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UPSC Combined Defence Services (CDS)

Evidence status: ⚠️ secondary. The official UPSC website is currently returning 403 Forbidden errors, preventing verification of the current notification. The information below is based on the previous verification. Always check the official UPSC portal before applying.

CDS selects graduates for the Indian Military Academy (IMA), the Indian Naval Academy (INA), the Air Force Academy (AFA) and the Officers' Training Academy (OTA). It is held twice a year, as CDS (I) and CDS (II).

At a glance
Conducted by UPSC, followed by the Services Selection Board (SSB)
Current cycle CDS (II) 2026 — notified 20 May 2026; written examination held 13 September 2026
Courses (II/2026) IMA Dehradun (163rd DE); INA Ezhimala (Executive Branch); Air Force Academy Hyderabad (222 F(P)); OTA Chennai (126th SSC Men and Women, non-technical)
Stages Written (2 or 3 papers) → SSB interview and medical
Vacancies (II/2026) 451, tentative — IMA 100 (incl. 13 NCC ‘C’ Army), INA 26 (incl. 6 NCC ‘C’ Naval and 1 Hydro), AFA 32 (incl. 3 NCC ‘C’ Air), OTA 275 men and 18 women
Who can apply IMA and INA: unmarried men aged 19–24, born between 01-07-2003 and 01-07-2008. AFA: men aged 20–24 as on 01-07-2027 (born 01-07-2003 to 01-07-2007; the upper limit is relaxable to 26 with a current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by the DGCA). OTA: unmarried men and women aged 19–25, born between 01-07-2002 and 01-07-2008
Qualification IMA and OTA: a degree of a recognised university or equivalent. INA: a degree in engineering, or B.Sc. with Physics as a core or elective subject (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2). AFA: a degree of a recognised university with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2, or a Bachelor of Engineering
Marital status Candidates below 25 must be unmarried, and marriage is not permitted during training. Women apply only for the OTA Short Service Commission (non-technical) entry
Final merit Written marks equal the SSB marks for every course: IMA 300 + 300, INA 300 + 300, AFA 300 + 300, OTA 200 + 200

Official sources

Exam pattern

All papers are objective type, 2 hours each. The General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics papers are set bilingually in Hindi and English; calculators are not permitted.

Entry Papers Written marks SSB marks
IMA, INA, AFA English (100), General Knowledge (100), Elementary Mathematics (100) 300 300
OTA English (100), General Knowledge (100) 200 200

One third (0.33) of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer; a question left blank carries no penalty. The standard of Elementary Mathematics is Matriculation (Class 10) level; the other papers are of about graduate standard.

Syllabus

  • English (Code 11, 100 marks): understanding and workmanlike use of words.
  • General Knowledge (Code 12, 100 marks): current events; matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects; history of India; and geography of a kind that needs no special study.
  • Elementary Mathematics (Code 13, 100 marks, Matriculation level): arithmetic and number theory (number system, unitary method, percentage, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, logarithms); algebra (polynomials, quadratic equations, simultaneous linear equations and inequations, set language, laws of indices); trigonometry (ratios and their values at standard angles, simple identities, heights and distances); geometry (lines and angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, loci); mensuration (areas, surface areas and volumes of standard figures); and statistics (tabulation of data, graphical representation, measures of central tendency).
  • SSB (Intelligence and Personality Test): Stage I has the Officer Intelligence Rating tests and the Picture Perception and Description Test; Stage II has the interview, Group Testing Officer tasks, psychology tests and the conference. The interviewing officer, the GTO and the psychologist assess the candidate holistically, with no separate weightage for each test; candidates are recommended or not recommended.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. OTA aspirants skip Elementary Mathematics — it applies only to IMA, INA and AFA — and put that time into English and General Knowledge.
  2. Elementary Mathematics is only Matriculation (Class 10) level. Speed and accuracy win it: finish NCERT Class 8–10 maths, then shift to timed papers.
  3. General Knowledge rewards NCERT science and social science from Class 6–10 plus a daily newspaper habit; English improves with daily reading.
  4. The SSB is worth as much as the whole written exam (300 of 600 for IMA/INA/AFA, 200 of 400 for OTA). Work on communication, fitness and officer-like qualities alongside the written preparation, not after it.

Free resources