CDS (Combined Defence Services)

The UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) conducts the CDS examination (Combined Defence Services) to recruit officers for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

CDS is conducted twice a year. Once in February (CDS I) and once in September (CDS II).

If you clear the written test, you will be interviewed by the Service Selection Board(SSB) and if selected you would be sent to the Indian Military Academy(IMA), the Indian Naval Academy or the Air Force Academy as well as the and Officers Training Academy(OTA), Chennai for your orientation training.

Those joining the first three institutes get permanent commission while cadets passing out of OTA, Chennai get short service commission. You have to mention your preferences while filling up the application forms.

For admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy, the exam will test you in English (2 hrs, 100 marks), General Knowledge (2 hrs, 100 marks) and Elementary Mathematics (2 hrs, 100 marks).
For admission to the Officers Training Academy, the exam will test you in English (2 hrs, 100 marks) and General Knowledge (2 hrs, 100 marks). There will only be objective questions in the test.
The questions will be in Hindi as well as English (for GK and Mathematics).

Educational Qualifications:

• For IMA /OTA : A degree from a recognized University or equivalent.
• For Naval Academy: B.Sc. with Physics and/or Mathematics or Bachelor of Engineering.
• For Air Force Academy: B.Sc. of a recognized University or equivalent with Physics and/or Mathematics as subjects or Bachelor of Engineering

Age:

• For IMA: Unmarried male candidates between 19-24 years on 1st January or 1st July of the year succeeding the year of examination.
• For Naval Academy: Unmarried male candidates between 19-22 years on 1st January or 1st July of the year succeeding; the year of examination.
• For Air Force Academy: Unmarried male candidates between 19-23 years on 1st January or 1st July of the year succeeding the year of examination.

The level of mathematics is of Xth standard and hence is not difficult to prepare. For the remaining subjects too, i.e. English and GK, extra preparation is not necessary if you are observant in nature and are aware about current affairs. A good command over English is enough to ace the English section of the exam. A brief about each subject and the topics to cover for the exam:

English: The questions will test the candidates’ understanding of English.

General Knowledge: General Knowledge including knowledge of current affairs, history of the country and general geography.

Elementary Mathematics : This will include topics like Arithmetic, Algebra,Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, Statistics.

The Indian Military Academy(IMA), Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy where courses start from January, 2012 and the Officers Training Academy(OTA), Chennai where the courses (for both men and women) commence in April, 2012

CDS I
Exam : 12th February 2012

CDS II
Exam : 18th September 2011

Result of CDS II 2010: 18th August 2011