CDS 2024: Application Form, Exam Date, Eligibility

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the Combined Defence Service 2024 or CDS 2024 exam. As the name itself suggest, this exam will take place to select the candidates for Indian Army, Air force, Navy and Officer’s training academies. CDS 2024 will be conducted twice in a year- once on 21st April 2024 and other on 1st September 2024. The interested candidates need to fill and submit the application form in online mode. Please note that this is an offline exam in which the candidates have to answer in pen and paper mode.

The application form of CDS 2024 exam will start from 20th December 2023 for CDS 1. After clearing the CDS exam, the candidates have to take part in the interview process. The candidates who will clear the interview will become eligible for selection in Air Force Academy (AFA), Indian Military Academy (IMA), Officer’s Training Academy (OTA), Indian Naval Academy (INA).

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CDS 2024

  • Before submitting the application form, the candidate should ensure that they fulfil the eligibility criteria.
  • It is important that the applicants have a valid email ID and phone number in order to apply for the exam.
  • The aspirants should keep all the documents such as a printout of the application form, admit card, scorecard etc. safe until the selection process gets completed.
  • In case a candidate submits multiple application forms then the application form with higher Registration ID will be considered.
  • For any kind of queries regarding the application, candidature etc. the applicants can get in touch with the UPSC Facilitation Centre.
  • The candidature cannot be withdrawn under any circumstances after the submission of the application form.

CDS 2024 Important Dates

The tentative schedule for both CDS I and CDS II is as follows:

Important EventsTentative dates (For CDS I)Tentative Dates (For CDS II)
Release of online application form20th December 202315th May 2024
Last date for the submission of application form9th January 20244th June 2024
Release of Admit CardTo be updatedTo be updated
Date of Examination21st April 20241st September 2024
Declaration of ResultTo be updatedTo be updated
Release of SSB interview call letterTo be updatedTo be updated
Announcement of Final ResultTo be updatedTo be updated

CDS 2024 Eligibility Criteria

The candidates need to fulfill the eligibility criteria below in order to apply for the CDS 2024 exam.

Nationality

The aspirants with the following nationalities are eligible for the exam.

  • A citizen of India
  • A person of Indian origin who has migrated to India from Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Uganda, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with an intention of setting down here permanently.
  • Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1st January 1962 with an intention of setting down here permanently.
  • A subject of Nepal or Bhutan.

Educational Qualification

For Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officer’s Training Academy (OTA)

  • The candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a recognized university.

For Indian Naval Academy (INA)

  • The applicant must have an engineering degree from a recognized institute/ University.

Air Force Academy (AFA)

  • Those candidates who have a bachelor’s degree with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 can apply. In case a candidate has Bachelor of Engineering degree then he/she can also apply.

Note: The aspirant who is going to appear for the final year exam of their bachelor degree in the year 2024 can also apply.

Age Limit and Marital status

For CDS I

For INA and IMA: The male candidate born on or after 2nd January 2001 and before 1st January 2006 can apply.

For AFA: The candidate born on or after 2nd January 2001 (1998 for the applicants with a commercial Pilot licence issued by DGCA) and before 1st January 2005 can apply.

OTA (Men): The unmarried male candidates born between 2nd January 2000 and 1st January 2006 are eligible.

OTA (Women Non-Technical): Unmarried women, issueless widows, divorcees who haven’t remarried, born on or after 2nd January 2000 and before 1st January 2006 can apply.

For CDS II

For INA and IMA: The male candidate born on or after 2ndJuly 2001 and before 1stJuly 2006 can apply.

For AFA: The candidate born on or after 2ndJuly 2001 (1998 for the applicants with a commercial Pilot licence issued by DGCA) and before 1stJuly 2005 can apply.

OTA (Men): The unmarried male candidates born between 2nd July 2000 and 1st July 2006 are eligible.

OTA (Women Non-Technical): Unmarried women, issueless widows, divorcees who haven’t remarried, born on or after 2nd July 2000 and before 1st July 2006 can apply.

Note: Please note that the divorce male/ widower candidate will not be considered as an unmarried male.

Physical Standard

  • It is compulsory of a candidate to be physically fit as per physical standard for CDS exam according to the guidelines of the commission.

Application Form

The candidate looking to appear for the CDS 2024 exam need to fill and submit the application form in online mode through the official website of the commission.

  • To initiate the application process, the candidates have to register themselves on the official website i.e. upsconline.nic.in.
  • In the application form, the candidates have to provide their personal and contact details such as name, gender, email DD, address etc. along with educational detail like qualifying exam etc.
  • In the application form, the aspirant can give their choices of INA, IMA, OTA and AFA as per their preference.
  • Also, the candidates have to provide their choices of exam centre cities in the application form.
  • In addition to the details, the applicants also need to upload their scanned photograph and signature in the application form.
  • It is mandatory for the candidates to pay the application fee online after submitting the application form. The application form without the payment of application fee will be rejected.
  • The candidates are advised to take a printout of the submitted application form for the future requirement. However, there is no need to send this printout to the UPSC office.

Application fee

  • The aspirants need to pay the application fee of Rs. 200/- in order to apply for the CDS Exam 2024.
  • Women as well as SC/ ST candidates are exempted from the application fee.

Mode of Payment

  • The payment of application fee for the CDS exam will take place in online mode using a credit card, debit card or net baking.
  • The interested candidates can also pay the application fee offline using Pay in slip. The pay in slips will be generated at the time of the registration. For the payment of application fee, the candidates have to submit the pay in slip along with cash at any branch of SBI.

Exam Pattern

The exam pattern of the CDS exam is as follows:

  • Mode of Examination: Offline mode (Pen and Paper Based Exam)
  • Type of Questions: Objective Type multiple choice questions
  • Medium of Examination: English and Hindi
  • Negative Marking: 1/3rd of the mark will be deducted for every incorrect answer.
  • Maximum Marks: 300 for IMA, INA and AFA, 200 for OTA
  • Duration of Exam: 2 hours for each paper

For Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and AirForce Academy

SubjectsExam Duration Maximum Marks
English2 Hours100
Elementary Mathematics2 Hours100
General Knowledge2 Hours100

For Officers’ Training Academy

SubjectsExam Duration Maximum Marks
English2 Hours100
General Knowledge2 Hours100

CDS 2024 Syllabus

The syllabus of the CDS 2024 exam is mentioned below:

General Knowledge: Current affairs, Scientific Aspects, History of India, Geography, etc.

English: Questions will be designed in such a way that they test the candidate’s understanding of English and workmanlike use of English

Elementary Mathematics: Algebra, Elementary Number Theory, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Statistics and Geometry

CDS 2024 Admit Card

  • The commission will release the admit card around 3 weeks before the date of exam.
  • In order to download the admit card, the candidates have to visit the official website of the commission and provide details such as registration id, date of birth, father’s name, date of birth etc.
  • In case of any discrepancy with the admit card, the aspirants can contact the commission at least 1 week before the exam.
  • All the important details regarding the date, time and venue of the exam will be mentioned on the admit card.
  • No candidate will be allowed to appear for the exam without a valid admit card.

Result and SSB Exam

  • The applicants will be able to check their result online through the official website.
  • UPSC will prepare a list of candidates who will score equal to or more than the qualifying marks.
  • Then, the candidates have to register themselves on the recruiting directorate website.
  • The applicants successful in the written exam have to appear for the SSB intelligence and personality test.
  • Please note that for the selection, the candidates need to clear both UPSC written exam and SSB personality test.
  • If the candidate is selected for Air Force or Naval aviation then he needs to give Pilot aptitude test.
  • Please note the candidates who wear spectacles on a regular basis will not be considered for the Air Force.
  • Failing in the Pilot Aptitude test will make the candidate ineligible for selection into the Air Force.

Final Selection Procedure

  • The candidates who will clear the SSB test will be shortlisted for the final selection.
  • Please note that the selected candidates have to go through a medical test.
  • After that, the documents of the candidates will be verified in a proper manner.
  • The final selection will be made on the basis of merit, choice filled by the candidates and number of available vacancies.

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