UPSC Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS):

The Combined Defence Services Examination (abbreviated as CDS Exam) is conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment into the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Officers Training Academy, (OTA) Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Indian Air Force Academy (IAFA). 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 Service Selection Board (SSB). Interested and Eligible candidates can fill the online form through the official website https://upsconline.nic.in

Important Dates for UPSC CDS Exam:

• Starting Date for Apply Online: 05/08/2020
• Last Date for Apply Online: 25/08/2020 Upto 06:00 PM Only
• Last Date for Part II: 25/08/2020
• Last Date Complete Form: 25/08/2020
• Exam Date: 08/11/2020
• Admit Card Available: October 2020

Application Fee:

• General / OBC: 200/-
• SC / ST / Female: 0/-

Vacancy Details:

Total: 344 Post

Eligibility Criteria for UPSC CDS Exam:

1. Nationality: A candidate must be either

(a) A citizen of India, or

(b) A subject of Nepal, or

(c) A subject of Bhutan, or

(d) A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or

(e) A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Srilanka, or East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or from Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall be a person in whose favor a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

 Educational Qualifications: 

(i) For Indian Military Academy (I.M.A) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA), Chennai: Degree of a recognized University or equivalent. 

(ii) For Indian Naval Academy (INA): Degree in Engineering from a recognized University/Institution. 

(iii) For Air Force Academy (AFA): Degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering. Graduates with the first choice as Army/Navy/Air Force are to submit proof of Graduation/provisional certificates on the date of commencement of the SSB Interview at the SSB.  

Note: Those candidates who are studying in the final year's Degree course and have yet to pass the final year Degree examination are also eligible to apply.

Age Limit & Marital Status:

Only unmarried candidates are eligible for the CDS exam. The age limit for the exam is given below:

Note: Male divorcee/widower candidates cannot be treated as unmarried males for the purpose of their admission in IMA/INA/AFA/OTA, Chennai courses, and accordingly they are not eligible for these courses. 

CDS 2020 Selection Process:

UPSC CDS Selection Process consists of three stages.

1. Written Exam

2. Interview/ Intelligence Test/ Personality Test

3. Document Verification

4. Medical Examination

1. Written Exam: 

i. Written Exam consists of Objective Type questions and time duration 2 hrs and maximum marks are 100 for each subject.

ii. For the candidates who are appearing for Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air force Academy has written test comprising of English, General Knowledge, and Elementary mathematics subjects and for candidates who are appearing for officers training academy the written test comprising of English and General Knowledge.

iii. Candidates who are declared successful in the written exam will be detailed for intelligence and personality test at the Service Selection Board based on their preference, by the respective service HQ.

Exam Pattern for CDS:

Mode of Exam: Online

Type of Exam: Objective type

Language of Exam: Hindi or English

There is Negative Marking of 1/3rd marks for wrong answers marked in the exam.

(A) For IMA, INA, AFA

(B) For Admission to Officers’ Training Academy:

2. Interview/ Personality Test: The candidates who are selected in the written test are called for interview. The SSB procedure consists of two-stage selection process-Stage I and Stage II. Only those candidates who clear the stage I are permitted to appear for Stage II.

a. Stage I comprises of Officers Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests are Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT). The candidates will be shortlisted based on the combination of performance in the OIR Test and PP&DT.

b. Stage II comprises of Interview, Group Testing Officers Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the conference. These tests are conducted over 4 days.

The personality of the candidate is assessed by three different assessors viz. the interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO), and the Psychologist. There is no separate weightage for each test. The marks are allotted by assessors only after taking into consideration the performance of the candidate holistically in all the tests.

3. Document Verification: Document Verification will be conducted only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/Personality Test.

4. Medical Examination: A Candidate recommended by the Services Selection Board will undergo a medical examination by a Board of Service Medical Officers. Women candidates will undergo Medical Examination by a Medical Board comprising male/ female doctors/ specialists/ Gynaecologist. There will be a Lady Medical Officer as a member of the Board. Only those candidates will be admitted to the Academy who are declared fit by the Medical Board.

Center for Examination:

The Examination will be held at the following Centres : 

AGARTALA, AHMEDABAD, AIZAWL, BENGALURU, BAREILLY, BHOPAL, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI, CUTTACK, DEHRADUN, DELHI, DHARWAD, DISPUR, GANGTOK, HYDERABAD, IMPHAL, ITANAGAR, JAIPUR, JAMMU, JORHAT, KOCHI, KOHIMA, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MADURAI, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PANAJI (GOA), PATNA, PORT BLAIR, PRAYAGRAJ (ALLAHABAD), RAIPUR, RANCHI, SAMBALPUR, SHILLONG, SHIMLA, SRINAGAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, TIRUPATI, UDAIPUR, AND VISAKHAPATNAM. 

UPSC CDS Salary:

The below table shows the grade pay and the respective pay matrix level as per the latest 7th CPC. The candidates must note that the given data may differ as per the posting location, experience, and various other factors. The following figures are mentioned in terms of ranks in the army but they remain the same equivalent ranks in the airforce and navy.

CDS Officer Training Period:

The training period of the selected candidates depends on the academy in which they are admitted. Depending on the academy, the training period will be as follows:

• The candidates admitted to the Indian Military Academy/ Indian Navy Academy / Air Force Academy will be trained in their respective academy for a period of 18 months.
• The candidates admitted to Officers' Training Academy will have a training period of 49 weeks.

CDS Perks and Benefits:

The candidates serving under the defense forces are entitled to numerous perks benefits in the form of allowances. The aspirants can have a look at the following expected allowances. The candidates must note that some of the below-given allowances may not be applicable and can be subject to posting location, rank, etc.

CDS Career Growth:

The career growth of candidates under respective academies are given below:

IMA:

INA:

Selected candidates may be appointed as cadets on reporting at the Indian Naval Academy. The cadets shall be commissioned in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant after successful completion of approximately 18 months of training.

AFA:

After successful completion of training, candidates will be given the rank of Flying Officer. Candidates are promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant, Squadron Leader, Wing Commander, and Group Captain on completion of 2 years, 6 years, 13 years, and 26 years of successful service respectively. Grant of Group Captain (select) and higher ranks is only by selections. Promising officers have a fair chance of getting higher promotions to air ranks of Air Commodore, Air Vice Marshal, and Air Marshal.

OTA:

Selected candidates will be enrolled as Gentleman/Lady Cadets and will undergo a course of training at the OTA for an approximate period of 49 weeks. On successful completion of training Gentleman/Lady Cadets are granted Short Service Commission in the rank of Lt. Candidates will be eligible for promotion in the following ranks: