CDS 1 2025 English and GK Question Paper OUT: Check Student Reactions, Difficulty Level & Download Answer Key PDF
Combined Defence Services Exam 2025 ( CDS )
Registration - 10 Dec '25 - 30 Dec '25
CDS 1 2025 English and GK exam is over. The CDS 1 2025 GK and English question paper PDF and Answer Key PDF by Major Kalshi is available below. Candidates can check below CDS 1 English and GK Question Paper analysis, including the good attempts, topics asked, difficulty level, questions asked, and more.
CDS 1 2025 English and GK Question Paper Analysis
CDS 1 2025: The UPSC is conducting the CDS 1 2025 exam on April 13, 2025 (Today) in three shifts. As per students' CDS 1 2025 English paper was Moderate. The UPSC CDS 1 2025 exam consists of three sections, namely English, General Knowledge, and Maths. Here we are providing the CDS 1 2025 analysis for English and GK based on the student responses, including the number of good attempts, difficulty level, topics asked, subject-wise distribution, exam pattern change or not, etc. Also, download CDS 1 2025 Answer Key and question papers.
The exam of CDS is conducted twice a year to enroll cadets for the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers' Training Academy (OTA). The candidates qualifying for the CDS 2025 will be called for the SSB Interview.
No. The CDS 2 2025 answer key will not be the same for all the subjects. The exam has separate subjects including English, General Knowledge, and Mathematics. and are divided into sections.
The CDS 2 2025 application and notification was released on May 28, 2025. The application window was open till June 20, 2025. The exam was conducted on September 14, 2025. On the other hand, the CDS 1 2025 application form and the notification was released on December 11, 2024 and the last date to apply was January 1, 2025. The CDS 1 exam was conducted on April 13, 2025.
Also Read: CDS 1 2025 Exam Analysis Live Updates
- CDS 1 2025 GK Analysis OUT
- CDS 1 2025 English Answer Key & Questions OUT
- CDS 1 Exam Analysis 2025: English Overall Difficulty Level and Good Attempts OUT
- CDS 2 Exam 2024: English Analysis (Section-Wise)
- UPSC CDS 1 English Question Paper 2025
- CDS 1 Exam 2025: GK Analysis (Section-Wise)
- UPSC CDS 1 2025 GK Question Paper
- CDS 1 2025 Shift Timings
- UPSC CDS Previous Year Papers
- UPSC CDS Answer Key 2024
- CDS Exam Pattern 2024 for SSB Interview
CDS 1 2025 GK Analysis OUT
As per the student reactions':
- Overall Difficulty level: Moderate
- History was tough
- Polity was moderate
- Factual questions asked from schemes
- Economics Some questions were hard
- Current affairs was government oriented
- Science was Easy
- Good Attempts: 85 to 90
- Expected Cutoff: High
CDS 1 2025 English Answer Key & Questions OUT
Ans 9 (d)
Ans 10 (c)
Ans 8 (a)
Ans 7 (d)
The CDS 2026 exam dates were released by the authority. In the last month of the preparation, candidates should focus more on revision of all the important topics. Give test regulary. Revise and update yourself with current affairs. Maintain physical and mental health. Take proper sleep. Revise and practice previous year question papers. Also, focus on time management, etc.
The CDS exam is conducted in two stages, the written exam and the SSB interview. The CDS exam is an offline exam conducted in pen paper-based format. The CDS marking scheme, negative marking, total marks, exam timing, and the paper pattern for the IMA, INA, AFA, and OTA are available on this page for the CDS exam.
It is important for a candidate to clear basics and concepts. Questions asked in this section are of Class 10 standard. Candidates can check below CDS Maths books that will help in the preparation:
- Mathematics for CDS by RS Aggarwal
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Aggarwal
- Pathfinder for CDS by Arihant Publications
Ans 5 (c)
Ans 6 (a)
Ans c
CDS 1 Exam Analysis 2025: English Overall Difficulty Level and Good Attempts OUT
The CDS 1 2025 written exam comprises three sections, namely English, GK, and elementary mathematics. The total duration of each section is two hours. Candidates applying for IMA, INA, and AFA comprised three sections, while applying for OTA comprised only two sections, namely English and GK. After the conclusion of the English and GK exams, we will provide question paper analysis.
| Paper |
Overall Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
| English |
Moderate, some felt easy |
| General Knowledge |
Moderate |
CDS 2 Exam 2024: English Analysis (Section-Wise)
After the completion of the CDS 1 2025 English exam, candidates can check the English section-wise exam analysis, including reading comprehension, vocabulary and usage, grammar, etc. The English exam is conducted from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Scroll down for the list of questions asked in the CDS 1 2025 English exam.
| Topic |
CDS 1 2025 English Paper Number of Questions Asked |
|---|---|
| Passages |
Available Soon |
| Close Test |
3-5 |
| Vocabulary (Synonyms & antonyms) |
2-3 |
| Fillers & Prepositions |
3-4 |
| Sentence Formation |
9-11 |
| Fill in the Blanks |
4-6 |
| Sentence Improvement |
2-3 |
| Homophones |
3-4 |
| Idioms and Phrases |
7-10 |
| Par Jumble |
3-5 |
| Spotting Errors |
10-12 |
UPSC CDS 1 English Question Paper 2025
The candidates will be able to check the CDS 1 English question paper for the CDS 1 exam in the table below. The UPSC CDS English question paper can help the candidates to practice, calculating their expected marks from the provisional answer key and more:
| CDS 1 2025 English Question Paper |
|
|---|---|
| CDS 1 English Question Paper 2025 (Set A) PDF |
|
| CDS 1 2025 English Answer Key Set A PDF ( by Major Kalshi) |
|
Also Read:
CDS 1 Exam 2025: GK Analysis (Section-Wise)
The CDS 1 GK exam is concluded. Here, we will provide the number of questions asked in the CDS 1 exam in GK. Check below for CDS 1 2025 section-wise GK analysis.
| Topic |
CDS 1 GK Paper Number of Questions Asked |
Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| History |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Geography |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Polity |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Economics |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Environment |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Science & Technology, Defence questions |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
| Current Affairs |
Available Soon |
Available Soon |
UPSC CDS 1 2025 GK Question Paper
Candidates can download the CDS 1 question paper for GK from the table provided below after the exam is concluded on April 13, 2025.
| CDS 1 2025 GK Question Paper |
|
|---|---|
| CDS 1 GK Question Paper 2025 (Set A) PDF |
|
| CDS 1 2025 GK Answer Key PSD Set B ( by Major Kalshi) |
|
CDS 1 2025 Shift Timings
Candidates can check below the shift timings of the CDS 1 2025 exam:
| Shift |
Time |
Subject |
Subject-Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 |
9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM |
English |
11 |
| Shift 2 |
12:30 PM to 02:30 PM |
General Knowledge |
12 |
| Shift 3 |
04:00 PM TO 06:00 PM |
Elementary Mathematics |
13 |
UPSC CDS Previous Year Papers
The candidates can check the CDS English question paper and GK question paper for the CDS 1 exam in the table below. The UPSC CDS question paper can help the candidates to practice, calculating their expected marks from the provisional answer key and more:
CDS English Question Papers
| CDS 2 English Question Paper 2024 | |
|---|---|
| CDS 2 English Question Paper 2024 | Click Here |
| CDS 2 English Answer Key for all Sets ( by Major Kalshi) | |
| CDS 1 English Question Paper 2024 | |
|---|---|
| CDS 1 English Question Paper 2024 | Click Here |
| CDS English Previous Year Question Papers | |
|---|---|
| CDS 2 English 2023 Question Paper | Click Here |
| CDS 1 English 2023 Question Paper | Click Here |
| CDS 1 English 2022 Question Paper | Click Here |
| CDS 1 English 2021 Question Paper | Click Here |
CDS GK Question Papers
| CDS 1 General Knowledge Question Paper 2024 | |
|---|---|
| CDS 1 GK Question Paper 2024 | Click Here |
| UPSC CDS GK Previous Year Question Paper | |
|---|---|
| CDS 1 GK Question Paper 2023 | Click Her |
| CDS 2 GK Question Paper 2023 | Click Here |
| CDS 1 GK Question Paper 2022 | Click Here |
| CDS 1 GK Question Paper 2021 | Click Here |
UPSC CDS Answer Key 2024
The candidates preparing for the CDS exam using the previous years' question paper will need the answer key to analyse their performance in the exam. The candidates can download the CDS answer key through the link given below. The candidates have to compare their responses with the answer key to get the marks.
CDS Answer Key Download Link: Year Wise CDS Answer Key
CDS Exam Pattern 2024 for SSB Interview
The SSB Interview for IMA, INA, and AFA is for 300 marks each while for OTA, it is 200. The SSB Interview procedure consists of two stages: I and II. Only those candidates who qualify the stage I are permitted to appear in stage II. The details of both stages are given below:
- Stage I comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT)
- Stage II comprises Interviews, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and Conferences. These tests are conducted over days
Read More:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
Some of the books, help candidates in their CDS preparation are given below:
- High School English Grammar & Composition Edition by Wren and Martin
- Objective General English by SP Bakshi
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- English Grammar & Composition by S.C Gupta
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
The authority released a total of 453 vacancies for the CDS 2 exam 2025 for admission to the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy for courses.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
It is advised to the candidates to reach the CDS exam centre one hour before the given time. They should carry hall ticket along with them otherwise they will not be able to give the exam.
C
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Yes, the English section of the CDS exam is scorable if it is prepared properly. Usually the difficulty level of the exam is moderate.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Candidates can check the cut off marks for the CDS exam by visiting the official website at upsc.gov.in. The UPSC will release the cutoff according to the academy or course.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
The methods to check the CDS cut off marks is provided below:
- Visit at upsc.gov.in.
- Click on the :Examination" tab.
- Go to the "Cut Off Marks" dropdown menu.
- Click on the download link and save it for future reference.
I
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 months ago
Yes. In the CDS exam there is a negative marking. One-third mark will be deducted for an incorrect answer. No mark will be deducted for unanswered questions.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 months ago
The CDS exam is conducted offline or pen and paper mode. Objective questions will be asked in the examination. Candidates need to mark their choices of answers in the sheet that was provided during the exam. CDS 1 2026 notification will be released on December 10.
J
Contributor-Level 6
The CDS 2 2025 answer key will be released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on its official website a few days or a couple of weeks after the exam is over. Several coaching institutes may also release the unofficial CDS answer keys shortly after the conduction of an exam.