The "Combined Defence Services" (CDS) Examination 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).
The salary of all CDS posts is as follow:
| Post | Salary |
|---|---|
| Lieutenant Level 10 | ₹ 56,100 - 1,77,500 |
| Captain Level 10 B | ₹ 6,13,00 - 1,93,900 |
| Major Level 11 | Major Level 11 ₹ 6,94,00 – 2,07,200 |
| Lieutenant Colonel Level 12A | ₹ 1,21,200 – 2,12400 |
| Colonel Level 13 | ₹ 1,30,600-2, 15,90 |
| Brigadier Level 13A | ₹ 1,39,600-2,17,600 |
| Major General Level 14 | ₹ 1,44,200-2,18,200 |
| Lieutenant General HAG Scale Level 15 | ₹ 1,82,200 - 2,24,100 |
| HAG Scale Level 16 | ₹ 2,05,400 – 2,24,400 |
| VCOAS/Army Cdr/ Lieutenant General (NFSG) Level 17 | ₹ 2,25,000/-(fixed) |
| COAS Level 18 | ₹ 2,50,000/-(fixed) |
The candidates are advised to check the eligibility criteria before applying for CDS examination. Candidates should fulfill the eligibility criteria of UPSC CDS exam at the following levels:
A candidate should be:
The Citizenship of India, or The subject of Nepal/Bhutan, or Tibetan refugee who had been migrated to India before January 01, 1962 with the intention of Permanent Settle, or An individual of Indian Origin migrated from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Zaire & Vietnam for permanent settle purpose in India.
17 to 24 year age limit of CDS exam.
| Department | Gender | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Military Academy | Male | Unmarried |
| Indian Naval Academy | Male | Unmarried |
| Indian Air Force Academy | Male | Unmarried |
| Officer Training Academy | Male | Married/Unmarried |
| Officer Training Academy | Female | Unmarried |
The aspirants who have applied for different posts of CDS exam should be mentally and physically fit in order to meet the physical standard guidelines, as mentioned in the official notification.
Check the educational qualification requirement of UPSC CDS exam for different job posts from the table below.
IMA: Graduate from Recognized University
INA: Engineering Degree from Recognized University
AFA: Engineering Degree (Physics & Maths at 10+2) or B. Tech from Recognized University
OTA: Graduate from Recognized University
Must be secured 60% marks in Graduation level in any discipline and 60% marks in Section A & B examination of Aeronautical Society of India or Associate Membership of Institute Engineers (India).
The candidate should not be born earlier than 2nd July 1993 and not later than 1st July 1999.
Those selected in the online written test will have to clear the interview round also. The selected aspirants who clear both the rounds will finally be eligible for IAF course cum post.
The candidates who are selected in AFCAT will be commissioned either as ‘Short Service Commission” or “Permanent Commission” in Indian Air Force. Those candidates who are selected for SSC in Flying Branch are engaged for 14 years and those who are selected for Ground Duty and Technical Branches are engaged for 10 years which can be extended for the next 4 years depending on willingness, requirement and availability of vacancies. Those candidates who are selected for Permanent Commission would continue to serve until the age of superannuation.
The duration training of Flying and Technical Branches is 74 weeks and that of Ground Duty Branch is 52 weeks.
Exam centers are allocated to the candidates to attend the CDS exam. The candidates who will apply for UPSC CDS exams need to choose an appropriate examination center for as per their feasibility. Check the list of state-wise examination centers/cities below:
| Sr. No | State | Examination Centre |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tripura | Agartala |
| 2 | Gujarat | Ahmedabad |
| 3 | Mizoram | Aizawl |
| 4 | Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad |
| 5 | Karnataka | Bengaluru |
| 6 | Uttar Pradesh | Bareilly |
| 7 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
| 8 | Punjab | Chandigarh |
| 9 | Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
| 10 | Tamil Nadu | Cuttack |
| 11 | Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
| 12 | Delhi | Delhi |
| 13 | Karnataka | Dharwad |
| 14 | Assam | Dispur |
| 15 | Sikkim | Gangtok |
| 16 | Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad |
| 17 | Manipur | Imphal |
| 18 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| 19 | Rajasthan | Jaipur |
| 20 | Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu |
| 21 | Assam | Jorhat |
| 22 | Kerala | Kochi |
| 23 | Nagaland | Kohima |
| 24 | West Bengal | Kolkata |
| 25 | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
| 26 | Tamil Nadu | Madurai |
| 27 | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| 28 | Maharashtra | Nagpur |
| 29 | Goa | Panaji |
| 30 | Bihar | Patna |
| 31 | Andaman and Nicobar | Port Blair |
| 32 | Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
| 33 | Jharkhand | Ranchi |
| 34 | Odisha | Sambalpur |
| 35 | Meghalaya | Shillong |
| 36 | Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| 37 | Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar |
| 38 | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 39 | Arunachal Pradesh | Tirupati |
| 40 | Rajasthan | Udaipur |
| 41 | Arunachal Pradesh | Visakhapatnam |
Below is the important detail for UPSC CDS Selection procedure. Check it out.
The recruitment of Air Force, IMA, INA & Officers Training Academy posts is done on the basis of:
A Merit list is prepared for those students who obtain good marks in the written examination and SSB Interview.
Again note the final round of selection is based on the medical fitness for all available posts.
Note: The written exam of OTA consists of only 2 tests, GK and English.
The exam pattern of CDS is divided into two sections:
Written Examination
Intelligence & Personality Interview
The exam pattern of CDS 2 examination is different for Officer Training Academy and Indian Naval Academy/Indian Military Academy/Indian Air Force.
The exam of Indian Naval Academy/Indian Military Academy/Indian Air Force comprises of 3 papers, which carry a total of 300 marks. The total duration of each exam is 2 hours.
| Subjects | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| English | 100 | 2 Hours |
| General Knowledge | 100 | 2 Hours |
| Elementary Mathematics | 100 | 2 Hours |
The exam of Officer Training Academy (OTA) consists of 2 subjects with a total of 200 Marks. The duration of the two exams is 4 hours (2 hours for each exam).
| Subjects | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| English | 100 | 2 Hours |
| General Knowledge | 100 | 2 Hours |
Candidates should be aware of the subjects of CDS syllabus along with important topics. Candidates are required to check the entire syllabus of CDS Exam for its thorough preparation.
Current affairs of the last 4-5 months from the examination date.
History
Physics
Biology
Geography
Political Science
Written Examination
Basic Grammar
Synonyms
Comprehension Solving
Error Spotting
Para Jumbles
Natural numbers
Integers
Percentages
Rational and Real numbers
Time & work
Time & distance
Profit & loss
Ratio & proportion
Prime and composite numbers
Simple and compound interest
HCF and LCM
Euclidean algorithm
Geometry
Logarithms
Trigonometry
Statistics
Mensuration