The UPSC Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination is a highly competitive process aimed at selecting candidates for officer positions in the Indian Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The UPSC CDS selection process consists of a written examination, an interview conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB), a medical test by Indian Navy (Naval candidates only) and the final shortlisting for the CDS result 2024.
What after the CDS result 2024 - Know SSB Interview Process here The final appointment letter for the shortlisted candidates after the UPSC CDS selection process is drafted by IHQ MoD/DMPR. The CDS officer training period for the successful candidates commences in Jan/Jul and the advertisement for it will be published in Nov/Jul.
SSB Interview - Stages
After the declaration of UPSC CDS result 2024 for the written test, those who qualify are invited for the SSB interview, which comprises various psychological and physical tests along with group discussions and personal interviews. The SSB evaluates candidates' leadership potential, planning & organising ability, social adaptability, social effectiveness, dynamic ability and overall suitability for a career as an officer. The CDS selection process for the SSB interview round is as follows:
(i) Stage - I: It involves an OIR test and PPDT (Picture Perception and Discussion test).
(ii) Stage - II : It involves Psychological testing, Group testing (GTO) and Personal Interview.
Candidates who successfully clear the SSB interview have to further undergo a Medical examination for around 3-5 days.
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Detailed SSB Interview Procedure
Reporting day: The candidates are required to report at the SSB board for document verification and filing PIQ forms. Candidates are also required to report to the place listed in the call letter which is usually the Moment Control Office (MCQ).
The first testing stage of the SSB interview involves screening through an OIR test and PPDT. OIR (Officers’ Intelligence Rating test) is a Verbal and Non-verbal Test which tests the candidate’s basic aptitude. This round is followed by PPDT (Picture Perception and Discussion Test) which involves story writing and group discussion. For this round, the candidate is shown a picture for 30 secs and given 3 minutes to construct a story around it. The candidates are further divided into groups and made to narrate their story in the group and have a group discussion on it. With this PPDT round, the first stage of testing is concluded. The selected candidates move onto the second stage of testing.
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In the second round of testing, the psychological suitability of a candidate is measured through multiple psychological tests such as Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Word Association Test (WAT), Situation Reaction Test (SRT) and Self Description Test (SD).
After the psychological tests, in the GTO (Group Testing), the physical agility and group performance of the candidate is tested through numerous outdoor tasks such as Group Planning Exercise (GPE), Progressive Group Task (PGT), Half Group Task (HGT), Individual Obstacles Task (IOT), Command Task, Snake race/Group Obstacle Race, Individual Lecturette, Final Group Task (FGT). In this series of tests, candidates are required to work in collaboration with the group without competing with the other candidates.
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The final round of the SSB interview procedure is a personal interview. This is an essential part of the CDS selection process as the SSB questions and answers determine whether the candidate will get shortlisted or not. In this round, each candidate has to face the SSB group members and answer the questions posed by the interviewing officers.
