CDS: Application Form, important dates, eligibility criteria

CDS: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is going to invite applications from interested and eligible candidates for recruitment to various posts in Indian Naval Academy, Indian Military Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers Training Academy through Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS) Exam  (Including SSC Women) (Non-Technical) Course. Aspirants should submit their application form for the CDS Exam (2) before the due date.

UPSC organizes CDS examination for recruitment into Indian Naval Academy (INA), Officers Training Academy (OTA), India Military Academy (IMA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) as Commissioned Officers. It is a national level entrance exam held twice in a year i.e. February and November month. Candidates can check the complete details about UPSC CDS Exam (2) 2018 from the article mentioned below on this page.

CDS important dates (Released)

Events	Dates
Exam notifications will be announced on	—
Closing date for application submission	—
Availability of admit card	—
CDS (2) will be held on	—
Result announcement	—

Eligibility criteria

All the aspirants are required to check the eligibility criteria and instructions before applying for the CDS exam. The important eligibility criteria for CDS are as follows:

Nationality: An applicant must either be:

1. A Citizen of India, or
2. A subject of Nepal, or

• A subject of Bhutan, or

1. A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st January, 1962 with the motive of permanently settling in India, or
2. A person of Indian origin who has migrated 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 the purpose of permanently settling in India.

Age, Gender and marital status

For IMA

• Only male candidates are eligible to apply.
• Candidate must be unmarried.
• Applicants should not born earlier than 2nd July 1995 and after than 1st July 2000.

For Indian Naval Academy

• Only male candidates are eligible to apply.
• Candidate must be unmarried.
• Applicants should not born earlier than 2nd July 1995 and after than 1st July 2000 (tentatively).

 For Air Force Academy

• The age of candidate should lies between 20 to 24 years i.e. born not prior than 02nd July 1995 and not after than 1st July 2000 (tentatively)
• Applicants below 25 years of age should not be married. Marriage is not allowed during training.
• Note: The upper age limit for candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) will be given relaxation upto 26 years i.e. born not prior than 2nd July 1993 and not after than 1st July 1999)

For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for men)

• Male applicants either married or unmarried can apply.
• Candidate should not be born prior than 02nd July 1994 and not after than 01st July 2000 tentatively.

For Officers’ Training Academy – (SSC Women Non-Technical Course)

• Unmarried female candidates, or issueless divorcees (having divorce documents) who have not remarried and issueless widows who have not remarried are eligible to apply.
• Candidate should not be born prior than 02nd July 1994 and not after than 01st July 2000 tentatively

Physical standards

Applicants should be physically and mentally fit according to physical standards for admission to Combined Defence Services Examination 2018 as per guidelines mentioned in the official notification.

Educational qualification

Posts	Educational criteria
Indian Naval Academy	Should possess a degree in engineering from a recognized University/Institution
I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy	Must hold a degree of a recognized University or equivalent
Air Force Academy	Should possess a degree of a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or B.Tech

Note: Those who are appearing in the final year/semester Degree course or waiting their final year degree examination results can also apply. However, they have to produce the passing certificate at the time of commencement of course.

CDS Application form: How to apply?

• Interested and eligible candidates can apply online only through visiting the official link at www.upsconline.nic.in
• Candidates can submit only single application form. However, in case he/she submits more than one application form then he/she must ensure that application form with the higher Registration ID is completed in all respects such as name of candidate, exam centre, photograph, signature, application fee etc. It should be noted that the application with higher RID will be considered by the commission and fee paid against one RID will not be adjusted against any other RID.
• Applicants are not needed to submit along with their forms any document in favor of their claims regarding educational qualifications, age, SC/ST/OBC and fee remission etc.

Application Fee

Applicants (excluding Female/SC/ST category who are exempted from payment of application fee) are needed to pay a fee of Rs.200/- either via cash posited in any Branch of SBI, or through using net banking facility of SBI, State Bank of Hyderabad/ State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur/State Bank of Mysore/ State Bank of Travancore/ State Bank of Patiala or through Visa/Master Credit/Debit Card

Admit Card

The applicants who submitted applications successfully will be issued an e-Admission Certificate three weeks before the starting of the examination

Candidates can download the e-Admission Certificate from the UPSC website at www.upsc.gov.in. No e- admission certificate will be sent via post

 Examination centres

The CDS exam will be organized at the following Centres:

Gangtok, Agartala, Panaji (Goa), Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, Imphal, Aizawl, Port Blair, Itanagar, Allahabad, Raipur, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ranchi, Jammu, Bareilly, Sambalpur, Jorhat, Bhopal, Shillong, Kochi, Shimla, Chandigarh, Chennai, Srinagar, Kohima, Cuttack, Srinagar, Kohima, Kolkata, Dehradun, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Madurai, Tirupati, Mumbai, Dharwar, Udaipur, Nagpur, Dispur, Vishakhapatnam

CDS Examination Scheme

The Competitive entrance exam consists of:

• A written examination
• Interview for intelligence and personality test

Exam pattern for Indian Naval Academy, Indian Military Academy, and Air Force Academy:

Subject	Marks	Duration
English	100	2 hours
General Knowledge	100	2 hours
Elementary Mathematics	100	2 hours

Exam pattern for Admission to Officers’ Training Academy

Subject	Marks	Duration
English	100	2 hours
General Knowledge	100	2 hours

Selection Procedure

The candidates will be recruited to the posts offered under IMA, INA, Air Force Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy through Written Examination, Interview and Personality Test. A merit list will be prepared on the basis of the total marks obtained by candidates in the written examination and in the SSB test. The final selection will be strictly based on merit subject to medical fitness and aptness in all other respects and number of posts available.