CDS Exam 2020: Check CDS 2 Exam Dates, Eligibility, Application, Syllabus, Pattern, Salary

CDS Exam 2020: The Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination-II is scheduled to be conducted on November 8, 2020. While the CDS Notification will be released on August 5, 2020. Candidates who are interested in applying for CDS exam can check this article for information on eligibility, how to fill the application form, exam pattern, syllabus, selection process, and salary.

The CDS I & II exams are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC). The purpose of the CDS exam is to recruit candidates for the prestigious defence organizations of India i.e. Indian Army, Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force. Through this exam, the potential candidates are selected who later on are transformed into officers.

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CDS Exam 2020

Before getting into the details of the CDS exam, let’s have an overview of CDS Exam:

Conducting Body	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam Name	Combined Defence Services (CDS) Exam
Exam Level	National Level
Frequency of Exam	Twice a year, February and November
Total Vacancies	418
Mode of Application	Online
Mode of Exam	Offline
Qualification	Graduate
Selection Process	Written Exam and SSB Interview
After Selection	Training at IMA/ OTA/ INA/ AFA
Written Exam Duration	One day
Official Website	upsc.gov.in

• – CDS Exam is a national-level entrance exam for aspirants who wants to join the defence forces as an officer.
• – After the exam, and completion of the SSCB Interview, selected candidates will be given 18 months training at: 
  • > Indian Military Academy (IMA),
  • > Officers Training Academy (OTA) (male & female),
  • > Indian Naval Academy (INA), and
  • > Air Force Academy (AFA).
• – So, if you want to become an officer serving under the Indian Army/ Navy/ Air Force, then this is one of the exams that will pave a way towards your dream.
• – Female candidates can also apply for the CDS exam to join the Officer Training Academy (OTA).
• – The selection of candidates will be based on the written exam and SSB Interview.
• – Throughout the interview, recruiters will shortlist the candidates as per their capability and preference.
• – During the training period of 18 months, cadets will be paid the stipend of Rs. 21000/-. After the completion of the training, period candidates can expect a pay of Rs. 56,100 – 1,77,500.

Check CDS Exam Notification Here

CDS 2 2020 Exam Dates

According to the official CDS notification, the following are the important dates for the upcoming CDS II 2020 exam. Also, note that the CDS 2020 result date will be announced later.

Events	Tentative Dates
Release of CDS 2 Notification	August 5, 2020
Beginning of Online Application	August 5, 2020
Last Date to Apply	August 25, 2020
Release of CDS Admit Card	3 weeks before the exam
CDS 2 Written Exam	November 8, 2020
Declaration of CDS 2 Result	Expected by last week of December 2020 or 1st week of January 2021
Final Result	Expected in August 2021

Check CDS Exam Dates Here

CDS II Vacancy

As per CDS I Notification, there are a total of 418 vacancies available through CDS Examination-I 2020. For the CDS-II Exam, the vacancy will be more or less the same. Check vacancies from the table below.

Academy	Vacancies
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun	100
Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala	45
Air Force Academy, Hyderabad	32
Officers Training Academy, Chennai	225
Officers Training Academy, Chennai (SSC Women)	16
Total	418

CDS 2020 Salary

Here is the salary for different posts after becoming an officer through CDS exam:

Post	Salary
Lieutenant Level 10	Rs 56,100 – 1,77,500
Captain Level 10 B	Rs 6,13,00 – 1,93,900
Major Level 11	Rs 6,94,00 – 2,07,200
Lieutenant Colonel Level 12A	Rs 1,21,200 – 2,12,400
Colonel Level 13	Rs 1,30,600 – 2,15,900
Brigadier Level 13A	Rs 1,39,600 – 2,17,600
Major General Level 14	Rs 1,44,200 – 2,18,200
Lieutenant General HAG Scale Level 15	Rs 1,82,200 – 2,24,100
HAG + Scale Level 16	Rs 2,05,400 – 2,24,400
VCOAS/ Army Cdr/ Lieutenant General (NFSG) Level 17	Rs 2,25,000 (fixed)
COAS Level 18	Rs 2,50,000 (fixed)

Note that, Miltary Service Pay (MSP) of Rs. 15,500/- is also paid to the officers from the rank of Lieutenant to Brigadier.

CDS Selection Process 2020

Here is the selection procedure for CDS Exam 2020:

• – A candidate first needs to appear for the Written Exam i.e. CDS exam.
• – Candidates who pass the CDS Exam will then be called for SSB (Service Selection Board) Interview.
• – The selected candidates’ names will be present in the CDS Merit List.
• – Then they need to report to the venue (reporting date and time will be mentioned in the SSB Call Letter).
• – At the SSB center, the candidates’ Psychological and Intelligence Test will be conducted.
• – Once the candidate has cleared all the tests of the SSB Interview, they will be called for a medical check-up.
• – The selected candidates will then have to undergo various medical tests where they have to meet the physical requirements as set by the board.
• – After the medical test and submission of documents, the selected candidates will be given 18 months of training in the 
  • — Indian Military Academy (IMA),
  • — Officers Training Academy (OTA),
  • — Indian Naval Academy (INA), or
  • — Air Force Academy (AFA).
• – The selection of the academy will be done on the basis of the priorities chosen by the candidates in the application form.

Check Detailed CDS Selection Process Here

CDS 2020 Eligibility Criteria

Here are the eligibility criteria for CDS examination:

Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried and must either be:

1. a citizen of India, or
2. a subject of Bhutan, or
3. a subject of Nepal, or
4. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
5. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Age Limit:

Academy	Age Limit
Indian Military Academy (IMA)	19 to 24 (not earlier than 2nd Jul 1997 and not later than 1st Jul 2002)
Indian Naval Academy (INA)	19 to 22 (not earlier than 2nd Jul 1997 and not later than 1st Jul 2002)
Indian Air Force Academy	19 to 23 (not earlier than 2nd Jul 1997 and not later than 1st Jul 2001)
Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for Men)	19 to 25 (not earlier than 2nd Jul 1996 and not later than 1st Jul 2002)
Officers’ Training Academy—(SSC Women Non-Technical Course)	19 to 25 ( not earlier than 2nd Jul 1996 and not later than 1st Jul 2002)

Gender and Marital Status Requirements:

Department	Gender	Status
Indian Military Academy	Male	Unmarried
Indian Naval Academy	Male	Unmarried
Indian Air Force Academy	Male	Unmarried
Officer Training Academy	Male	Married/ Unmarried
Officer Training Academy	Female	Unmarried

Educational Qualification:

Academy	Educational Qualification Required
IMA	Graduate Degree from a Recognized University
INA	Engineering Degree from a Recognized University
AFA	Graduate Degree with Physics & Maths at 10+2 or BE from a Recognized University
OTA	Graduate Degree from a Recognized University

Note: If a candidate is not found to be eligible, he/she can be rejected at any moment irrespective of whether or not he has cleared the CDS examination.

Check Detailed CDS Eligibility Criteria Here

CDS Application Form 2020

CDS 2020 Application Form has to be filled online from the official website. All aspirants are required to fill the CDS Application Form before the last date. Candidates can follow the steps as under to successfully register for CDS 2020:

Before you begin you need to know that there are two parts: Part-I is Registration where you need to enter personal, communications and education details while Part-II is where you need to pay the application fee, select the exam center, and upload the documents.

• – 1st Step: Visit the official website of the UPSC i.e. upsconline.nic.in.
• – 2nd Step: Click on the notification “ONLINE APPLICATION FOR VARIOUS EXAMINATIONS OF UPSC”.
• – 3rd Sep: Against the CDS exam, click on ‘Part-I Registration‘
• – 4th Step: Fill in the basic details such as candidate’s name, Date of Birth, parents’ name, address, category, mobile number, email address, etc.
• – 5th Step: After finishing Part-I, a registration ID will be generated.
• – 6th Step: Now go to the Part-II and enter your registration ID to pay the application fee.
• – 7th Step: Once the fee is paid, continue to fill the application form. Enter the personal, educational details and select the exam centre. preference,
• – 8th Step: Upload the scanned copy of Photo, signature, Photo ID, and mark sheet.
• – 9th Step: After finishing Part-II, Click on “I Agree to the Declaration” and submit the application form.

Note: Photo ID Card means Aadhaar Card/ Voter Card/ PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving Licence/ Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/ Central Government.

Check How to Fill CDS Application Form Here

CDS 2 Application Fee

Candidates, except for Female/ SC/ ST, are required to pay a fee of Rs 200/-. The CDS Application Fee can be paid through online or offline mode.

Category	CDS Application Fee
Female/ SC/ ST Candidates	Not Required to Pay
All Others	Rs 200

CDS Exam Centres 2020

There are a total of 41 exam centers present across the country. CDS Exam centers are present in the following cities: 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, Patna, Port Blair, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Raipur, Ranchi, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Udaipur, and, Visakhapatnam

Note that the allocation of exam centers is done on the basis of a first come first basis. Change of exam center is not possible once allocated.

Check List of CDS Exam Centres Here

CDS Exam Pattern 2020

The exam pattern is different for Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and for Officers Training Academy. The important details of CDS Exam Pattern are as follows:

Mode of Exam	Offline
Duration of Exam	6 hours (for IMA, INA & AFA) 4 hours ( for OTA)
Type of questions	MCQs/ Objective type
Section covered	Elementary Math, English Language, and General Knowledge

CDS Exam Pattern For IMA, INA & AFA

Here is the CDS Exam Pattern for admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy:

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

Here is the CDS Exam Pattern for admission to Officers’ Training Academy:

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

Not that there will be negative marking for every wrong attempt. A total of one-third marks, i.e., 0.33 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

Check Detailed CDS Exam Pattern Here

CDS Exam SSB Interview 2020

Candidates who pass the CDS Written Test will be sent for SSB Interview. So, what is SSB Interview? SSB Interview is a psychological & intelligence test done by Service Selection Board (SSB) in order to determine whether a candidate is fit for the service or not. It consists of two stages and is usually conducted for 5 days.

SSB is responsible for conducting various tests in order to test the psychology of candidates and find out who the potential candidates fit for becoming an officer are. After clearing the SSB Interview, candidates need to go for a medical check and document submission. Then the candidate’s journey of becoming an officer will begin in the academy.

CDS Exam 2020 Syllabus

The officials have prescribed a CDS syllabus that every aspirant needs to follow for the exam. The subjects that every candidate has to cover are:

1. English,
2. General Knowledge,
3. Mathematics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, and Statistics.

Note that only the Class 11 and 12 syllabi are being followed. For subjects other than General Knowledge, candidates need to follow the Class 11 and 12 NCERT Textbooks.

Check Out Detailed CDS Syllabus Here

CDS Admit Card 2020

Candidates can download the CDS 2020 Admit Card from the official website of UPSC i.e. upsc.gov.in. The CDS Admit Card is usually released 3 weeks before the exam date. Aspirants will be notified about the availability of the admit card through SMS and email once it is available. The candidates will receive the SMS on the registered mobile phone and email-ID that they provided in the application form.

CDS Admit Card will have details like Name, Registration ID, Date of Birth, Exam Venue, etc. Please check the details and take the print out. The allocated CDS exam centers will be mentioned on the CDS Admit card.

Know About CDS Admit Card Here

CDS 2 Exam Day Guidelines

There are some items that are banned inside the exam premises. Electronic items like Calculator, Mobile phones, Digital Watch, etc. are not allowed. If carried, the candidate must leave them outside the exam hall. Such items have to be kept outside and no one would be responsible for their safety.

Candidates must also bring a photo ID card like Aadhaar Card/ Voter Card/ PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving Licence. It has to be issued by the State/ Central Government.

CDS 2020 Preparation Tips

The CDS preparation plan may vary from one candidate to another. Go through the CDS 2020 Preparation Tips which will help you build the CDS exam preparation strategy:

1. Start your CDS preparation early and make sure that you are well aware of the CDS Syllabus and CDS Exam Pattern.
2. Prepare a time table for your preparation. Distribute and prioritise the topics which are to be covered as per the syllabus.
3. Follow standard books to learn the concepts and practice well to increase your accuracy.
4. Go through the daily current affairs and newspapers on a regular basis. You have to be very consistent as morizing the current affairs before the day of the exam will not be very effective.
5. Practice and apply the concepts which you have learned. Solve the previous papers and sample papers without fail.
6. Take mock tests and learn from your mistakes. Improve your speed and accuracy by analyzing your mistakes.

Best Books For CDS Preparation

It is extremely important to refer to appropriate books that can save you time and help you prepare well. Here are some recommended CDS Books that candidates need to follow for CDS exam preparation:

CDS Books – English Language

• – Wren & Martin’s High School English Grammar & Composition (S. Chand)
• – Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis(goyal Publishers)
• – Objective General English by S.P. Bakshi(Arihant Publishers

CDS Books – General Language

• – General Knowledge (Latest Edition) by Manohar Pandey( Arihant Publication)
• – Manorama Yearbook (Malayala Manorama Publishers)

CDS Books – Mathematics

• – Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examination by Dr R. S. Aggarwal
• – Mathematics for CDS Examination by Dr R. S. Aggarwal

CDS 2020 Cutoff Marks

The CDS cutoff is the minimum marks required to clear the CDS Written Exam. UPSC is responsible for releasing the CDS cutoff 2020. Aspirants can also refer to the previous year cutoff of the CDS exam;

CDS Cutoff I 2019

Academy	Written	Final
IMA	116	242
INA	105	233
AFA	129	264
OTA (Men)	78	160
OTA (Women)	78	162

CDS Cutoff II 2018

Academy	Written	Final
IMA	116	242
INA	102	228
AFA	131	253
OTA (Men)	80	162
OTA(Women)	80	163

Check Previous Year CDS Cut Off Here

CDS Previous Year Question Papers

Here are the previous year question papers for CDS Exam for different subjects:

CDS Exam I 2020	Question Papers
Elementary Mathematics	Download PDF
General Knowledge	Download PDF
English	Download PDF

CDS Exam II 2019	Question Papers
Elementary Mathematics	Download PDF
General Knowledge	Download PDF
English	Download PDF

CDS Exam I 2019	Question Papers
Elementary Mathematics	Download PDF
General Knowledge	Download PDF
English	Download PDF

Check More CDS Question Papers Here

CDS Exam 2020 Sample Papers

CDS sample papers and previous year papers are made available by the official authorities (UPSC). Those who are preparing for the CDS exam must also practice these CDS question papers. Referring to CDS question papers and practising regularly will help a lot in the CDS exam preparation. Besides solving the sample papers and previous year papers, also improve your General Awareness (current affairs).

CDS 2020 Answer Keys

UPSC releases the CDS answer key for CDS 1 & 2 exams on the official website. The CDS answer key is released after the successful conduction of the exam. The answer key will be released for all the four sets of question papers. Candidates will have to check the respective answer key from Series A, B, C & D. Using the answer key candidates can calculate their correct and wrong attempt to calculate the score.

CDS Exam Result 2020

CDS Answer Key 2020 will be released before the results. It will be made available as PDF on the official website of UPSC i.e. upsc.gov.in. The website has answer keys for all the previous year CDS question papers.

CDS Result for the Written Test will be made available 3 months after the conclusion of the written exam. It will be released as a merit list where the name of the candidates who have qualified the Written Exam will be mentioned.

CDS Merit List 2020 will consist of the roll number and name of the candidates. It will be declared on the official website of UPSC – upsc.gov.in. Test takers can search for their names by typing “Ctrl+F” and entering their names in order to check whether they have qualified or not. If the candidate has qualified then he/ she is eligible for the next round i.e. SSB Interview.

Check About CDS Result Here

CDS 2020 – Career Growth & Opportunities

There is a vast growth opportunity for candidates who have been commissioned as officers in IMA, AFA, INA or OTA. Check the career growth details from below:

Ranks	Promotion ( years of service)
Lieutenant	On completion of training
Captain	2 years
Major	6 years
Lieutenant Colonel	13 years
Colonel(TS)	16 years
Colonel	15 years
Brigadier	23 years
Major General	25 years
Lieutenant General	28 years
General	No restrictions

CDS 2 Exam 2020 FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions and their respective answers:

Now you have all the necessary information on CDS 2020. It is recommended that start your CDS preparation at the earliest as the Combined Defence Services exam is not far away. Begin your preparation right away to avoid last-minute confusion.

You can also take CDS Mock Tests on Embibe’s Online Tyari platform. These tests are available for free. Taking these tests will help you improve your overall performance.

ATTEMPT FREE CDS MOCK TEST HERE

We hope this detailed article on CDS Exam 2020 helps you. If you have any queries then you can post it in the comment section below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

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