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December 11, 2024The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Combined Defence Services Examination twice a year for candidates who wish to begin their careers in the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officer’s Training Academy. Candidates are selected based on the written exam and the SSB interview for intelligence and personality testing.
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the UPSC CDS 1 exam 2024 on April 21, 2024. Aspirants can apply for the examination from December 20, 2023, until January 9, 2024. Check out the article to learn more about the UPSC CDS important dates, notification, registration process, exam pattern, syllabus, results, etc.
Let us have an overview of the UPSC CDS 2024 before getting into other details:
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Name of Exam | Combined Defence Service Examination |
Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
Purpose of Exam | Selection of Candidates for Admission to IMA, INA, AFA, and OTA |
Frequency of 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 | Two Hours For Each Subject |
Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
Negative Marking | Yes |
Official Website | upsc.gov.in |
Here are some recent updates released by the UPSC regarding the Combined Defence Service Examination 2024.
The detailed notification for the CDS 1 2024 exam was released on December 20, 2023. The notification includes all information such as exam dates, registration procedure, exam pattern, syllabus, and other important information.
We will update the direct notification PDF link. Till then, aspirants can refer to last year’s UPSC CDS notification, or use the direct PDF link.
The Commission has released the exam dates for CDS 1 & 2 exam along with the UPSC Calendar 2024. Per the calendar, the CDS I 2024 online registration will start on December 20, 2023, and end on January 9, 2024. Check out the important dates in the table below:
Events | CDS 1 Dates | CDS 2 Dates |
---|---|---|
CDS 2024 Notification Release Date | December 20, 2023 | May 15, 2024 |
Online Registration Start Date | December 20, 2023 | May 15, 2024 |
Online Registration End Date | January 9, 2024 | June 4, 2024 |
Online Application Withdrawn | To Be Notified | To Be Notified |
CDS Admit Card Release Date | March 2024 | August 2024 |
CDS Exam Date 2024 | April 21, 2024 | September 1, 2024 |
CDS Answer Key 2024 (Unofficial) | April 2024 | September 2024 |
CDS Result 2024 | May 2024 | September 2024 |
Interview Dates | To Be Notified | To Be Notified |
Final Result | To Be Notified | To Be Notified |
UPSC CDS vacancy 2024 has been announced along with the official CDS 1 notification 2024. We have added the vacancy details in the following table for your reference:
CDS 1 Vacancy 2024 |
|
---|---|
Academy |
No. of Vacancies |
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun154th (DE) Course commencing in January 2023 [including 13 vacancies reserved for NCC `C’ Certificate (Army Wing) holders] |
100 |
Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala Course commencing in January 2023 Executive Branch (General Service)/Hydro [including 03 vacancies for NCC ‘C’ Certificate (Naval Wing through NCC Special Entry ) holders ]. |
32 |
Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course commencing in January 2023 i.e. No. 213 F(P) Course [including 03 vacancies are reserved for NCC `C’ Certificate (Air Wing) holders through NCC Spl. Entry] |
32 |
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras) 117th SSC (Men) (NT) (UPSC) Course commencing in April 2023 |
275 |
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras) 117th SSC (Women) (NT) (UPSC) Course commencing in April 2023 |
18 |
Total |
457 |
Candidates can also refer to the UPSC CDS 2024 vacancies from the table below:
Name of the Academy | Number of Vacancies |
---|---|
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun | 100 |
Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala | 22 |
Air Force Academy, Hyderabad | 32 |
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras) SSC Men | 170 |
Officers Training Academy, Chennai SSC Women | 17 |
Total Vacancies | 341 |
Also, check out the CDS 1 2022 vacancies from the table below:
Department | Number of Vacancies |
---|---|
Indian Military Academy (IMA) | 100 |
Indian Naval Academy (INA) | 22 |
Air Force Academy (AFA) | 32 |
Officer Training Academy – Men (OTA) | 170 |
Officer Training Academy – Women (OTA) | 17 |
Total | 350 |
Check out the CDS 2 2022 vacancies from the table below:
Department | Number of Vacancies |
---|---|
Indian Military Academy (IMA) | 100 |
Indian Naval Academy (INA) | 22 |
Air Force Academy (AFA) | 32 |
Officer Training Academy – Men (OTA) | 169 |
Officer Training Academy – Women (OTA) | 16 |
Total | 339 |
Candidates must note that the following details may differ as per the job location, experience, and various other factors. Check out the pay scale for UPSC CDS in the table below:
CDS Ranks/Job Profile | CDS Pay Scale (As per 7th Pay Commission) | Pay Matrix Level |
---|---|---|
Lieutenant | Rs. 56,100 – 1,77,500/- | Level 10 |
Captain | Rs. 61,300 – 1,93,000 | Level 10B |
Major | Rs. 69,400 – 2,07,200 | Level 11 |
Lieutenant Colonel | Rs. 1,21,200 – 2,12,400 | Level 12A |
Colonel | Rs. 1,30,600 – 2,15,900 | Level 13 |
Brigadier | Rs. 1,39,600 – 2,17,600 | Level 13A |
Major General | Rs. 1,44,200 – 2,18,200 | Level 14 |
Lieutenant General | Rs. 1,82,200 – 2,24,400 | Level 15 |
HAG + Scale | Rs. 2,05,400 – 2,24,400 | Level 16 |
VCOAS | Rs. 2,25,000 | Level 17 |
COAS | Rs. 2,25,000 | Level 18 |
Candidates serving in the defence sector are eligible for a number of benefits and allowances depending on their posting and ranking, such as:
Candidates applying for the UPSC CDS exam must meet the below mentioned criteria to apply for the examination. Here are the full details of the CDS eligibility criteria:
Age | Varies From 18 to 25 Years for Different Forces |
---|---|
Educational Qualification | Graduation/Engineering Degree |
Nationality | Citizen of India, or Subject of Bhutan, or Tibetan refugee, or Nepal, or India origins migrated from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and East African Countries of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaire, Malawi, and Ethiopia or Vietnam to settle in India permanently. |
Number of Attempts | Till Age Permits |
Marital Status | Unmarried/Married |
Experience | Not Required |
The Union Public Service Commission released the CDS application form online. Here, you can find details on how to apply online for the CDS exam.
Here the applicants can check the CDS 2024 application fee and submit the application form.
Category | Application Fee |
---|---|
Female/SC/ST Candidates | No Fees |
Others | Rs.200 |
Check out the exam centers for the UPSC CDS 2024 exam from the table below:
State | Exam Centre |
---|---|
Tripura | Agartala |
Gujarat | Ahmedabad |
Mizoram | Aizawl |
Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad |
Karnataka | Bengaluru |
Uttar Pradesh | Bareilly |
Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
Punjab | Chandigarh |
Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
Tamil Nadu | Cuttack |
Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
Delhi | Delhi |
Karnataka | Dharwad |
Assam | Dispur |
Sikkim | Gangtok |
Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad |
Manipur | Imphal |
Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
Rajasthan | Jaipur |
Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu |
Assam | Jorhat |
Kerala | Kochi |
Nagaland | Kohima |
West Bengal | Kolkata |
Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
Tamil Nadu | Madurai |
Maharashtra | Mumbai |
Maharashtra | Nagpur |
Goa | Panaji |
Bihar | Patna |
Andaman and Nicobar | Port Blair |
Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
Jharkhand | Ranchi |
Odisha | Sambalpur |
Meghalaya | Shillong |
Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar |
Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
Arunachal Pradesh | Tirupati |
Rajasthan | Udaipur |
Arunachal Pradesh | Visakhapatnam |
CDS exam pattern for the written test for admission to Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) includes three subjects – Elementary Mathematics, English and General Knowledge. However, admission to Officers Training Academy (OTA) will only have two subjects in their written test – English and General Knowledge.
CDS exam marking scheme for INA, IMA, AFA is listed 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 |
UPSC CDS 1 exam pattern for OTA is mentioned 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 |
Each correct answer attracts 1 mark in the UPSC CDS exam.
The UPSC CDS syllabus is mainly based on three subjects — Elementary Mathematics, General Knowledge, and English language. Candidates who wish to score well in the examination must be well aware of the syllabus and prepare for it thoroughly.
Subjects | Topics |
---|---|
English | Antonyms, Synonyms, Sentence improvement, Comprehension, Spotting Errors and more |
General Knowledge | Economics, Current Awareness, Defence, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and more |
Elementary Maths | Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, and Statistics and more |
Check out the detailed UPSC CDS syllabus here.
It is important that you follow a few preparation tips in order to score high marks in the examination. Here are some of the preparation tips for UPSC CDS created by the experts on Embibe:
UPSC will release the CDS 1 exam hall ticket online on in March 2024, tentatively. Below you can find the procedure to download the UPSC CDS admit card, the details mentioned on the admit card, and the required documents candidates need to carry.
Candidates can follow the below-mentioned steps to download the UPSC CDS admit card 2024:
The exam conducting authority will release the UPSC CDS answer key soon on its official website since the result is declared. Candidates can follow the below-mentioned steps to check the answer key:
The UPSC CDS result for Paper 1 2024 will be released in May 2024.
Candidates can follow the below-mentioned steps to download the UPSC CDS result 2024:
The CDS cut-off 2024 will be released soon. Candidates can check out the expected cut-off marks for UPSC CDS from the table below:
Academy | Written Exam | Final Exam |
---|---|---|
IMA (Indian Military Academy) | 119 – 131 | 244 – 256 |
INA (Indian Naval Academy) | 104 – 121 | 232 – 246 |
AFA (Air Force Academy) | 146 – 151 | 267 – 271 |
OTA (Officers’ Training Academy) men | 73 – 84 | 161 – 170 |
OTA (Officers’ Training Academy) women | 75 – 85 | 164 – 170 |
Following are the frequently asked questions and their answers related to the UPSC CDS 2024:
Q: Who is the conducting authority for the CDS Exam?
Ans: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the CDS Exam every year.
Q: When will the UPSC CDS 1 notification be released?
Ans: The UPSC CDS 1 notification 2024 was released on December 20, 2023.
Q: How many times is the CDS exam conducted in a year?
Ans: The CDS examination is held twice a year.
Q: How many attempts are allowed for the CDS exam?
Ans: There are no such restrictions on the number of attempts you can make for the CDS exam.
Q: In what mode is the CDS examination conducted?
Ans: The CDS exam is conducted in offline mode (pen-and-paper-based).