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Syllabus & Exam Pattern

Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination Syllabus

The UPSC conducts the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination twice a year for recruitment into the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers' Training Academy (OTA).

Exam Pattern

The CDS Exam consists of an objective-type written test. The pattern varies based on the academy. Candidates for IMA, INA, and AFA take three papers (English, GK, Maths) for 300 marks. Candidates for OTA take two papers (English, GK) for 200 marks.

ExamPartsDurationTotal QuestionsMax Marks
IMA, INA, and AFAEnglish2 Hours120100
IMA, INA, and AFAGeneral Knowledge2 Hours120100
IMA, INA, and AFAElementary Mathematics2 Hours100100
OTA (Men & Women)English2 Hours120100
OTA (Men & Women)General Knowledge2 Hours120100
ℹ️Marking Scheme: There is a penalty of 0.33 marks for every incorrect answer (negative marking). Question papers are set in both Hindi and English.

Detailed Syllabus

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EnglishCheck list
1.Error spotting
2.Sentence improvement
3.Cloze test
4.Active/passive voice
5.Synonyms and antonyms
6.Idioms & phrases
7.Para jumbles
8.Passage interpretation
General KnowledgeCheck list
1.Current Affairs
2.History of India
3.Indian Polity
4.Geography
5.Indian Economy
6.General Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology)
Elementary Mathematics (For IMA, INA, AFA)Check list
1.Arithmetic (Number systems, time/work, percentage)
2.Algebra (Basic operations, polynomials, quadratic eq)
3.Trigonometry (Identities, heights and distances)
4.Geometry (Lines, angles, triangles, circles)
5.Mensuration (Areas, volumes)
6.Statistics (Data representation, central tendency)
SSB Interview (Intelligence & Personality Test)Check list
1.Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests
2.Picture Perception & Description Test (PP&DT)
3.Psychological Tests (TAT, WAT, SRT, SD)
4.GTO Tasks (Group Discussion, Planning, Obstacles)
5.Personal Interview
6.Final Conference