CDS 2020: The Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination is conducted to recruit candidates for serving in the prestigious defence organization of India. This exam is conducted for recruiting potential candidates to transform them into officers. These officers will be serving under the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is responsible for conducting this exam.
CDS Exam is conducted twice a year – one in the month of February and another in September. CDS 1 2020 examination is scheduled to be conducted on February 2, 2020. CDS examination will be conducted in offline mode and the allocated CDS exam centres will be mentioned on the CDS Admit card. A candidate will be given four-year training in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Officers Training Academy (OTA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA). Read this article to find out about the CDS eligibility criteria, how to apply, how to fill CDS Application Form and selection process. Also, you can avail the complete CDS syllabus and exam pattern here.
CDS 2020
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. A candidate first needs to appear for the written exam – CDS exam. After the written test, if the candidate receives an SSB call letter from the Service Selection Board, then he/ she needs to report to the board on the reporting date. SSB is responsible for conducting various tests in order to read the psychology of candidates and find out who are the potential candidates fit for becoming an officer. After clearing the SSB, the 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.
| Exam Name | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Combined Defence Services (CDS) II Exam |
| Exam Category | After Graduation |
| Exam Level | National Level |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Commonly known as | CDS |
| After CDS | Training at IMA/OTA/INA/AFA |
| Exam Duration | One day |
| Exam Type | Offline |
CDS 2020 Important Dates
According to the official CDS notification, the following are the important dates for CDS 2020. Also, note that the CDS 2020 result date will be announced later.
| Events | Dates |
| CDS Notification Date | October 30, 2019 |
| Last Date for receiving CDS Application form | November 19, 2019 (till 6 PM) |
| CDS Admit Card Release Date | 3 weeks before the exam |
| CDS Exam Date | February 2, 2020 |
CDS Vacancy 2020
This time, there are a total of 418 vacancies available through CDS Examination 2020. The 418 vacancies are divided among all the four academies respectively.
| 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 | 417 |
CDS Eligibility 2020
If a candidate is not found to be eligible, he/she can be rejected at any moment irrespective of the fact that he has cleared the CDS examination or not. So please read these eligibility criteria and make sure that you fulfil all the criteria if you are planning to appear for CDS 2020 Exam.
- Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried and must either be:
(i) a citizen of India, or
(ii) a subject of Bhutan, or
(iii) a subject of Nepal, or
(iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
(v) 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:
(i) For IMA-Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January 1997 and not later than 1st January 2002 only are eligible.
(ii) For Indian Naval Academy-Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January 1997 and not later than 1st January 2002 only are eligible.
(iii) For Air Force Academy- 20 to 24 years as on 1st January 2021 i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January 1997 and not later than 1st January 2001.
(iv) For Officers’ Training Academy—(SSC Course for men) unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January 1996 and not later than 1st January 2002 only are eligible.
(v) For Officers’ Training Academy—(SSC Women Non-Technical Course) Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees (in possession of divorce documents) who have not remarried are eligible. - Educational Qualification:
(i) For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai — Degree of a recognized University or equivalent.
(ii) For Indian Naval Academy—Degree in Engineering from a recognized University/Institution.
(iii) For Air Force Academy-Degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering.
CDS Application Form 2020
CDS 2020 Application Form has to be filled online through the official website. All the aspirants are required to fill the CDS Application Form before the last date.
Candidates can take the following steps to successfully register for CDS 1 2020:
- Visit the official website of the UPSC, i.e., upsconline.nic.in.
- Details of the Photo ID Card have to be filled.
- Upload the scanned copy of Photo ID which details have been provided.
- Note that the same Photo ID that you have provided in the application form has to be brought on the exam day and SSB interview.
*Photo ID Card means Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving Licence/Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government.
CDS 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.
CDS Exam Centres 2020
There are a total of 41 exam centres present across the country. CDS Exam centres are present in cities like Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bengaluru, Bareilly, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Dehradun, Delhi, etc.
The allocation of exam centres is done on the basis of first come first basis. Change of exam centre is not possible once allocated.
CDS Exam Pattern 2020
The exam duration of the CDS 2020 is 3 hours. The questions asked will be MCQs/ Objective type. The sections that will be covered are Elementary Maths, English Langage, and General Knowledge.
Note that the exam pattern is different for the candidates who want admission in Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy and different for the ones who want admission in Officers Training Academy. Also, note that calculators are not allowed in the exam hall.
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 |
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 |
CDS Marking Scheme:
UPSC will evaluate the written test based on the following marking scheme:
- • For every correct attempt, the candidate will be getting 1 mark.
- • There will be negative marking for every wrong attempt. A total of one-third marks, i.e., 0.33 marks will be deducted.
Check Out CDS Exam Pattern Here
CDS Syllabus 2020
The officials have prescribed a CDS syllabus that every aspirant needs to follow. Subjects covered are English, General Knowledge, Elementry Mathematics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, and Statistics. Intelligence and personality test will be consisting of two stages. These stages will have various tests where candidates need to qualify in order to pass the SSB Interview. Class 11th and 12th syllabus are being followed. For subjects other than General Knowledge, candidates need to follow the Class 11th and 12th 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. The CDS Admit Card release date has not been announced yet. Aspirants will be notified about the availability of the admit card once it is available. The candidates will receive an SMS on the registered mobile phone then they can check their mail for CDS admit card pdf. CDS Admit Card will be consisting of details like Name, Registration ID, Date of Birth, Exam Venue, etc. Please check the details and take the print out.
Download CDS Admit Card 2020 Here
CDS Sample Paper 2020
CDS sample papers and CDS previous year papers are made available by the official authorities (UPSC). Those who are preparing for the CDS exam must also practice some questions from CDS question papers. The format of the question paper is the same as the original question paper. If a candidate is referring to these CDS question papers and is practising regularly then it is more than enough to clear the CDS exam provided that your GK is good.
CDS Question Paper 2020
CDS previous year question papers (upto 2016) can be found from the official website of the UPSC.
Get The Best Reference Books for CDS
CDS Exam Day Guidelines 2020
There are some items that are banned inside the exam premises. Electronic items like Calculator, Mobile phones, Digital Watch, etc. are not allowed. If found, 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 Answer Key 2020
All the answer key of the previous year CDS question papers are available on the official website of UPSC. The official authorities will also publish the CDS Answer Key 2020. CDS 2020 Answer Key will be made available in the pdf format on the official website of the UPSC once released.
CDS Result 2019
Candidates can check the result after 3 months from the conclusion of the exam. A merit list will be declared where the name of the candidates who have qualified the written exam will be mentioned. Test takers need to type “CTRL+F” and then their name in order to check their qualifying status. If the name is present in the CDS 2020 Merit List then he/ she has to report at the SSB centre upon receiving the SSB Call Letter.
CDS Merit List 2020
The merit list will consist of the roll number and name of the candidates. CDS 2020 Merit List will be declared on the official website of UPSC.
CDS Cutoff 2020
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 2017
| Academy | CDS 2 | CDS 1 |
| AFA | 135 | 144 |
| IMA | 120 | 125 |
| INA | 111 | 118 |
| OTA (Men) | 86 | 82 |
| OTA (Women) | 86 | 82 |
Check Previous Year CDS Cut Off
Selection Process 2020
After the exam, the candidates whose name is present in the CDS Merit List will be receiving an SSB Call Letter where the reporting date and time will be mentioned. The aspirants then need to report at the SSB centre and pass all the tests. Once the candidate has cleared the SSB interview, they will be called for a medical check and upon successful clearance, the candidates will be sent to the respective academy. The selection of the academy will be done on the basis of the priorities chosen by the candidates in the application form.
Embibe hopes that this detailed article on CDS 2020 exam solves all your queries regarding the upcoming examination. It is recommended for you not to further delay your Combined Defence Services preparation as the Combined Defence Services I exam is not far away. Begin your preparation right away to avoid last minute confusion. Practice as many mock test papers as you can to get a clear knowledge of the exam pattern.
CDS Official Notification 2020 PDF
We hope that we have provided you with the complete information on CDS Exam 2020. If you have any query then you can post it in the comment section below and we will respond as soon as possible.
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