Combined Defence Service exam is conducted by Union Public Service Commission twice every year for recruitment to office cadre of the Army, Navy and Air force.
Candidates qualifying the written test are interviewed by the Service Selection Board and if finally selected, depending upon the choice given by the candidates and their merit list ranking, are sent to one of the following institutes for orientation training:
(a) Indian Military Academy , Dehradun
(b) Naval Academy, Goa
(c) Air Force Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad
(d) Officers Training Academy ,
Chennai (e)
Officers Training Academy, Chennai 18th SSC Women (NonTechnical)
Women candidates are eligible for OTA (Officers Training Academy, Chennai) only
Those joining the first three institutes get permanent commission. Cadets passing out of Officers Training Academy get short service commission. Applicants are required to mention their preferences while filling up the application forms
| Date of CDS exam | 14th Feb 2016 |
| Objective of CDS | Recruitment into Army, Navy and Air Force. |
| Courses for which CDS Exam is conducted | Permanent Commission (PC) Courses:-> Indian Military Academy (IMA Course at Dehradun), Indian Naval Academy (INA Course at Ezhimala), Indian Airforce Academy (IFA Course at Hyderabad). Short Service Commission (SSC) Course:-> Officers Training Academy (SSC Non Technical Course for Men), Officers Training Academy (SSC Non-Technical Course for Women) at Chennai |
| Course Starting Date | a) 1st Jan 2017 for IMA, INA and Air Force b) April 2017 for Officers Training Academy |
| Selection Procedure | Two Stages ( Stage I-> Written Test), Stage II ->5 day SSB Interview Procedure (to be held tentatively in Aug 2016)) |
| Vacancies | (200 for IMA, 45 for INA, 32 for Air force, 175 for OTA -Males, 05 for OTA -females) -Total 457 |
| Mode of Applying | ONLY Online (www.upsconline.nic.in) |
| Date of Notification | 7th Nov 2015 |
| Last date for filling of application | 4th Dec 2015 till 11:59 P.M |
| Any Documents to be submitted | NO (However, the documents will be required if a candidate qualifies for Stage II – SSB Interviews) |
| Fees | Rs 200 (fee exempted for Females, SC, ST) |
| Eligibility Criteria -Educational qualifications | a) For IMA, any graduate b) For INA, degree in Engineering required c) For AFA, degree in Engg OR any graduate (but with Physics/Maths at 10+2 level) d) For OTA (both Men & Women), any gradutae Any one in the final year can ALSO apply. (However, the certificates need to be submitted by 13th Nov 2016 for PC courses and by 1st Feb 2017 for SSC Courses |
| Eligibility Criteria – Date of Birth (DoB) for CDS -Feb 2016 | a) For IMA, DoB should be from 2nd Jan 1993 to 1st Jan 1998. b) For INA, DOB should be from 2nd Jan 1993 to 1st Jan 1998. c) For AFA, DoB should be from 2nd Jan 1993 to 1st Jan 1997 d) For OTA (Men), DOB should be from 2nd Jan 1992 to 1st Jan 1998 e) For OTA (Women), DoB should be from 2nd Jan 1992 to 1st Jan 1998 |
| Exam Pattern | Maths (100 qs, 2 hrs), English (120 qs, 2 hrs), GK (120 qs, 2 hrs). Each paper (100 marks). However, any one applying for OTA will have to appear for ONLY English & GK |
| Type of questions | Multiple Choice Questions (Paper based test) |
| Number of Questions/Marks | Maths (100 qs), English (120 qs), GK (120 qs):-> 100 marks for each paper. |
| Number of choices for each question | 4 (a, b, c, d), Only one answer correct |
| Negative marking | One-third of the marks assigned to the question |
| Cut off marks for getting a call for Stage II (Interviews) | It varies across the year. In 2014, it was 99 marks for IMA and Navy , 129 marks for Airforce, 78 marks (out of 200) for Officers Training Academy |
| Number of cities (written test) | 41 |
notification more details: CDS-I-2016
