Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS)

Combined Defence Services (CDS) is conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for candidates who wish to pursue their career as commissioned officers in Navy, Air Force and Army after graduation or candidates appearing in their final year. CDS exam is conducted twice a year in February and November. CDS 1 written exam was conducted on February 3, 2019. Candidates who are between 20 to 24 years to be eligible for CDS. There are two stages in CDS exam written exam followed by SSB interview. Candidates who qualify written exam are eligible for Services Selection Board (SSB) Interview which includes Personality cum Psychometric tests and Intelligence interview. The selected candidates will undergo training programmes as per their merit and preference for Army, Navy and Air Force jobs. The training of selected candidates are done at their respective centres like Indian Military Academy (IMA Dehradun), Indian Naval Academy (INA Ezhimala), Air Force Academy (Hyderabad), and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA Chennai). 

CDS Eligibility

Candidates must check the eligibility criteria like age limit,  educational qualification, marital status to be eligible for CDS exam. 

Nationality

Candidates applying for CDS must be 

•  an Indian citizen, or
•  a Tibetan refugee ( before January 1962), or
•   a subject to Nepal or Bhutan, or
•  Migrants from Pakistan, Burma, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, with the intention of permanently settling in India

Age

Candidates must be 20 to 24 years.

Educational Qualification martial status as per courses 

Mode of Application : Online

Mode of Payment : Net Banking | Credit Card | Debit Card | Other

Application Fees

CDS Application Form 

CDS 1 application withdrawal facility was available from December 3 to 10, 2018. Candidates had to login with their credentials to withdraw their application form. In order to request for withdrawal of application form candidates must had access to the registered mobile number and email id. UPSC had send OTP on the registered email id and mobile number which was valid till 30 minutes. Candidates had to apply within that time else the OTP will expire. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had released the online application form on October 31, 2018. Candidates were able to fill the application form till November 26, 2018. The application fee for General and OBC candidate was Rs. 200 while SC/ST and females were exempted from fee payment. The online application form of CDS is filled in two parts.

Part 1 Registration

• Candidates can fill the application form from the link available on the official page.
• Before filling up the CDS application form candidates must read the important instructions.
• Enter details like name, father’s name, mother’s name, community, address etc. and click on submit button.

Part 2 Registration

•  Enter the registration ID, password and captcha code to login to part 2 registration.
• Select payment method online or offline.
• Upload the scanned signature and photograph.
• Selection of exam centres.
• Read and agree to 'Declaration' to submit the application form.

Documents required while filling CDS Application Form 

• Active email – ID
• Matriculation certificate
• Scanned signature
• Scanned photograph
• One photo identity proof like Aadhar card/Voter card/PAN card/Passport/Driving license

CDS Preparation Tips

To score well in written exam of CDS, candidates must know the preparation tips and strategies. Candidates must know the importance of solving the previous years’ question papers, timely revision, time management etc. which are the key elements of preparation.

CDS Exam Pattern

UPSC has prescribed exam pattern of CDS 1, 2019. There are two stages in CDS exam- written and SSB Interview. The written exam of CDS is conducted in pen and paper mode. As per the exam pattern of CDS, candidates who apply for Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Indian Military Academy courses have to appear for three subjects - English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics while candidates have to appear for two subjects – English and General Knowledge who apply for Officers’ Training Academy course.

CDS Exam Pattern – Written Exam

Structure of exam pattern for admission to Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Indian Military Academy                                                                                                                                     

Structure of exam pattern for admission to Officers’ Training Academy

CDS Admit card

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had released the admit card for written exam of Combined Defence Services (CDS) on January 11, 2019. Candidates could download the admit card till the date of examination. In order to download the admit card, candidates had to either login through roll number or registration number. The admit card of CDS exam is available for candidates who have successfully filled the application form. 

Details on CDS Admit Card

• Candidate’s name
• Scanned signature and colour photograph
• Registration number
• Candidate’s category
• Examination date
• Reporting time
• Address of examination centre
• Examination timing

CDS Answer Key 

UPSC will release the official answer key of CDS written exam. CDS answer key will be available subject wise for all test booklets. Candidates can check the number of correct and incorrect answers marked by them with the help of answer key. There are some coaching institutes who release the answer key after the completion of exam on the same day. 

CDS Result 

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) releases the result of Combined Defence Services (CDS) for written and final separately. The result of written exam of CDS will be declared in March 2019. Candidates have to secure qualifying marks as prescribed by UPSC to qualify the written exam. Candidates who qualify written exam will be eligible to appear for SSB interview. Final result of CDS is calculated adding the marks secured by candidates in written as well as SSB Interview.  The final result of CDS is likely to be declared in December 2019 (tentatively).

CDS Cutoff 

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) releases the cutoff of CDS exam separately for written exam and final. Candidates who score equal or more than cutoff released by UPSC for written exam are eligible SSB Interview. The CDS cut off marks of written test for is calculated out of the total score of 300 for INA, IFA  and IMA, and 200 for OTA (Men & Women). The final cut off will be released in December 2019 by UPSC.