CDS EXAM 2021: Eligibility, Application Form, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Admit Card & Result

About CDS

The Combined Defence Services Examination (abbreviated as CDS Exam ) is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) twice a year for the commission of officers in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Officers Training Academy (OTA), Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Indian Air Force Academy (AFA).

CDS Notification

The exam is held twice a year, usually in the months of February and September.

While the notification for the examination enrolment is usually released on upsconline.nic.in in the months of October and June.

In order to apply online for the CDS examination, candidates should meet all the eligibility requirements set by the Commission. The selection of the candidates will be based on the written examination followed by an interview for intelligence and personality test. The shortlisted candidates will be placed at the respective academies based on preference and merit.

Only unmarried graduates are eligible to sit for the exam with all successful candidates thereon getting admitted into the respective Academies after an interview conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB).

The following gives more details regarding the CDS (I) & (II) examination,

CDS Eligibility

Candidates who aim to serve the nation by joining the defense forces can start applying for the CDS examination. In order to apply online for the CDS examination, candidates should meet all the eligibility requirements set by the Commission.

Eligibility requires qualifying as per the following criteria:

• Candidates who have settled in India permanently can apply for CDS Exam
• Candidates must be graduate or at least appearing in the final year/semester
• The minimum age limit is 19 to apply for the exam
• Women candidates are only eligible to apply for Officers Training Academy (OTA)
• Unmarried candidates should not be divorced
• Candidates pursuing can also apply for IMA, INA AFA also
• Candidates both male and female must meet the physical standard specified by UPSC

Combined Defence Academy - Nationality

• Candidates must be citizens of India to apply for CDS
• Candidates from neighboring countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Burma, Sri Lanka & various East African Countries who have settled in India are also eligible for the exam
• Candidates will have to produce a certificate issued by authorities of the Government of India certifying the claim.

Educational Qualification

All the candidates should have completed their Graduation or should be appearing for the final year degree examination. The individual educational qualification required for each institution is discussed below:

• I.M.A. and OTA: Degree of a recognized University or equivalent
• Indian Naval Academy (INA): Degree in Engineering from a recognized university/institution
• Air Force Academy: Degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering
• For recruitment to OTA, a degree in any discipline is acceptable
• Candidates appearing for the final year can apply for the exam on a provisional basis.
• Note: The candidates who are in the final years of their Degree Course and have yet to pass the final year Degree examination are also eligible to apply. Such candidates are required to submit the proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination by a date to be specified in the Commission’s Notice for the Examination.

Age and Marital Status Criteria

The candidate should go through the cut-off dates for age limit and marital status criteria before filling the online Application form for CDS examination1:

• Minimum age required to apply for CDS is 19 years. The upper age limit varies with the institute and caste
• For OTA, the maximum age limit is 25 years. It is 22 years, 23 years, and 24 years for INA, AFA, and IMA respectively
• Candidates applying for IMA, INA, and AFA below 25 years of age should be unmarried
• Male Applicants at OTA are exempted from this restriction while Unmarried women, issueless widows, and divorcees can apply for OTA
• For Indian Military Academy (IMA): The candidate falling in the age group of 19 – 24 Years, that is, they are born not earlier than January 2, 1993, & not later than January 1, 1998, only. The candidate should also be unmarried to be considered eligible
• For Indian Naval Academy (INA): The candidate falling in the age group of 19- 22 Years, that is, they are born not earlier than January 2, 1993, & not later than January 1, 1998, only. The candidate for this category should also be unmarried to be considered for eligibility
• For Air Force Academy (AFA): the candidate falling in the age group of 19- 23 Years, that is, they are born not earlier than January 2, 1993, & not later than January 1, 1997 (Upper age limit for candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxable up to 26 years, that is, born not earlier than January 2, 1991, & not later than January 1, 1997) are eligible. The candidates below 25 years should be unmarried and above 25 years can or cannot be married

Physical Criteria

It is a very important eligibility criterion for a CDS 2021 candidate. He/ she should have good mental as well as physical health. It is important for the candidate to have a body, which is free from any disease as well as free from any disability.

CDS Applications

Candidates can follow the steps as under to apply for the CDS exam:

• Visit the official website of the UPSC, that is, upsconline.nic.in.
• Click on the notification “ONLINE APPLICATION FOR VARIOUS EXAMINATIONS OF UPSC”.
• Against the CDS I exam, click on ‘Part-I Registration’
• Fill in the personal, communication, and educational qualification details.
• After finishing Part-I, a registration ID will be generated.
• Now go to Part-II and enter your registration ID to pay the application fee.
• Fill the application form with personal, educational, contact, and other essential details.
• Upload the scanned copy of the Photo, Signature, Photo ID, and mark sheet.
• After finishing Part-II, Click on “I Agree to the Declaration” and submit the application form.
• Take a few printouts of the application form for future reference.
• CDS Exam Application Fees: Candidates need to pay an application fee of Rs. 200/- except for Female/SC/ST candidates. The Application Fee can be paid through online or offline mode.

CDS Admit Card

Candidates can download the CDS exam 2021 admit card from the official website of UPSC. CDS exam e-Admit Card will be issued three weeks before the exam. Aspirants will be notified about the availability of the admit card once it is made available. It is to be noted that no CDS exam hall ticket will be sent to candidates by post.

CDS Exam:

CDS Exam Pattern

For IMA, INA, and AFA

Subjects	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks	Time Duration
English	120 questions	100 marks	2 hours
Elementary Mathematics	100 questions	100 marks	2 hours
General Knowledge (GK)	120 questions	100 marks	2 hours
Total	340 questions	300 marks	6 hours

For IMA, INA, AFA

CDS Exam Pattern for OTA:

CDS Marking Scheme for OTA

Allotment of CDS Exam Centre 2021

Candidates have to choose a center from the mentioned list of CDS 2021 exam centers according to their convenience. The candidates must note that the CDS 2021 test center allocation process is a first-apply-first-allot process.

Every CDS 2021 Test Centre will be allotted to a fixed number of candidates, that is, there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each CDS 2021 Exam Centre. Once the capacity of a maximum number of candidates is attained, the CDS 2021 Test City is frozen.

Candidates who don’t get the desired CDS 2021 Exam Centre due to the fixed allocation, will have to choose a CDS 2021 Test City from the remaining choice of CDS 2021 Test Centres. The candidates are advised to apply early to get a CDS 2021 Exam Centre of their choice. The fixed number of candidate systems is not applicable to Delhi, Dispur, Kolkata, Chennai, and Nagpur.

The Union Public Service Commission reserves the right to change the CDS Exam Centres to its discretion depending upon the situation.

Change of CDS Exam Centre

The candidates have to choose the CDS 2021 Exam Centre during the CDS 2021 Registration. Once the Application form for the CDS exam is submitted or the CDS 2021 Exam Centre chosen is frozen by the authority, the candidates cannot change the CDS 2021 Exam Centre.

However, the candidate can send a duly signed written request to the J.S. (Exam), UPSC for change of CDS Exam Centre towards its consideration based on its merit. The candidates will be notified about the location of the allotted CDS Test Centre in the CDS Admit Card.

The candidates must carefully make the choice of the CDS Exam Centre while filling the CDS Application Form. No candidate must report to any other Test Centre except the CDS Test center mentioned in the CDS 2021 Admit Card. If any candidate fails to reach the allotted CDS Test center on time or reaches a different test center for the CDS exam then his/her candidature will be canceled.

Instructions for CDS Exam Centre

The candidates are required to follow the below-mentioned instructions at the allotted CDS 2021 Test center and inside the examination hall. The violation of any of the instructions given below can lead to detention from the CDS exam or cancellation of candidature.

• The candidates are advised to reach the CDS 2021 exam center half hour before the commencement of the examination with all the required documents.
• The candidates have to check the allotted seat/room no mentioned against their roll number from the board outside the exam center for the CDS exam.
• The candidates must not carry any unwanted and undesirable material inside the CDS 2021 exam center.
• The candidates are not allowed to copy from any candidate’s paper or shall not allow any other candidate to copy from their papers during the examination.
• The candidates who are found attempting any kind of unfair practice inside the examination hall will not be allowed to continue the CDS exam.
• No candidate should misbehave in any manner or create a disorderly scene in the Examination Hall or harass the staff employed by the Commission for the conduct of the examination. Any such misconduct will be severely penalized.
• The candidates who don’t follow any of the instructions will be debarred from all future CDS exams.
• Nothing must be written on the clipboard, brought to the CDS 2021 exam center.

Required Documents at CDS Exam Center

The candidates are required to carry the following documents to the CDS 2021 Exam Center:

• CDS 2021 Admit Card
• Clip Board/Hard Board
• Good quality Black Ballpoint pen
• No other paper must be carried to the CDS 2021 Exam Center. The Answer sheet and sheet for rough work will be provided by the invigilator during the CDS exam.

Prohibited Items at CDS 2021 Exam Center

The candidates must not carry any of the following things to the CDS Exam Center:

• Books, notes, log tables, mathematical and drawing instruments, loose sheets, or any kind of unwanted paper are not permitted inside the center.
• Any electronic device such as electronic calculators, mobile phones, Bluetooth, pagers, or any other communication is strictly prohibited inside the CDS Exam Center.
• Rough sheets, Test Booklets, slide rules, or stencils of maps are also not permitted inside the examination hall.
• The candidates are advised not to carry any communication device at the exam venue for CDS of their interest (mobile phones, Bluetooth, etc.) as there are no arrangements for the safekeeping of such devices at the CDS test center.
• No costly item should be carried as the safety of the items will not be ensured by the central authorities or UPSC. They won’t be responsible for the loss of any item.

Examination Rules for UPSC CDS

The candidates who are declared guilty by the commission of the following will be strictly penalized by the Commission:

• The candidates who are found impersonating or procuring impersonation by any person will be punished severely.
• The candidates must not submit any false/tampered documents.
• The candidates must not obtain any support for their candidature by any means.
• Using any kind of unfair means during the examination is prohibited.
• The candidates can be penalized on account of writing irrelevant matter (obscene language or pornographic matter)
• Misbehaviour with anyone inside the examination is punishable
• Harassment or any bodily harm to the staff employed by the commission at the CDS exam center
• Possessing or using mobile phones, pager, or any electronic/communication device inside the examination hall.

CDS Selection Process

SSB Interview:

After the exam, candidates whose names are there in the merit list will receive the SSB call letter where the reporting date and time for SSB Interview will be mentioned. The aspirants then need to report to the SSB center and pass all the tests. The duration of the SSB Interview will be 5 days usually. It will consist of psychological and intelligence tests.

Once the candidate has cleared the SSB interview then they will be called for a medical check and upon successful clearance, candidates will be sent to the respective academy. It is mentioned in the official CDS notification 2021 that candidates are required to submit their original documents before joining their respective academies.

CDS Exam Pattern - Interview

The selection of the candidates is on the basis of marks scored in the interviews.

Total marks for the interview for Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy is 300 marks, whereas 200 marks are allotted for interview of OTA.

SSB Interview will contain two stages, that is, Stage 1 and Stage 2. Candidates who qualify for the stage 1 exam will be called for stage 2.

Stage 1: It is an OIR (Officer Intelligence Rating) Test which contains Picture Perception and Description Test (PP & DT). Candidates will be shortlisted as per their performance in the OIR Test and PP and DT.

Stage 2: Candidates passing stage 1 will be called for this stage. This part consists of Group Testing Officer Tasks, Interview, Conference, and Psychology Test. These tests are organized in four days.

Instructions to Fill CDS Answer Sheet

Candidates are advised to follow the instructions to fill the OMR sheet very carefully as the answer sheets are to be evaluated on the machine and any violation of these instructions may result in the reduction of scores. Before marking responses on the Answer Sheet, aspirants have to fill in various particulars in it.

After receiving CDS Answer Sheet, candidates have to check that it is numbered at the bottom. If it is un-numbered, it has to be replaced by a numbered one. The top of the answer sheet will have the particulars shown in the figure below.

The following points should be kept in mind while filling CDS answer sheet:

• Write with a black ball pen only.
• The test Booklet Series will be indicated by Alphabets A, B, C, or D at the top right-hand corner of the Booklet.
• Find out the appropriate subject code from the test booklet. Thereafter, encode the test booklet series, subject code, and the roll number by using a black pen.
• Write and encode test booklet series after receiving the Test Booklet.
• In the next step, you have to encode the Roll No.
• Candidates have to make sure that they have carefully encoded their subject Test Booklet series and Roll Number.

CDS FAQs