Home » Govt Exams » CDS Exam 2022: Latest News, Date, Eligibility, Salary & Vacancies
Home » Govt Exams » CDS Exam 2022: Latest News, Date, Eligibility, Salary & Vacancies
CDS Exam’s full form is the Combined Defence Service Exams. These CDS Exams get organized twice a year by the UPSC. CDS Exams are for enrolment in the post of Indian Naval, Air Force and Army officers. The CDS Exams usually occur in February and November.
CDS Exams is a national-level defence entrance examination. Millions of Indian people take part in CDS Exams and become defence officers.
The selection of the applicants will be on the basis of a theoretical exam. After that, an interview for intelligence and personality will get taken. The written exams are CDS Exams 1 and CDS Exams 2. Interviews got done by the SSB.
The CDS Exams 1 2022 written exam occurred on 10th April 2022 in offline mode. The result will be declared in the month of May. The CDS Exams 2 2022 will take place in the month of September 2022.
Particulars | Details |
Name | Combined Defence Service Exam |
Abbreviation | CDS Exams |
Organized by | Union Public Service Commission |
Chief of Defense Staff | General Manoj Mukund Naravane |
Exam level | National |
Occurrence | Twice a year |
Mode of Exam | Offline |
Recruitment process | Written examinations and SSB interviews |
Duration | Two hours |
Language of Question Paper | English and Hindi |
Application Fee | INR 200/- |
Exam motive | Enrolment of Indian Naval, Air Force and Army officers |
Vacancies | CDS Exams 1: 345CDS Exams 2: 344 |
No of the exam centers | 41 |
Official Website | https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
The UPSC publishes the notification on their official website in October and August. There are around 400 vacancies every time. The applicants should keep in mind that the number of openings is temporary. It can get altered at any stage by the SSB.
CDS Exam is held twice a year and for the year 2022, the exam is announced for April & September. UPSC has released the CDS exam dates 2022 for the CDS I & CDS II exams along with the UPSC Calendar 2022. As per the notification the CDS I 2022 Exam is scheduled to be held on 10th April 2022 & CDS II 2022 on 04th September 2022. Check all the important dates for the UPSC CDS 2022 exam and set your reminder so you don’t miss any dates.
CDS 2022 Exam Date | ||
Events | CDS-I Dates | CDS-II Dates |
CDS 2022 Notification Release Date | 22nd December 2021 | 18th May 2022 |
Online Registration Start Date | 22nd December 2021 | 18th May 2022 |
Online Registration End Date | 11th January 2022 (6 pm) | 14th June 2022 |
Online Application Withdrawn | 18th to 24th January 2022 | To be notified |
CDS Admit Card Release Date | 3rd week of March 2022 | August 2022 |
CDS Exam Date 2022 | 10th April 2022 | 04th September 2022 |
CDS Answer Key (Unofficial) | 10th April 2022 | 04th September 2022 |
CDS Answer Key (Official) | May 2022 | October 2022 |
CDS Result | May 2022 | October 2022 |
Interview Dates | To be notified soon | To be notified soon |
Final Result | To be notified soon | To be notified soon |
The CDS notification 2022 can be downloaded using the following steps :
The CDS application form 2022 will get released on the official website. The CDS application form consists of 2 parts. One part is that the applicants need to create their ID registration. The second part is that the applicants need to submit their application fees online.
CDS Exam Events | Important Dates for CDS 1 Exam | Important Dates for CDS 2 Exam |
Admit Card | 14 March 2022 | August 2022 |
Exam date | 10 April 2022 | 4 September 2022 |
Result date | May 2022 | October 2022 |
SSB interview | To be informed | To be informed |
Subject Papers | Exam time table |
English language | 9 am – 11 am |
General Knowledge | 12 pm – 2 pm |
Elementary Mathematics | 3 pm – 5 pm |
The fee for the application form for the General Category students is INR 200/-
The reserved category applicants are not required to pay the application fees.
Both online and offline mode of transaction is available for the students. The student can complete the process using Credit Card or Debit Card or Net Banking. The applicant can also deposit cash to any SBI bank branch.
Category | CDS Application fee |
General | 200/- |
SC/ST/Females | Not required |
The educational qualifications differ for various positions.
The lowest age limit for CDS Exams is 19 years.
The age limit also has an essential role in the CDS examination.
Designations | Age limits | Born within |
IMA | 19 – 24 | 2nd July 1998 – 1st July 2003 |
INA | 19 – 24 | 2nd July 1998 – 1st July 2003 |
AFA | 20 – 24 | 2nd July 1998 – 1st July 2002 |
OTA (men and women) | 19 – 25 | 2nd July 1997 – 1st July 2003 |
Gender and Marital Status are also very much necessary.
Designations | Gender | Marital Status |
IMA | Male | Unmarried |
INA | Male | Unmarried |
AFA | Male | Unmarried |
OTA | Male | Married / Unmarried |
OTA | Female | Unmarried |
The applicants whose age is less than 25 years old should remain unmarried. Marriage is not allowed during the training session. Married individuals above 25 years of age get permission to apply.
During the training session, they cannot have any married living quarters. They also cannot live with their family out of the property.
The UPSC has published the CDS vacancy details along with the official notification.
The applicants can read the CDS vacancy details. It will help them to understand the hiring process.
Below are the details for CDS 1 Vacancy and CDS 2 Vacancy according to the designations.
Designations | Course | NCC Vacancies | Total Vacancies |
IMA, Dehradun | 152nd DE course starting from January 2022 | 13 | 100 |
INA, Ezhimala | Executive Branch (General Service) / Hydro course beginning from January 2022 | 6 | 26 |
AFA, Hyderabad | Training Course (Pre–flying) starting from January 2022 | 3 | 32 |
OTA, Chennai | 115th SSC (Non-Technical) Course for Men beginning from April 2022 | Nil | 170 |
OTA, Chennai | 29th SSC (Non-Technical) Course for Women initiating from April 2022 | Nil | 17 |
Total | 22 | 345 |
Designations | Course | NCC Vacancies | Total Vacancies |
IMA, Dehradun | 153rd DE course starting from July 2022 | 13 | 100 |
INA, Ezhimala | Executive Branch (General Service) / Hydro course beginning from July 2022 | 3 | 22 |
AFA, Hyderabad | Training Course (Pre–flying) starting from July 2022 | 3 | 32 |
OTA, Chennai | 116th SSC (Non-Technical) Course for Men beginning from October 2022 | Nil | 169 |
OTA, Chennai | 30th SSC (Non-Technical) Course for Women starting from October 2022 | Nil | 16 |
Total | 19 | 339 |
After getting appointed, a Lieutenant will get INR 56,100 – 1,77,500/- per month. Throughout the training session, other applicants get a fixed salary of INR 56,100/- per month. From Lieutenant to Brigadier, one gets a proper military service salary of INR 15,500/- each month. The applicants can get an idea about the CDS salary structure from the table below.
Positions | Level | Salary | Promotion after |
Lieutenant | Level 10 | INR 56,100 – 1,77,500 | Promotion after the training gets completed |
Captain | Level 10 B | INR 61,300 – 1,93,900 | After two years of service |
Major | Level 11 | INR 69,400 – 2,07,200 | After six years of service |
Lieutenant Colonel | Level 12 A | INR 1,21,200 – 2,12,400 | After thirteen years of service |
Colonel | Level 13 | INR 1,30,600 – 2,15,900 | After fifteen years of service |
Brigadier | Level 13 A | INR 1,39,600 – 2,17,600 | After twenty-three years of service |
Major General | Level 14 | INR 1,44,200 – 2,18,200 | After twenty-five years of service |
Lieutenant General | Level 15 | INR 1,82,200 – 2,24,100 | After twenty-eight years of service |
HAG + Scale | Level 16 | INR 2,05,400 – 2,24,400 | After twenty-six years of service |
VCOAS/ Lieutenant General / Army Cdr | Level 17 | INR 2,25,000 (allotted) | No limitations |
COAS | Level 18 | INR 2,25,000 (allotted) | No limitations |
Applicants can download the previous year’s papers for better knowledge. The CDS Exam syllabus gets organized based on the questions from three sections. They are General Knowledge, Elementary Math, and English Language. All the appeared applicants can later see their results on the official website of UPSC. Even the UPSC CDS syllabus is available on the same website.
The syllabus for all posts is the same except for CDS OTA. The CDS OTA syllabus does not have a mathematical element to it. It comprises of only General Knowledge and English Language. However, CDS Maths Syllabus for other candidates only concerns concepts learned until Grade 10 but on a higher and more complex level.
Some candidates get selected for SSB interviews. These successful applicants are then designated for the particular post by the SSB. A total of 6,552 applicants get shortlisted for SSB interviews. The question paper gets divided into three sections. They are General Knowledge, Mathematics, and the English language. The applicants should be well aware of the subjects as well as the topics for the examination.
Subject Papers | Topics |
General Knowledge |
|
English language |
|
Elementary Mathematics |
|
The CDS 2022 examination pattern gets classified into two parts.
The examination pattern for OTA is different from IMA, INA, and AFA. CDS examination pattern for IMA, INA, and AFA IMA, INA, and AFA has three subjects. The total marks of the subjects are 300.
Subject Papers | Marks | Time scale |
General Knowledge | 100 | 2 hours |
English | 100 | 2 hours |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | 2 hours |
OTA has two subjects. The total marks of the subjects are 200.
The total time scale is 4 hours.
Subject Papers | Marks | Time scale |
GK | 100 | 2 hours |
English | 100 | 2 hours |
Know More – CDS Exam Pattern and Syllabus
The CDS preparation needs serious hard work and dedication. Candidates are requested to go through as many CDS books as possible to qualify the exam.
The CDS admit card got released on the official website of UPSC. The admit card always gets released three weeks before the examination. The applicants have to visit the official website. Next, The applicant should log in to their account with their Roll No and Registration No.
Then the applicant gets advised to go through the admit card. The applicant has to check whether the information is correct or not. After that, the applicant can download the admit card. They had to bring it to the exam centre. Or else, the applicant would not get permitted to appear for the examination.
If the applicants find any difficulty in the Admit Card, then they will not get permission to sit in the exam.
Know More – CDS Admit Card and Interview call letter
The CDS Exams results get declared on the official website in two stages. Firstly, the Theoretical exam and then, the final selection. The committee first publishes the result of the theoretical examination. Then they publish the final result. The result shows the roll numbers and names of candidates in PDF format. These candidates are then interviewed by the SSB.
The CDS cut off are different for different posts. The lowest is for OTA. Every year the cut-off changes but if a candidate wants to know what a good score is, then the answer to that will be a score of 120-150.
The applicants who sat for the examination get qualified to see the result.
The cut-off is the least score needed to appear in these examinations. The CDS Exams Cut-off score gets released after the CDS Exams Result.
Academics | Theoretical examination | Final examination |
IMA | 120 – 130 | 245 – 255 |
INA | 105 – 120 | 233 – 245 |
AFA | 145 – 150 | 268 – 270 |
OTA (Men) | 73 – 85 | 162 – 170 |
OTA (Women) | 74 – 85 | 164 – 170 |
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Ans. The eligibility criteria for the CDS examination are divided according to the academy to which one is applying. Indian Naval Academy applicants must be Engineering graduates. On the other hand, the Air Force Academy applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Math as compulsory subjects. The Officers Training Academy and Indian Military Academy accept students from any field. All applicants must necessarily be Indian citizens or from Tibetan refugees, Nepal and Bhutan. For the Indian Naval Academy and the Military Academy male unmarried aspirants must be between January 1997 to July 2002. Officer’s training candidates should be between January 1996 to July 2002. The Air Force Academy accepts individuals with birth years between January 1997 to July 2001. Finally, single women, widows and unmarried divorcees born between January 1996 to July 2002 can apply to the Officers Training Academy.
Ans. No, the CDS examination is conducted for admission to the Officer’s Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Indian Military Academy and also to the Air Force Academy. On the other hand, the NDA examination is held for admission to the Army, Air Force, and the Navy departments at the National Defence Academy.
Ans. No, the minimum educational requirement to attempt the CDS examination is a bachelor’s degree. The applicant could have either graduated with a relevant degree or is awaiting the results of the examinations. There are, however, requirements on the type of degree, depending on the institute one is applying to.
Ans. The CDS examination, the first stage, takes place in offline mode. There are three papers English, Elementary Mathematics and also General Knowledge. Candidates applying for the Indian Military, Naval and Air Force Academy need to attempt all three papers. The Officer’s Training Academy candidates need to take only two papers, English and General Knowledge. Each paper is two hours in duration, and the questions are objective.
Ans. Yes, The CDS examination takes part in two parts. Part one is a written examination that consists of three papers. Applicants must obtain a pass in all papers to be eligible for the next round. The following rounds are a personal interview round and a medical test. Once all rounds are done successfully, applicants will receive intimation from taking admission.
Ans. Yes, Candidates who successfully complete phases one and two will have to attend a medical test. This is a crucial step to ensure that the chosen candidate is physically fit. They must have the stamina and be able to carry out all duties of an officer. Any disabilities or diseases, if not present currently but could come up later due to work stress, are also looked into.
Ans. No, there are no known dates for the admit cards of CDS 2. However, the application window is open from May 18, 2022 to June 14, 2022. The tentative date for the release of the CDS 2 admit card is August 2022. After that, the examination date is September 4, 2022, while the declaration of the result is in the month of October 2022.
Ans. UPSC, the conducting body of CDS, has already released some dates for CDS 2. Currently, only the application dates are known. Interested applicants can apply to take the test between May 18, 2022 to June 14, 2022. The actual examination is set to take place on September 4 2022. Any other dates will be released soon.
Ans. The written part of the CDS examination consists of three different papers. There is English, Elementary Mathematics and General Knowledge. Each paper is two hours long and has 100 marks in total each. The question type of all the papers is objective type, and there are three sections. There are negative markings for each wrong answer where a 1/3 mark is deducted.
Ans. The CDS examinations occur twice a year, named CDS 1 and CDS 2. There are three shifts, one each for each subject, on the examination day. The English paper is the first and takes place between 9:00 am to 11:00 am. After that, the General Knowledge paper is between 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, and lastly, Mathematics takes place between 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Ans. Yes, UPSC does release the examination answer key. The answer key is available online after the examination is done and the results are declared. One can expect to access the answer key after the merit list for the CDS examination is also declared. The estimated time period from the declaration of the results to the release of the answer key is around 30 days.
Ans. Yes, women who are not married yet, widows and unmarried divorcees can apply to take the CDS examination. However, women cannot apply to all the academies that the CDS examination offers admission to. The non-technical courses provided at the Officer’s Training Academy are open to women only. For the current year, these courses will commence in October 2023.
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