The Combined Defence Service is commonly known as the CDS exam conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment of the candidate into the following academy :
- Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
- Officer’s Training Academy for Women (OTA), Chennai.
- Officer’s Training Academy for Men (OTA), Chennai.
- Indian Naval Academy ( NNA), Ezhimala.
- Indian Air Force Academy (IAFA), Hyderabad.
Table of Contents
Highlights of CDA (I) & (II) Exam
| Exam | Combined Defence Service (CDS) Examination |
| Organizing body | Union Public Service Commission |
| Exam Mode | Paper & Pen (Offline) |
| Number of Vacancies | Approx.. 400 |
| Frequency | Twice a year |
| Selection Process | Written Test & SSB Interview |
| Official website | www.upsc.gov.in |
CDS (I) & (II) Exam NOTIFICATION& IMPORTANT DATES
UPSC generally releases the notification of the Combined Defence Service Examinations in the month of August. Aspirants willing to appear for the CDS (I) & (II) exams can apply online by visiting the official website of UPSC.
| Notification | Month |
| CDS (I) Notification | October |
| CDS (II) Notification | August |
| CDS (I) Exam | February |
| CDS (II) Exam | November |
| CDS (I) Result | March |
| CDS (II) Result | December |
| CDS SSB | Post the result of CDS(I) & CDS (II) |
Eligibility Criteria of CDS Exam
1.Nationality for CDS Exam
The candidate must be a citizen of India to be eligible for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) must be either of the following :
Candidates must be a citizen of India
Candidates must be a citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
Candidates must be Tibetan refugees who came to India before January 1, 1962, for settling permanently in India.
Candidates must a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Burma, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Myanmar, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zaire with the motive to settle permanently in India.
2. Educational Qualification Criteria for CDS Exam
| Academy | Qualification |
| Indian Military Academy IMA & Officer’s Training Academy | Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a recognized University |
| Indian Naval Academy ( NNA)
|
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or its equivalent from a recognized University/Institution |
| Indian Air Force Academy (IAFA) | Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent (with Physics & Mathematics at 10+2) from a recognized University or Bachelor’s of Engineering. |
3. Age, Sex, and Marital Status for CDS Exam
| Academy | Age | Sex | Marital Status |
| Indian Military Academy IMA | 19-24 years | Male | Unmarried |
| Officer’s Training Academy- Men SSB | 19-25 years | Male | Unmarried |
| Officer’s Training Academy-Women SSB | 19-25 years | Female | Unmarried |
| Indian Naval Academy ( NNA)
|
19-22 years | Male | Unmarried |
| Indian Air Force Academy (IAFA) | 19-23 years | Male | Unmarried |
| Note: Candidate below 25 years of age must be unmarried. Married candidates above 25 years are eligible to apply. Marriage is not allowed during the training period. | |||
4. Physical Criteria for CDS Exam
The candidate needs to be physically and mentally fit for applying in the Combined Defence Service Examination( CDS I & II ). Candidates are advised to get themselves medically examined before applying for this examination as many candidates fail to qualify for the physical test.
CDS EXAM PATTERN
UPSC conducts exams in two-level as mentioned below. The candidate who clears the written test will be called for the SSB Interview exams.
CDS Exam Stage 1: Written Test
| CDS Exam (I) & CDS Exam (II) | |||||
| Category | Type | Negative Marking | Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy | Objective | Yes | English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 | |||
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 hours | 100 | |||
| Officer’s Training Academy | Objective | Yes | English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 | |||
| Note: Exam mode is offline. Question paper for Mathematics & General Knowledge will be in both the language that is English and Hindi | |||||
CDS Exam Stage 2: Intelligence & Personality Test.
SSB will conduct the Intelligence & Personality Test. The candidates who clear the written exam will be called for the Intelligence & Personality Test which comprises of the following steps to get to the final result.
| Step | Name of the test |
| Step 1 | Officer Intelligence Rating (OTR) Test + Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT) |
| Step 2 | Interview + Group Testing Officer Tasks + Psychology Tests + Conference |
| Note: The personality of a candidate is assessed by The Interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO) & Psychologist. Based on their review the final letter is issued. | |
Career Graph of CDS Officer
| Post | Promotion |
| Lieutenant | Upon Training completion. |
| Captain | 2 years of Service |
| Major | 6 years of Service |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 13 years of Service |
| Colonel | 15 years of Service |
| Colonel (TS) | 16 years of Service |
| Brigadier | 23 years of Service |
| Major General | 25years of Service |
| Lieutenant General | 28 years of Service |
| General | No restrictions as such |
Getting into a good job is a dream, you need to plan it before that.
Career Planning plays an important role in shaping your career, so is the planning to choose the best suitable B-School for yourself. You need to focus on various aspects before jumping into a final decision.
Career path analysis helps you in getting the best road map. Get your career assessment test by appearing for the free student profiling process. https://eduxact.edumilestones.com/
Click the link below and get an exhaustive career report and book for a free counseling session. For Studying abroad in 15000+ across 20+ Countries visit the mentioned link.
Click: Start Study Abroad Profiling to get access to 15000+ Universities across 20+ Countries
Please share your valuable inputs regarding the article. Also, help me develop other information guides by giving your suggestions.
You can comment in the section below for sharing your thoughts.
