CDS Salary 2024: Basic Pay Scale, Benefits, Perks & Allowances
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CDS full form means the Combined Defence Services Exam. The range of CDS salary is from Rs 56,100 to Rs 2,50,000 per month. The starting CDS officer salary during training is Rs 56,100. Along with the CDS salary, the candidates get a lot of perks and allowances for the CDS Candidates. The high salary and the benefits motivate several candidates to join CDS and serve the nation. CDS salary 2024 is calculated as follows basic pay + grade Pay + allowance + other benefits.
Candidates who want to be in different defence sectors should clear the CDS exam 2024 (Combined Defence Services exam). The candidates undergo rigorous rounds to be selected for the different military academies.
CDS Salary 2024 Overview
Several candidates are recruited annually for different Army, Navy, and Air Force positions. They go through rigorous training and come out as fine officers serving India.
The candidates appearing for the CDS exam 2024 should understand the CDS post and salary per month in detail.
| Name of the Exam | CDS (Combined Defence Services) |
| Exam conducting body | UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) |
| CDS paper pattern | Offline |
| Frequency of the CDS exam | Twice a year |
| Range of CDS salary per month | Rs 56,100 to Rs 2,50,000 per month |
| CDS salary components | Fixed pay + benefits + allowances (As applicable per the post) |
| Factors affecting the salary | Division and rank of the officer |
UPSC CDS Salary Structure 2024
The CDS officer salary 2024 has different components. The components and salary of CDS depends upon:
- Basic salary.
- Allowances.
- Perks and additional pay.
The UPSC CDS salary 2024 is dependent on the division and rank of the officer. The salary lies between Rs 56,100 to Rs Rs 2,50,000. The factors affecting salaries are
- City of posting,
- Cost of living,
- The rank of the officer, and
- Division of the officer
The starting CDS salary officer is paid Rs 56,100 while training. Once the training is completed, the staff is commissioned permanently. They are entitled to get a salary based on level 10. They would get all the arrears during the training period based on their CDS job posts & salary.
Let’s look at the different salaries of CDS officers salary in detail.
| CDS ranks wise salary | CDS army salary per month | Level |
| CDS Lieutenant salary | Rs 56,100 – 1,77,500 | 10 |
| CDS Captain salary | Rs 61,300 – 1,93,900 | 10B |
| Major | Rs 69,400 – 2,07,200 | 11 |
| Lt Colonel | Rs 1,21,200 – 2,12,400 | 12A |
| Colonel | Rs 1,30,600 – 2,15,900 | 13 |
| Brigadier | Rs 1,39,600 – 2,17,600 | 13A |
| Major General | Rs 1,44,200 – 2,18,200 | 14 |
| Lieutenant General HAG Scale | Rs 1,82,800 – 2,24,100 | 15 |
| HAG + Scale | Rs 2,05,400 – 2,24,000 | 16 |
| VCOAS/Lieutenant General NFSG/ Army CDR | Rs 2,25,000 | 17 |
| COAS | Rs 2,50,000 | 18 |
CDS Allowances and Reimbursements
The CDS officers are entitled to different CDS allowances and reimbursements based on their ranks and posting apart from the CDS salary. Let’s look at them in detail.
| Allowances for CDS officers | Component of salary |
| Dearness Allowance (DA) | On par with civilian personnel officers. |
| Flying Allowance | Rs 25,000/ month for pilots (=> Level 10). |
| Kit maintenance allowance | Rs 20,000 annually |
| High Active Field Area allowance | Rs 16,900/month |
| Field Area allowance | Rs 10,500/month |
| Modified field area allowance | Rs 6,300/month |
| High Altitude allowance | Category I Rs 3400/month Category II Rs 5300/month Category III Rs 25,000/month |
| Uniform allowance | Rs 20,000/month |
| Transport allowance | For cities with higher TPTA – Rs 7200/month + DA For other places – Rs 3600/month + DA |
| Children Education allowance | Rs 2250/month |
| Siachen allowance | Rs 42,500/month |
| Free ration | Only allocated to officers in Peace & Field areas |
- The higher TPTA cities are:
| Kanpur | Kolkata |
| Lucknow | Coimbatore |
| Ghaziabad | Jaipur |
| Chennai | Nagpur |
| Pune | Indore |
| Kozhikode | Bengaluru |
| Surat | Delhi |
| Hyderabad | Patna |
- Among the different CDS vacancies 2024, If a CDS officer is provided with a government vehicle, they are not entitled to transport allowance.
- The Children’s Education allowance is necessary for the CDS officer’s salary. The officer is allowed to move their two elder children from Nursery to Class 12.
CDS Perks & Benefits 2024
Besides the salary of CDS army and CDS allowances, the army officers get different CDS perks and benefits for their service. Let’s look at them in detail.
Leave concession in CDS 2024
- All the CDA officers in Army, Navy, and Air Force are entitled to 60 days of annual paid leave.
- They can also take another 20 days of casual leave in a year.
- The CDS officers can encase a maximum of 10 days of leave in a year and their monthly salary.
Leave Travel concession
- The CDS officers can reimburse their unplanned travel expenditures for a maximum of 60 days in their entire professional career.
Other perks and privileges
- The CDS officers and their families are provided with free medical aid.
- The CDS officers are allowed accommodation on concessional rent, group housing schemes, group insurance, canteen facilities, family assistance schemes, and others.
CDS Careers & Growth
The CDS officers get timely promotions for their service as their experience increases along with their CDS officer salary. Let’s look at their CDS career growth over the years.
| CDS Ranks | Time duration |
| Captain | 2 years of commissioned service |
| Major | 6 years of commissioned service |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 13 years of commissioned service |
| Colonel | 15 years of commissioned service |
| Colonel (TS) | 26 years of commissioned service |
| Major General | 25 years of commissioned service |
| Brigadier | 23 years of commissioned service |
| Lieutenant General | 28 years of commissioned service |
| General | No restrictions |
| Lieutenant | Only after completion of the training |
- The salary increment is as per the ranks discussed in the previous sections.
- The allowances and perks are allocated as per the ranks and posts.
To Conclude
The CDS exam recruits candidates for different Army, Air Force, and Navy posts. The starting CDS salary per month is Rs 56,100 during the training. Once the candidates are commissioned, they get the salary per the ranks and posts. The CDS job post decides the CDS highest salary as well as CDS lowest salary.
There has been a significant increase in CDS salary after introducing the 7th pay commission. The CDS officers are well-compensated for their services. They are provided with different allowances and perks along with their salaries.
The CDS salary is quite lucrative and should encourage the candidates to prepare for the CDS exam. The prestige of being a CDS officer can never be compared with anything. Serving the nation requires dedication and strong determination. Every year many candidates apply for the limited seats for CDS. This is a highly competitive exam. So, the candidates have to prepare well to clear the exam.
Also Read : CDS: Latest Exam Syllabus, Pattern, Books & Preparation Tips
FAQs
The CDS salary per month lies between Rs 56,100 to Rs 2,50,000. There are different allowances and benefits attached to the salary.
CDS Bipin Rawat’s monthly salary in rupees was Rs 2,50,000. He was the Chief of Defence staff. He was entitled to different allowances and benefits.
The Chief of Defence Staff receives a salary of Rs 2,50,000 per month.
The salary of the CDS staff head is Rs 2,50,000 per month, along with other perks and allowances.
General Anil Chauhan was appointed the next Chief of Defence Staff on 28 September 2022. The post was filled nine months after the untimely death of former CDS Chief former General Bipin Rawat.
General Anil Chauhan is the current CDS of India.