Combined Defence Services Examination

Indian Armed Forces examination

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Combined Defence Services Examination
Acronym	CDS
Type	Paper-based
Administrator	Union Public Service Commission
Skills tested	English, general knowledge, elementary mathematics
Purpose	Recruiting cadets to Indian military academies
Duration	6 hours 4 hours (OTA)
Score range	0 - 300 0 - 200 (OTA)
Offered	Twice a year
Regions	India
Languages	English
Prerequisites	Graduation
Fee	₹200
Used by	Indian military academies

The Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS) is a standardised test conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment of officer cadets in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers Training Academy (OTA).

Qualifications

The applications are invited every year in the months of December and May, and examinations are conducted in April and September, respectively. Only unmarried graduates are eligible to sit for the exam. Examination is conducted twice a year. Successful candidates are admitted into the respective Academies after an interview conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB).

Officer jobs are available in the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force after passing the Combined Defence Services Exam (CDS). Any student can take this exam after graduation. This exam has two steps. First, there is a written test and after passing it there is the SSB interview.

Indian Military Academy	19–24 years
Air Force Academy	20–24 years
Indian Naval Academy	19–24 years
Officers Training Academy	19–25 years

CDS Exam Educational Qualifications is given below.

For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy	Degree from a recognized University or equivalent
For Indian Naval Academy	Degree in Engineering from a recognized University or equivalent
For Air Force Academy	Degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering

Personality test

The SSB interview process consists of a two-stage Selection process – stage I and stage II. Only those candidates who successfully clear the stage I SSB interview will be permitted to appear for stage II. All candidates who apply for the Air Force through more than one source will be interviewed/tested at the Air Force Board Selection only once.

References

Shyam, Radhe (29 August 2023). "CDS-Combined Defence Services Examination, 2023". eduvala.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
Shyam, Radhe (29 August 2023). "CDS-Combined Defence Services Examination, 2023". Edu Vala.
^ "Forthcoming Exams" (PDF). UPSC. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
"Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2024 | UPSC". upsc.gov.in. Retrieved 9 December 2024.

Standardised tests in India

National level

State level

Services

Defunct

Others

Common Engineering Entrance Examination (proposal)
Madhyamik Pariksha

v t e Public Services of India
All India Services	Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Indian Forest Service (IFS) Indian Police Service (IPS)
Central Civil Services	Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) Indian Economic Service (IES) Indian Information Service (IIS) Indian Postal Service (IPoS) Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IPTAFS) Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS) Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) Indian Revenue Service (Custom and Indirect Taxes) (IRS-CIT) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) (IRS-IT) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (Civil) Services (DANICS) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (Police) Services (DANIPS) Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS) Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS)
State Civil Services	Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) Gujarat Administrative Service (GAS) Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) (1957–2019) Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) Provincial Civil Service (Jharkhand) (JPCS) Provincial Civil Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPCS) Provincial Civil Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPCS) Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) Tamil Nadu Civil Service (TNCS) West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS)
State Forest Services	Provincial Forest Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPFS) Provincial Forest Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPFS)
State Police Services	Provincial Police Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPPS) Provincial Police Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPPS) West Bengal Police Service (WBPS)
Non-State Civil Services	Provincial Development Service (PDS) Provincial Finance and Accounts Service (PFAS) Provincial Secretariat Service (PSS) Provincial Transport Service (PTS) Rajasthan Accounts Service (RAcS) West Bengal Judicial Service (WBJS) West Bengal Legal Service (WBLS)
Others	Civil Services of India

v t e Civil service
Concepts	Public sector Government agency Bureaucracy Bureaucrat Technocracy Merit system / Spoils system Diplomat Public administration Public policy Public service Regulatory agency
By country/territory	Australia Bangladesh Brazil Canada China Hong Kong France Germany Greece India Ireland Italy Japan Malaysia New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Russia Singapore Sri Lanka United Kingdom Northern Ireland United States European Union
Categories	National civil service commissions Government occupations Civil service by country
See also: Civil service reform in developing countries

Categories:

Qualifications

Personality test

See also

References