CDS Exam: Highlights of CDS Exam, Exam Dates 2022, CDS Vacancies, Eligibility Criteria,Exam Pattern,Syllabus,Exam Day FAQs

Highlights of CDS Exam 2021

Particulars	Details
Name of exam	CDS Exam
CDS Full Form	Combined Defence Services
Conducted by	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam level	National
Exam frequency	Twice a year
Exam mode	Online
Exam mode	Two hours
Language of question paper	English and Hindi
Application Fee	INR 200/-
Exam Purpose	To select candidates as Commissioned Officers in Indian Army, Navy and Air Force
Vacancies	CDS I: 350 (approx.) CDS II: 350 (approx.)
No of the test cities	41
Official Website	upsc.gov.in

CDS Exam Dates 2021

CDS 2021 Exam and other important dates:

Events	CDS I 2021 Dates	CDS II 2021 Dates (Tentative)
Release of Notification	October 28, 2020	August 04, 2021
Starting of Application Process	October 28 - November 17, 2020	August 25, 2021
Admit Card	January 07, 2021	To be notified
Exam Date	February 07, 2021	November 14, 2021
CDS 2021 Result	March 23, 2021	To be notified
SSB Interview	To be notified	To be notified

CDS Vacancy 2021

Services & the number of vacancy of both CDS I and CDS II

Academies	Vacancies for CDS I	Vacancies for CDS II
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun	100	100
Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala	26	26
Air Force Academy, Hyderabad	32	32
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai	170	169
Officers Training Academy, Chennai	17	17
Total	345	344

CDS 2021 Eligibility Criteria

The aspirants are to check the CDS eligibility criteria before they apply for the CDS Exam.

Age Limit for CDS (II) Exam 2021

Department	Age
Indian Military Academy	Should not be born before 2nd Jul 1997 and should not be born later than July 01, 2002.
Indian Naval Academy	Should not be born before 2nd Jul 1997 and should not be born later than July 01, 2002
Indian Air Force Academy	Should not be born before 2nd Jul 1997 and should not be born later than July 01, 2001
Officers' Training Academy	Should not be born before 2nd Jul 1996 and should not be born later than July 01, 2002
Officers' Training Academy—(SSC Women Non-Technical Course)	Should not be born before 2nd Jul 1996 and should not be born later than July 01, 2002

Gender Requirements for CDS Posts

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

Educational Qualification for CDS Exam 2021

Education qualification for the CDS 2021 exam would be varied for several designations:

Posts	Educational Eligibility Criteria
IMA	Graduate from Recognized University
INA	Engineering Degree from Recognized University
AFA	Engineering Degree (Physics & Maths at 10+2) or B. Tech from Recognized University

CDS Online Application Form 2021

The online CDS application form for appearing in the CDS II exam is expected to be released On August 05, 2021. The online applications will only be accepted.

How to Apply for the CDS Exam?

Open the official website and then click the ‘Online Application for Various Examinations of UPSC’.
Once the page will be opened, the aspirants have to click the Part I option to click the Combined Defence Services Examination (2).
Before you click the ‘Yes’ button, the aspirants are requested to read the instructions from PART I.
Next, you will be able to see the application form displayed on the screen.
Now, the aspirants have to fill in the contact details and personal information.
According to the age and notification, the candidates should choose their preferable academics.
In the next step, your Registration ID will be generated.
Once you complete your Part I form, you have to start to fill your Part-II Application form fill up process.
Next, you have to pay the application fees for completing the Application Form Fill up Process.
If you have done your payment process, you can choose your desirable examination centre.
Now you have to upload the scanned copy of your signature and photograph according to the mentioned file size and dimensions.
In the next step, you have to select the ‘Submit’ option.
You are advised to print out the application form for future reference.

CDS Application Fees

The fees of the CDS II application form for the General category students is INR 200/-
However, the reserved categories candidates such as the SC/ST/ Females do not need to pay the application fees.
To pay the application fees, the aspirants can choose both the online and offline mode of transaction.

CDS Admit Card 2021

The CDS admit card can be downloaded from https://upsconline.nic.in/ site.

CDS Exam Pattern 2021

The CDS 2021 Exam Pattern is categorized into two sections and these are:

Written test
Intelligence and Personality Interview

CDS Exam Pattern for INA, IMA & IAF

The exam of Indian Air Force, Indian Naval Academy, and Indian Military Academy consists of three papers and the total score of the papers is 300 marks.

Subjects	Marks	Duration
English	100	2 hours
General Knowledge	100	2 hours
Elementary Mathematics	100	2 hours

CDS Exam Pattern for Officers Training Academy (OTA)

Officer Training Academy will consist of two subjects and the total marks of the exam will be 200. The total duration of the examination will be 4 hours.

Subjects	Marks	Duration
English	100	2 hours
General Knowledge	100	2 hours

CDS Syllabus 2021

Subjects	Topics
General Knowledge	Current affairs of the last 4-5 months before the examination. History Physics Biology Geography Political Science
English Language	Basic Grammar Synonyms Antonyms Comprehension Solving Error Spotting Para Jumbles
Elementary Mathematics	Natural numbers Integers Percentages Rational and Real numbers Time & work Time & distance Profit & loss Ratio & proportion Prime and composite numbers Simple and compound interest HCF and LCM Euclidean algorithm Geometry Logarithms Trigonometry Statistics Mensuration

CDS 2021 Selection Process

There are four stages in the CDS Selection Process which are as follows:

Written Test: MCQ
SSC Interview / Personality Test: Oral
Document Verification
Medical Examination

The merit list will be made based on the higher marks in the written test and SSB Interview.

CDS Exam Centres 2021

Candidates have to choose a centre from the mentioned list of CDS 2021 exam centres according to their convenience.

State	Examination 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