Defence services are for those young and courageous individuals who nurture a patriotic sentiment and who have dedicated their lives to defending their country and its people. A candidate with the above sentiments can join the nation’s defence services after taking the Combined Defence Services Examination.

Combined Defence Services Examination is conducted by UPSC twice every year in the months of February and September for recruitment to officer cadre of the Army, Navy and Air force.

The finally selected candidates are sent to one of the following institutes for training:

(a) Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun
(b) Naval Academy, Goa
(c) Air Force Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad
(d) Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai

Candidates selected in the Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy get permanent commission, however cadets passing out of Officers Training Academy get short service commission.

 Eligibility :

The eligibility criteria for this examination are as follows:

Attribute	Indian Military Academy	Naval Academy	Air Force Academy	Officers Training Academy
Age	19-24 Years	19-22 Years	19-23 Years	19-25 Years
Marital Status	Unmarried	Unmarried	Unmarried	Married / Unmarried
Gender	Male	Male	Male	Male
Educational Qualification	Degree from a recognized University	B.Sc. with Physics & Mathematics OR Bachelor of Engineering	Degree from a recognized university (with physics & mathematics at10+2 level) OR Bachelor of Engineering	Degree from a recognized University

Pattern of Examination:

The Combined Defence Services examination comprises of the following stages:

Stages	Question Paper Pattern	Language of Question Paper	Duration	Marks
Stage I : Written Examination	Objective Type Only	English / Hindi	2 hours each paper	100
Stage II: Interview

Subjects :

Attribute	Indian Military Academy	Naval Academy	Air Force Academy	Officers Training Academy
Subjects	English	English	English	English
	General Knowledge	General Knowledge	General Knowledge	General Knowledge
	Elementary Mathematics	Elementary Mathematics	Elementary Mathematics	-

Syllabus:

Following is the syllabus for UPSC Combined Defence Service (CDS) Examination:
ENGLISH (CODE No. 01)
The question paper is designed to test the candidates’ understanding of English and uses of words.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (Code No. 02)
General Knowledge includes knowledge of Current Events, History of India and Geography of nature.

ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS (Code No. 03)
ARITHMETIC: Number System-Natural numbers, Integers, Rational and Real numbers. Fundamental operations-addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots, decimal fractions etc.

Unitary method-time and distance, time and work, percentages, applications to simple and compound interest, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, variation etc.

Elementary Number Theory - Division algorithm. Prime and composite

Intelligence and Personality Test:

All the candidates Qualified in written examination are called for the Interview and put to Intelligence Tests (both verbal and non-verbal) which have been designed to assess the basic intelligence. They are also put to Group Tests such as group discussions, group planning, outdoor group tasks, and asked to give brief lectures on Specified Topics. All these tests are intended to Judge the mental caliber of a candidate. In broad terms, this is an Assessment of his Social Traits, Intellectual Qualities and Interests in Current Affairs.

Tentative Schedule:

Examinations are held twice a year:

(i) Notification of Examination: September-October & April - May

(ii) Conduct of Examination: February & September

Application Form:

The candidates have to apply in the Common Application Form of the UPSC which can be purchased from the designated Head Post Office/Post Offices: throughout the country. Each such form can be used only once and only for one examination. In case of difficulty in obtaining Application Forms, the candidates should immediately contact the concerned Post Master or UPSC's "Forms Supply Monitoring Cell" Over Telephone No.011-23389366 / Fax No.011-23387310.

Examination Centres:

Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Cuttack, Delhi, Dharwar, Dispur (Guwahati), Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kohima, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa), Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Vishakhapatnam. The centres and the date of holding the examination are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission.

Various concessions, like reservation in posts, are available for NCC cadets appearing in the examinations.

How to Prepare:

Coaching Institutes: There are many coaching institutes across India for the preparation of this examination. Before joining any such institute, you must check for the following: