in all subjects will only contain objective type questions. General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics question papers (Test Booklets) will be set bilingually in Hindi and English.
• There will be a negative marking of ⅓ marks for each wrong answer.

 

SSB INTERVIEW (INTELLIGENCE & PERSONALITY TEST)

• The CDS SSB Interview, as previously stated, is divided into two stages, each of which includes an intelligence and personality test:

(a) Stage I: Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests are Picture Perception & Description Test (PP&DT). The candidates will be shortlisted based on a combination of performance in the OIR Test and PP&DT. 

(b) Stage II: Interviews, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and the Conference. These tests are conducted over a period of 4 days.

Syllabus

Detailed syllabus	Corresponding Links
English
General Knowledge
Mathematics

Previous Year Question Papers

2024 Question Paper	2019 Question Paper
2023 Question Paper	2018 Question Paper
2022 Question Paper	2017 Question Paper
2021 Question Paper	2016 Question Paper
2020 Question Paper	2015 Question Paper

 

Best Books

For English
For General Ability Test
For Mathematics

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