combined defence services

 

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 :

 

1. Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
2. Officer’s Training Academy for Women (OTA), Chennai.
3. Officer’s Training Academy for Men (OTA), Chennai.
4. Indian Naval Academy ( NNA), Ezhimala.
5. Indian Air Force Academy (IAFA), Hyderabad.

 

 

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

 

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