CDS Exam Pattern 2020: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the national level competitive exam known as Combined Defence Services (CDS) twice a year as CDS (I) and (II). UPSC CDS 2 notification released on August 05, 2020, inviting applications for around 344 vacancies. Interested candidates must have a clear idea of CDS 2020 exam pattern, marking scheme for IMA, INA, OTA, AFA in order to crack CDS II written test. Knowing the CDS written test pattern will make you familiar with the exam and can improve your overall test-taking skills.
Candidates can now fill the CDS II 2020 application form at upsc.gov.in before the last date i.e. August 25, 2020. In this article, we have provided you with detailed information about the CDS 2020 exam pattern, marking scheme for IMA, INA, OTA, AFA and selection process. Read on to find out.
CDS Exam Pattern 2020
Before getting into the details of CDS 2020 Exam Pattern, let’s have an overview of the exam:
| Name of the Exam | Combined Defence Services II 2020 |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Purpose of the Exam | Selection of Candidates for Admission to IMA, INA, AFA, and OTA |
| The frequency of the Exam | Twice a Year |
| Mode of Exam | Offline |
| Language | English and Hindi |
| Number of Phases | Two Phases – Written Exam and SSB Interview (intelligence and personality test) |
| Number of Questions | 340 (240 for Admission to OTA) |
| Number of Subjects | Three (Two for Admission to OTA) |
| Time Duration | 2 hours for each Subject |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
| Negative Marking | Yes |
| Official Website | upsc.gov.in |
CDS 2020 Exam Pattern: Phases Of CDS II
We get you detailed CDS 2020 Exam Pattern, Marking Scheme for Written Test and SSB Interview. CDS II examination will be conducted in two phases, namely:
- a. Phase I – Written Examination
- b. Phase II – SSB Interview
Phase II will test the intelligence and personality of the candidate. Let us now look into the detailed CDS exam pattern for each of these phases.
CDS Exam Pattern For Written Test
CDS exam pattern for the Written Examination for admission to Indian Naval Academy, Indian Military Academy and Air Force Academy will include three subjects, namely, Elementary Mathematics, English and General Knowledge. However, admission to Officer’s Training Academy will only have two subjects namely English and General Knowledge. Elementary Mathematics is not included in the CDS exam pattern of OTA.
Mode of Examination: UPSC CDS 2 is conducted in the offline mode, which means the candidates must fill the provided OMR sheet using black ball pen.
Type of Questions: The questions are of objective type, which means each question will come with choices and candidates will have to select the right one.
Total Marks: Each section contains 100 marks and since IMA, INA and AFA has three subjects the totals marks for them is 300. OTA contains only 2 sections, so the maximum marks for Officer’s Training Academy are 200.
Time duration: The total time duration for each section is 2 hours.
Negative Marking: Each question in the CDS Written Exam carries 1 mark. There is negative marking of 1/3 for every wrong answer.
CDS marking scheme for INA, IMA, AFA is tabulated below:
| Subjects | Number of Questions / Maximum Marks | Time Duration |
| English | 120 / 100 | 2 hours |
| Elementary Mathematics | 100 / 100 | 2 hours |
| General Knowledge (GK) | 120 / 100 | 2 hours |
| Total | 340 / 300 | 6 hours |
CDS exam pattern for OTA is tabulated below:
| Subjects | Number of Questions / Maximum Marks | Time Duration |
| English | 120 / 100 | 2 hours |
| General Knowledge (GK) | 120 / 100 | 2 hours |
| Total | 240 / 200 | 4 hours |
Check Out Detailed CDS II Syllabus Here
CDS Exam Pattern: SSB Interview
Shortlisted candidates who qualify in the CDS 2020 Written Exam will be called for the next phase of the selection process – SSB Interview (Intelligence and Personality Test). In order to receive a call up for the SSB Interview candidates must register themselves on the recruiting directorate website at joinindianarmy.nic.in. This phase will be conducted by the Service Selection Board (SSB). The SSB Interview for INA, IMA, and AFA will be conducted for 300 marks whereas, for OTA, the total marks is 200. The SSB Interview will most likely be conducted in allocated SSB centres (will be mentioned in the SSB Interview call letter) for over a period of 5 days. Candidates will have to appear in any one of the centres for the SSB Interview.
CDS 2020 Exam Pattern For SSB Interview Stage 1
Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) will be conducted on the day of the SSB Interview. This will involve a Picture Perception and Description Test (PP & DT) wherein candidates will be shown a picture for 30 seconds. Post 30 seconds, candidates will be given 4 minutes to write about the picture. Then several groups of 15 members will be formed to discuss and arrive at a conclusion regarding the picture. Based on the discussion and conclusion, the officer will rate your intelligence skills. Only those who clear this round will be eligible to appear for Stage 2.
CDS 2020 Exam Pattern For SSB Interview Stage 2
This stage will be organized for four days followed by stage-1 selection. Stage II Comprises of Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and the Conference. A variety of tests and activities are conducted in this round through which the personality of the candidates is judged. Three different officials namely Interviewing Officer (IO), a Group Testing Officer (GTO) and a Psychologist will be rating you based on your performance in the tests held. Additionally, marks for Conference are allotted based on the candidate’s initial performance in the three techniques and decision of the Board.
The Psychological Test will include the following:
- Word Association Test
- Thematic Appreciation Test
- Situation Reaction Test
- Self Description Test
The various Group Activities include:
- Group Discussion
- Group Planning Exercise
- Progressive Group Task
- Half Group Task
- Group Obstacle Race
- Lecturette
- Individual Obstacles
- Command Task
- Final Group Task
Final selection of candidates will be made based on their performance in Stage 2 of SSB Interview. These various tests of IO, GTO, and Psychology are specifically designed to analyze the presence or absence of Officer Qualities and trainability in the candidate. Based on these tests, the candidates will be recommended by the officers of SSB.
Now that you have a clear idea on CDS Exam Pattern, marking scheme and stages, focus on the CDS Preparation. Go through the CDS Syllabus thoroughly and solve as many CDS practice questions as possible. Take plenty of CDS mock tests to enhance your performance. Analyze your performance through mock tests and identify where you are losing the marks and focus on your weaker areas.
As mentioned earlier, the CDS Exam pattern has general knowledge irrespective of the profile. To ace in this section, one must make it a habit of following current affairs daily. Embibe has got you covered in this general knowledge subject. We have a repository of GK & current affairs quiz based on daily happenings around the world. Besides that, you can also take UPSC CDS Mock Test on Embibe for your CDS exam preparation.
Attempt Daily GK & Current Affairs Quiz Here
We hope this detailed article on CDS Exam Pattern 2020 helps you. If you have any queries, feel free to drop a comment below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
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