CDS Full Form: What is the Full form of CDS Exam?

What is CDS Full Form?

CDS full form is Combined Defence Services exam and is conducted twice a year in April and September. It is a national-level exam conducted to recruit candidates for officer posts. The selection process comprises written exam and SSB interview. The minimum educational qualification needed to appear for CDS exam is graduation from a recognised Indian university.

CDS Full Form Overview

Candidates can check below the overview of CDS 2023.

Parameters	Details
Name of exam	Combined Defence Services Examination
Conducted  by	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam level	National
Exam frequency	Twice a year (April and September)
Exam mode	Offline
Exam stages	Written exam and SSB Interview
No of questions	Elementary Maths: 100 General English: 120 General Knowledge: 120
No.of papers	Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Air Force Academy (AFA): Three (English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics) Officers’ Training Academy (OTA): Two (English and General Knowledge)
Total marks	Written Exam IMA, INA and AFA: 300 OTA: 200 SSB Interview IMA, INA and AFA: 300 OTA: 200
Marking scheme	One mark for the correct answer 0.33 marks deducted for wrong answers

CDS Full Form: Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the CDS exam, candidates need to fulfil the following CDS eligibility parameters.

CDS Age Limit

CDS age limit as per CDS 1 and 2 exams is given below.

CDS 1

• For Indian Military Academy (IMA), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply
• For Indian Naval Academy (IMA), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply
• Candidates applying for Air Force Academy should be between 20 to 24 years as on January 1, 2023. They must have been born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2003
• For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for men), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1998, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply
• For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course), candidates should be unmarried and born not earlier than January 2, 1998, and not later than January 1, 2004

CDS 2

• Candidates for IMA should be unmarried and must have been born not earlier than July 2, 1999, and not later than July 1, 2004
• Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than July 2, 1999, and not later than July 1, 2004, can apply for INA
• To apply for AFA, the age of candidates should be between 20 and 24 years as on July 1, 2023. They must have been born not earlier than July 2, 1999, and not later than July 1, 2003. The upper age limit of candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxed upto 26 yrs (i,e born not earlier than July 2, 1997, and not later than July 1, 2003)
• To apply for the OTA course (SSC Men), candidates must be unmarried and must have born not earlier than July 2, 1998, and not later than July 1, 2004
• Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees who have not remarried are eligible to apply. They must have been born not earlier than July 2, 1998, and not later than July 1, 2004

CDS Qualification

• For IMA and Officers’ Training Academy, the required educational qualification is Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university
• For Indian Naval Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognised university
• For Air Force Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognised university. They must have studied Physics and Mathematics in Class 12

CDS Physical Standards

The height and weight standards for CDS exam are given below.

Height in Centimetres (Without shoes)	Weight in Kgs.	Weight in Kgs.	Weight in Kgs.	Weight in Kgs.
	18 years	20 years	22 years	24 years
152	44*	46	47	48
155	46	48	49	50
157	47	49	50	51
160	48	50	51	52
162	50	52	53	54
165	52	53	55	56
168	53	55	57	58
170	55	57	58	59
173	57	59	60	61
175	59	61	62	62
178	61	62	63	64
180	63	64	65	66
183	65	67	67	68
185	67	69	70	71
188	70	71	72	74
190	72	73	74	76
193	74	76	77	78
195	77	78	79	81

CDS Nationality 2023

Candidates for the CDS test must be single and one of the following:

A person of Indian descent who has migrated from Sri Lanka, Burma, Pakistan, and the East African nations of Uganda, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, Malawi, and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India is considered to be either

• an Indian citizen,
• a subject of Nepal, or
• a person of Indian origin.

Candidates in categories (ii) and (iii) must present their eligibility certificate, which was given by the Indian government. The requirement for an eligibility certificate. However, applicants who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal will not need a certificate of eligibility.

CDS Exam Pattern

CDS exam pattern 2023 is divided into a written exam and SSB Interview. The written exam for IMA, INA, and AFA comprises three sections: English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics. The test paper for admission to OTA comprises two sections: English and General Knowledge. Each section is held for two hours. The total marks of the test for IMA, INA, and AFA are 300, while it is 200 for OTA. The SSB Interview for IMA, INA, and AFA carries 300 marks each while it is 200 marks for OTA. The SSB Interview procedure consists of two stages: I and II. Stage I of SSB Interview comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT) and Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and Conference.

CDS Syllabus

CDS syllabus is given below for different subjects.

Subjects	Topics
English	Antonyms, Sentence improvement, Comprehension, Synonyms, Spotting Errors, etc.
General Knowledge	Economics, Current Awareness, Defence, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, etc.
Elementary Maths	Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, and Statistics, etc.

CDS Selection Process

The CDS selection process is divided into two stages-written exam and SSB interview. Candidates who qualify the written exam are called for SSB interview. To be acceptable, candidates have to secure the minimum qualifying marks separately in the written examination and SSB test as fixed by the Commission and Service Selection Board respectively. The candidates will be placed in the order of merit on the basis of the total marks secured by them in the written examination and in the SSB tests. The final selection will be made in order of merit subject to medical fitness and suitability in all other respects and number of vacancies available.

CDS Full Form Salary

The starting CDS salary, i.e. training stipend is INR 56,100 per month. On successful commissioning, the officer will be in the pay matrix of level 10. The rank-wise CDS salary is given in the table below.

Rank	Level	Salary (In INR)
Lieutenant	Level 10	56,100 -1,77,500
Captain	Level 10 B	61,300- 1,93,900
Major	Level 11	69,400-2,07,200
Lieutenant Colonel	Level 12A	1,21,200-2,12,400
Colonel	Level 13	1,30,600-2, 15,900
Brigadier	Level 13A	1,39,600-2,17,600
Major General	Level 14	1,44,200-2,18,200
Lieutenant General HAG Scale	Level 15	1, 82, 200-2,24,100
HAG Scale	Level 16	2,05,400 – 2,24,400
VCOAS/Army Cdr/ Lieutenant General (NFSG)	Level 17	2,25,000 (fixed)
COAS	Level 18	2,50,000 (fixed)

CDS Preparation Tips & Tricks

CDS is one of the most highly competitive exams in the country. To ace the competition, candidates need to follow a proper preparation strategy. Some tips and tricks to crack CDS exam are shared below:

• Follow a proper preparation strategy
• Understand the exam pattern and syllabus
• Solve previous years' question papers
• Cover all the topics given in the syllabus
• Clear concepts of each and every topic

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