Combined Defence Services Examination
The Combined Defence Services Examination (abbreviated as CDS Exam) is conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment into the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Indian Air Force Academy. The Notification for the examination is usually released in the months of October and June, and the examinations are conducted in February and November respectively. Only unmarried graduates are eligible to sit for the exam. Successful candidates are admitted into the respective Academies after an interview conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB).
Age Limit
| Indian Military Academy | 19–24 years[1] |
| Air Force Academy | 19–24 years[1] |
| Naval Academy | 19–24 years[1] |
| Officers Training Academy | 19–25 years[1] |
Educational Qualifications
CDS Exam Educational Qualifications[2] is given below.
| For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy | Degree from a recognized University or equivalent |
| For Indian Naval Academy | Degree in Engineering from a recognized University or equivalent |
| For Air Force Academy | Degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering |
Physical Standards
Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards criteria given in the official advertisement.
Union Public Service Commission has set the eligibility criteria For Combined Defence Services.[3] Before applying to the CDS exam Candidate must check the eligibility criteria. The basic physical standard for a candidate is:
- The candidate should be physically as well as mentally fit.
- Permanent tattoos on the body are prohibited.
- No hernia anywhere on the body.
- No hearing impairment, deformities/disabilities in-ears vestibule-cochlear system.
- There is no active congenital venereal disease.
Scheme of Examination
Applicants who will appear in the CDS exam should know the exam pattern of CDS 2020 so that they can qualify the exam with flying colors.
CDS Exam Pattern
| Stages of exam | Written exam and SSB Interview |
| Mode of exam | Offline / Pen and paper based |
| Subjects | 1- English 120 questions
2- General Knowledge 120 questions 3- Elementary Mathematics 100 questions |
| Exam duration | 2 hours for each paper |
| Number of questions | 340 MCQs for – IMA, INA and AFA
240 MCQs for – OTA |
| Language of paper | English & Hindi |
Union Public Service Commission will release the admit card of CDS any time soon in online mode at upsconline.nic.in. Since the exam is slated to be conducted on February 2, 2020 in offline mode. After downloading CDS 2020 admit card[4] candidates should check for any discrepancy and if found then immediately report it to the exam conducting authorities to get it rectified.
Indian Military Academy / Air Force Academy / Naval Academy
All the papers are of objective type.
| Subject | Marks |
|---|---|
| English | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 100 |
| Elementary maths | 100 |
| Total | 300 |
Officers' Training Academy
Each paper contains objective type questions.
| Subject | Marks |
|---|---|
| English | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 100 |
| Total | 200 |
Intelligence and Personality Test
The SSB interview process consists of a two-stage Selection process – stage I and stage II. Only those candidates who successfully clear the stage I SSB interview are permitted to appear for stage II.
(a) Stage I comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests are Picture Perception* Description Test (PP&DT). The candidates will be shortlisted based on the combination of performance in the OIR Test and PP&DT.
(b) Stage II Comprises Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the Conference. These tests are conducted over 4 days. The details of these tests are given on the Indian Army career portal.[5]
The personality of a candidate is assessed by three different assessors viz. The Interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO), and the Psychologist. There is no separate weightage for each test. The marks are allotted by assessors only after taking into consideration the performance of the candidate holistically in all the tests.
Test/ Interview by Air Force Selection Board
All candidates who apply for the Air Force through more than one source will be tested/interviewed at the Air Force Selection Boards only once for Air Force. Common candidates who fail in Computer Pilot Selection System (CPSS) and/ or Pilot Aptitude Battery tests as an NCC or Airmen candidate will be called again for OLQ testing for Army/Navy/OTS only if it is found that they have applied through CDS Exam.
CDS I 2020 Vacancy
| Academy | Total Vacancies |
|---|---|
| IMA | 100 |
| AFA | 32 |
| INA | 45 |
| OTA (Men) | 225 |
| OTA (Women) | 16 |
| Total | 418 |
CDS II 2020 Vacancy
CDS 2 2020 Total number of vacancies[6] are given below.
| Academy | Total Vacancies |
|---|---|
| IMA | 100 |
| AFA | 32 |
| INA | 26 |
| OTA (Men) | 169 |
| OTA (Women) | 17 |
| Total | 344 |
CDS I 2021 Vacancy
CDS 1 2021 Total number of vacancies[7] are given below.
| Academy | Total Vacancies |
|---|---|
| IMA | 100 |
| AFA | 32 |
| INA | 26 |
| OTA (Men) | 170 |
| OTA (Women) | 17 |
| Total | 345 |
References
- "Forthcoming Exams" (PDF). UPSC. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- "UPSC CDS all details".
- https://techbazar.in/combined-defence-services/
- "CDS Admit Card: How to download".
- "Join Indian Army official website".
- "UPSC CDS official notification".
- "UPSC CDS official notification".