Combined Defence Services (CDS)
The Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) twice a year to recruit eligible candidates into the Indian Armed Forces. Successful candidates join prestigious training institutions such as the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers Training Academy (OTA) to become commissioned officers.
Key Highlights
Eligibility:
- Unmarried male and female candidates
- Graduates (or final-year students) for IMA, INA, AFA; any graduate (male/female) for OTA
- Age limits typically between 19–24 years (varies slightly by academy)
Exam Structure:
- For IMA, INA, AFA → Three papers: English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics
- For OTA → Two papers: English, General Knowledge
Selection Process:
- Written Examination (by UPSC)
- SSB Interview (Services Selection Board) — psychological tests, group tasks, and personal interviews
- Medical Examination
Eligibility for CDS Exam: IMA, OTA, INA, and AFA
IMA & OTA → Any graduate (IMA for men; OTA for men & women)
INA → Engineering graduates (men only)
AFA → B.Sc. (Physics & Math) or Engineering graduates (men only)
CDS Exam pattern
The CDS Exam is conducted in two stages:
- Written Examination
- SSB Interview
A breakdown of the written exam pattern is given in the following tables:
| CDS Written Exam Pattern | ||
| Subject | Duration | Marks allotted |
| English | 2 hrs | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hrs | 100 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 hrs | 100 |
Section-wise preparation strategy 1 week before the CDS exam
English
The CDS English Language test is one of the highest scoring sections. The English Language portion primarily assesses a candidate’s knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and reading and comprehension abilities.
There are 120 questions in the English Language section. This section is worth 100 marks in total and has been allotted two hours duration to complete this portion. Sentence Arrangement, Fill in the Blanks, Error Correction, Synonyms and Antonyms, Sentence Ordering problems, Cloze Tests, Idioms and Phrases, Reported Speech, Active/Passive Voice, and Word Substitution are all covered in this area.
- Strengthen your English Grammar rules for CDS
- Solve previous years’ question papers to analyse the pattern of questions asked in the exam
- Establish daily reading habits. This will help candidates to build vocabulary and learn new words
- Follow and read the newspaper editorials, books and magazines
- Note down a few new words every day for the last week and look for their meaning in the dictionary.
- Check all your short notes to revise what you have learned. This will help in the quick recollection of concepts.
- Candidates must attempt atleast 2 to 3 mock tests and analyse their performance during the last week’s preparation.
General Knowledge
- This section is vast as current affairs in this section has a lot of information to be covered. Revise the last 5 months’ events and news to stay updated on this part. Do not forget the science part that comprises Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
- Go through major topics in Ancient History such as Stone Age, Paleolithic age, Indus Valley Civilization, Buddhism, Jainism, Gupta Era, Harsha Dynasty, etc.
- Study Indian Freedom Struggle, Gandhian Era, Social Reforms from Modern History and topics such as Mughal, Delhi Sultanate, Art & Culture from Medieval History.
- Revise important topics related to Indian and World Geography, such as important mountain ranges, boundaries of States, passes, Landforms, etc.
- Concentrate on topics such as Budget, Economic Survey, basic economic terms, economic theory, unemployment, from Economy. Focus on Sources of the Constitution, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, and Articles of the Constitution for Political Science.
Elementary Mathematics
- Candidates must be thorough with their calculation abilities to score well in the Elementary Mathematics section.
- In Elementary Mathematics, do not underestimate the importance of speed and precision. Aspirants need to be thorough with calculations, and only practice can help them pass this section with a good score.
- Make a list of key formulae and theorems. Candidates must look for formulae for circles, rectangles, squares, and so on. They should also put their skills to the test. Arithmetic formulae for area and surface, volume, the number system, and so forth.
- Go through the significant topics in the CDS syllabus by reviewing past years’ question papers.
- Another important component in achieving high exam results is time management.
- Work on your time management skills to attempt maximum questions with accuracy within the given time.
- Try to develop your own shortcut techniques and stay alert while solving questions from this section.
General Revision tips 1 week before the CDS exam
- Schedule 1 to 2 hours for each section of the exam every day.
Set a timetable and follow it religiously. Invest 50% of your time revising and 50% time in practising or solving questions. This way, you can strengthen your memorisation and analytical skills together efficiently.
- Keep all your study materials properly organised.
Your study materials are crucial one week before the exam. Therefore, arrange it in a way that you can pick them and study them without wasting time looking for them.
- Don’t pick up any new topics at the last moment.
Aspirants make the mistake of studying difficult topics one week before the exam. It’s really hard to memorize a lot of information in a short period of time. Therefore, study a little each day over the week before the exam and only the topics that you have already studied. This will help you analyse your preparation appropriately.
- Make flashcards or flowcharts to recall process-related concepts.
Flashcards or flowcharts help to visualise a process effectively without cramming the concepts. This helps you recall important information and events with ease, and chances of correctness in the exam also increase with this technique.
- Attempt 3 to 4 mock tests during last week.
Last week is critical, and you need to estimate your preparation. Mock tests are a great way to analyse your understanding and predict your performance in the CDS exam. Therefore practise 3 to 4 mock tests- all sections combined, and check your speed and accuracy for the CDS exam.
