CDSE

WHAT IS THE CDS/OTA WRITTEN EXAM?

The CDSE Written Examination is conducted by UPSC twice every year. Candidates can Join the following Armed Forces Institutions through CDSE Exam.

• Indian Military Academy (IMA); Dehradun

• Indian Naval Academy; Ezhimala

• Air Force Academy; Hyderabad

• Officers Training Academy; Chennai

HOW TO APPLY FOR CDS/OTA EXAMINATION?

The Notification for the CDS written exam comes probably in the months of November and July. UPSC holds the exam in the months of Feb and October. Students can apply for the CDS/OTA written examination online on the UPSC website.

ELIGIBILITY FOR CDS WRITTEN EXAMINATION

Educational: Graduates- qualified or appearing (final year) are eligible for CDSE written exam. Air Force and Navy candidates must have engineering/physics and mathematics subjects. For details, you can check the notification. For OTA, Graduates and final year students can apply.

Age: 19 ½ to 24 years on the date of joining IMA. For OTA, age must be between 19 ½ to 25 years on the date of joining.

Sex: CDS- Only male candidates can apply. OTA- male and female candidates can apply.

EXAM PATTERN OF CDS/OTA WRITTEN EXAMINATION

The CDS written exam consists of three papers;

1. General Knowledge- 100 Marks
2. English- 100 Marks
3. Mathematics- 100 Marks

All three papers of the CDS written exam are held on the same day and the duration of each paper is of two hours.

The OTA Written exam consists of two papers;

1. General Knowledge- 100 Marks
2. English- 100 Marks

SYLLABUS FOR CDS/ OTA WRITTEN EXAMINATION

The CDS written exam tests the candidates in diverse fields like English, History, Polity, Economics, Geography, Maths, Life Science,  Physics, Chemistry, Current Affairs, GK,   etc.

For the OTA exam, the syllabus is the same as CDS expect. OTA candidates do not have to sit for mathematics paper. For viewing the detailed syllabus, please

Click here to download.

 RESULTS OF CDS/OTA EXAMINATION

UPSC declares the result of the CDSE written exam in 3-4 months after the written exam and published on the UPSC website. 

There is no fixed cutoff in the CDSE exam, based on the merit list, successful candidates receive the call letters for SSB interviews. After the SSB interview, selected candidates have to appear for medical examination. After Medical examinations, the final merit list is prepared and displayed on the UPSC website.