CDS Exam Information and Preparation

CDS (Combined Defense Services) is Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) and is held   twice a year in February and November usually. By clearing this exam successfully, candidate can get into Indian Army/ Air Force Academy/ Naval Academy

Age limit for CDS Exams :

• Indian Military Academy (IMA): 19 to 24 years
• Officers Training Academy (OTA): 19 to 25 years
• Air Force Academy: 19 to 23 years
• Naval Academy: 19 to 22 years

The candidate should be unmarried

Educational qualification for CDS Exam :

Indian military academy  & officers training academy : Degree of a recognized University or equivalent.

Naval Academy : B.Sc. with Physics & Mathematics or B.Engineering

Air Force Academy : B.Sc. with Physics and/or Mathematics or B. Engineering

Written exam, followed by a personal interview (Intelligence and Personality Test) and a medical examination consists in the pattern of this exam.

To clear this exam successfully, aspirants need to put all the hard work and focus together for six months

What is CDS exam ?

Combined Defense Services (CDS) is an all India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The successful candidate may get into these fields after clearing this exam :

• Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for permanent commission in the Indian Army
• Officers Training Academy in Chennai for short-service commission in the Indian Army
• Naval Academy, Goa, for Commission in the General Services in the Indian Navy
• Air Force Academy,  Hyderabad for Commission in the Indian Air Force.

Every aspirant who is appearing for degree or equivalent examination is also eligible to take these exams. However, such candidates will be required to submit the proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination within a date as specified in the Commission's Notice for the Examination.

Exam pattern for CDS Exam ?

A written test is conducted followed by a personal interview and a medical test.

Question paper pattern - IMA, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy

Total marks: 300

Distribution of marks for cds exam :

Examination centers Centers in all of India are given as follows :

Agartala, Ahmadabad, Aizawl, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Bombay, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Cochin, Cuttack, Delhi, Dharwar, Dispur, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kohima, Lucknow, Madras, Madurai, Nagpur, Panaji, Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Vishakhapatnam.

Preparing for CDS examination :

English :

The total number of marks in this particular exam is 200 and will be objective in nature. These questions will test the candidate’s knowledge in the language.

Preparation tips :

Students can develop the habit of reading the newspaper regularly to improve in this section. Reading the newspaper, magazines and articles improves not only one's vocabulary but also one's knowledge about the subject

Basic grammar books can also increase one’s depth in reading.

Try to learn a couple of new words on a daily basis by reading newspaper as mentioned above. You will soon find that you are developing a good hold over the language by getting this habit.

Also try to learn their antonyms and synonyms and also how to use the words in sentences when reading some words.

Solve previos year question papers to know what kind of questions are provided by the UPSC.

General Knowledge :

The General Knowledge section of CDS exam will consist of 100 marks and will be objective in nature. The candidate will be tested about his knowledge on various subjects including current affairs, history, and geography, scientific relation to day-to-day experiences, generic scientific observations, which is common topics of general knowledge, as may be expected of an educated person who does not have specialization in any particular subject.

Preparation tips for CDS Exam :

Read newspapers regularly and watch television for the latest happenings in and around the world.

Refer to past question papers and see the pattern of occurrence of the questions. That will give you an idea as to which topics to concentrate on.

Elementary Mathematics :

The Elementary Mathematics paper will cover topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Menstruation and Basic statistics. Usually the standard is that of matriculation.

Preparation tips for CDS Exams :

Revise all the topics thoroughly so that remain in your knowledge much longer.

Start up with those topics which are on your strong side. After this pass on to the topics that seems difficult to you so that you will get a much longer time to concentrate of the difficult topics

Be clear with all the topics and be hurdle-free.