CDS Syllabus and Exam Pattern Explained: Your Complete Guide to Success

CDS Syllabus: The Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination is a crucial pathway for candidates aspiring to serve in the Indian Armed Forces. Conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the CDS exam assesses candidates’ knowledge across various subjects essential for military training. In this article, we have provided all the necessary information regarding the exam pattern and CDS syllabus of the written test.

Also Read: LIC AAO 2025: Here is all you should know about the Exam Syllabus & Pattern

Selection Process of CDS

• The candidates have to appear in an offline OMR-based examination.
• Based on the marks obtained in the offline exams, eligibility, and the preference given by the candidates, the candidates will be sorted for IMA/ INA/ AFA/ OTA.
• The selected students will be called for SSB interview process.
• On the basis of total marks secured by candidates in the Written Examination of UPSC CDS and the SSB interview, the final allocation/ selection for admission to the IMA/ INA/ AFA/ OTA will be done against the number of available vacancies.

(A) Written Exam

The CDS exam comprises two different patterns based on the academy to which candidates are applying:

For the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA):

• Subjects: English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics
• Total Marks: 300
• Duration: 6 hours (2 hours for each subject)

For Officers Training Academy (OTA):

• Subjects: English, General Knowledge
• Total Marks: 200
• Duration: 4 hours (2 hours for each subject)

(B) SSB Interview Process

The SSB interview process consists of two stage selection processes – Stage I & Stage II. Only those candidates who clear stage I are permitted to appear for stage II. The details are:

• Stage I comprises the Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) Test and the Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT). The candidates will be shortlisted based on a combination of performance in the OIR Test and PP&DT.
• Stage II comprises of Interviews, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the Conference.
• The personality of a candidate is assessed by three different assessors, viz. the Interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO) and the Psychologist.
• There is no separate weightage for each test. The marks are allotted by assessors only after taking into consideration the performance of the candidate holistically in all the tests.
• In addition, marks for the conference are also allotted based on the initial performance of the candidate in the three techniques and the decision of the Board.

Exam Pattern for IMA, INA, AFA

• The CDS Exam comprises 3 subjects, namely, English, General knowledge, and Elementary mathematics.
• The exam will consist of objective-type questions based on the CDS syllabus given below.
• The question papers on General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics will be set bilingually in Hindi and English.
• The time duration will be 02 hours for each subject.

Exam Pattern for OTA

• The questions will consist of objective-type questions.
• The question papers for General Knowledge will be set in bilingually in Hindi and English.
• The exam will comprise 02 subjects, English and General Knowledge, and each subject consists of 100 marks.
• The time duration for each subject is 02 hours.

CDS Syllabus

The detailed syllabus for all three subjects including English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics are given below.

CDS Syllabus for English

The question paper of English will be designed to test the candidates’ understanding of English and work-man-like use of words. Here are the Common topics that are generally seen in the CDS Exam:

CDS Syllabus for General Knowledge

As per the notification of CDS- I 2025, the paper for General Knowledge will contain questions from current events and of such matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects as may be expected of an educated person who has not made a special study of any scientific subject. The paper will also include questions on History of India and Geography of a nature which candidate should be able to answer without special study.

Overall speaking, as a part of CDS Syllabus, candidates should have understanding of the following subjects:

CDS Syllabus for Elementary Mathematics

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