Combined Defence Service i.e. CDS is a gateway to enter Defence forces of India. CDS examination is conduced twice in a year by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) for recruitment of candidates in different academies like Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Indian Air Force Academy.
About CDS Exam.
CDS is conducted twice in a year, first paper is conducted in February and Second paper is conducted in November usually. The notification for the CDS exams comes out in August (for November exam) and November (for February exam). CDS exam includes written test which is followed by personal interview and medical test. Once the candidate clears written test then he/she becomes eligible for personal interview, after clearing interview they are sent for Medical test.
Eligibility Criteria
1. Age Factor: There is different age requirement for different academy.
a. For Indian Military Academy (IMA) – Age must lie in between 19-24 years.
b. For Airforce Academy (AFA) – Age must lie in between 19-24 years.
c. For Indian Naval Academy (INA) – Age must lie in between 19-22 years.
d. For Officer’s Training Academy (OTA) – Age should lie in between 19-25 years.
2. Educational Qualifications: There is different qualification requirement for different academy.
a. For Indian Military Academy – Bachelor’s degree in any field from a recognized university.
b. For Airforce Academy – Bachelor’s degree in Science with physics or mathematics or a bachelor degree in engineering.
c. For Indian Naval Academy – Bachelor’s degree in Science with physics or mathematics or a bachelor degree in engineering.
d. For Officer’s Training Academy – Bachelor’s degree in any field from a recognized university.
Candidates who are appearing in the final year of their degree course are also eligible to take the CDS examination.
3. Marital Status: Unmarried
4. Physical Eligibility: Physical Eligibility for CDS are as follows.
a. No visible permanent tattoo on the body
b. No space for unfit candidate in the academy.
c. There should be no evidence of weak constitution, bodily defects or over weight.
d. The minimum required height for male candidates for Military is 157.5 cm and for Navy is 157 cm and for Air Force is 162.5 cm. For Women candidate minimum acceptable height is 152 cm.
e. A candidate should be free from any disease.
f. Candidate should fulfil all the physical condition of eyes, height and weight etc.
Syllabus for Exam
Syllabus for CDS will cover 3 subjects namely, English, General Knowledge and Mathematics (For Military, Naval and Airforce Only)
1. English: The areas which will be covered in this subject are as follows:
a. Synonyms
b. Antonyms
c. Reading Comprehension
d. Para Jumbles
e. Error Spotting
f. Jumbled words
g. Sentence correction
h. Fill in the blanks
2. General Knowledge: G.K. will include the knowledge of current affairs and events. The paper will also include questions related to History and Geography.
3. Mathematics: The areas which will be covered in this subject are as follows:
a. Arithmetic
b. Algebra
c. Trigonometry
d. Geometry
e. Mensuration’s
f. Statistics
Exam Pattern
There will be different exam pattern for Military, Airforce, Naval and Officer’s Training.
Exam pattern of Military academy, Airforce Academy and Naval academy is:
1. The nature of Questions will be objective.
2. The question paper will be of total 300 marks (100 marks for each subject).
3. 2 hours’ time will be allotted for each subject.
Exam pattern for Officer’s Training academy is:
1. The nature of Questions will be objective.
2. The question paper will be of total 200 marks (100 marks for each subject i.e. English and GK).
3. 2 hours’ time will be allotted for each subject.
Important Dates
CDS EXAM I
Notification Release: 08th November 2017
Last Date for Submission of Applications: 04th December 2017 till 06.00 pm
Date of CDS 2018 Exam-I: 04th February 2018 (Sunday)
CDS EXAM II
Notification Release: 08th August 2018
Last Date for Submission of Applications: 03rd September 2018 till 06.00 pm
Date of CDS 2018 Exam-I: 18th November 2018 (Sunday)
Application Fees
An application fees of Rs 200 is required for general and OBC category candidates for CDS exam. Female and SC/ST candidates are exempted from paying the fees.
Modes of payment:
1. By depositing Cash in any branches of SBI.
2. By SBI net banking Facility
3. VISA/master/debit cards
TIPS TO EXAM
A candidate must do a smart study in order to complete the syllabus on time. Time management is very important in these kinds of exams. Your preparation should be well organised so that you can clear the exam with good marks.
Other tips:
1. Make sure you complete your course on time – For getting good score in exam the candidate must complete his syllabus on time. Completion of syllabus on time will help give the candidate more time to revise the syllabus. Candidate should complete his course before 20 days of exam. For that candidate should study 5 hours daily.
2. Read newspaper daily – Regular reading will help the candidate to develop his communication skills and will keep the candidate updated about the current affairs. Newspaper like, Times of India and Hindustan Times have good content so candidate can prefer them.
3. Clear your concepts by solving as many questions as possible – Solving questions will help the candidates to get their concept clear. And also it will enhance the speed and accuracy of solving the problems which is very necessary from exam point of view.
4. Read magazines and guide related to economy, sports, business etc. – Reading different magazines will give the candidate clear facts and figure about different scenarios. Also it will help the candidates to develop reading skills in him/her.
5. Solve previous year’s question papers – Solving sample papers and previous year’s question papers will give the candidate an idea about the type of question that are asked in exams.
We hope you got all the information about the exam and with this we wish every candidate all the best for their exam. We hope the above details and tips would help you get through CDS examination. For any other details or query, you can contact us directly.
