CDS 2023: Application Form (From 21 Dec), Exam Date, Eligibility Criteria

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) annually organizes combined defence services examination two times a year to select the candidates for various defence services. Aspirants must apply for CDS 2023 examination to be eligible for recruitment into Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Officers Training Academy.

Before proceeding for the application form, candidates should ensure that they fit the eligibility requirements set by the authority for appearing in CDS 2023. The final selection of the candidates will depend upon their performance in the written test and SSB test. Only medically fit candidates will be considered for selection in different defence services. For more information, keep reading the article.

Latest Update: CDS 2023 application form is to be available from 21st December 2022.

Important Dates for UPSC CDS 2023

The official schedule for CDS 2023 is as follows:

Activities	For CDS I	For CDS II
Online application form release by	21st December 2022	17th May 2022
Application submission deadline	10th January 2023	6th June 2023
Date of releasing admit card	January 2023, 3rd week	August 2023
Examination date	16th April 2023	3rd September 2023
Result date	May 2023	December 2023
Interview call letter	August 2023, 4th week (for IMA) November 2023, 4th week (for OTA)	January 2024
Final result	December 2023	February 2024

Eligibility Criteria for CDS 2023

The eligibility criteria laid down by UPSC for the CDS examination are as follows-

Nationality

A candidate must be unmarried and must either be:

• a Citizen of India, or
• a subject of Bhutan, or
• a subject of Nepal, or
• a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1^st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
• a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Age limit, Sex, and Marital status

For IMA	A candidate must be an unmarried male and must not have born earlier than 2nd January 2000 and not later than 1st January 2005.
For INA	Only unmarried male candidates who have not born earlier than 2nd January 2000 and not later than 1st January 2005 can apply.
For Air Force Academy	The age of the candidates should lie between 20 years and 24 years as on 1st January 2024
For OTA (Men)	Male candidates, who are unmarried and have born not earlier than 2nd January 1999 and not later than 1st January 2005, can apply.
For OTA (Women)	Unmarried/issueless widows, who have been born not earlier than 2nd January 1999 and not later than 1st January 2005, can apply.

Educational Qualification

Post	Qualification
For IMA and OTA	Candidates should possess a degree in any discipline or its equivalent from a recognized university.
For INA	Candidates should hold a degree in engineering from a recognized university.
For Air Force Academy	Candidates should hold a degree in any discipline with physics and mathematics at 10+2 level.

CDS 2023 Application Form

To apply for the exam, candidates need to visit the official website of the UPSC. Aspirants can apply for the exam only via online mode and no other mode shall be considered by the authority. Before proceeding for the application form, candidates must register themselves by providing their name, parent’s name, DOB, email, mobile number etc.

After successful registration, aspirants can proceed to fill the other part of the application form where they need to specify the educational details, uploading of signature and photograph, fee payment etc. The particulars in the application form should be filled with extreme care. Without paying the necessary application fee (if applicable), the applications received by the authority will be rejected. Aspirants must take a printout of the form for future use.

Application Fee

General and OBC category candidates need to pay Rs. 200/- towards the application fee for the CDS exam. However, those belonging to SC/ST category need not pay the application fee. Female candidates are also exempted from paying the application fee.

Mode of Payment: The fee can either be paid in cash by visiting any branch of SBI or through net banking, credit card and debit card.

CDS 2023 Exam Pattern

Candidates should make themselves familiarize with the exam pattern to know how it will be conducted. Here’s the exam pattern of the CDS examination-

• Exam Mode: Offline (pen and paper-based exam)
• Exam Duration: 2 hours for each paper
• Exam Language: English and Hindi
• Type of questions: Objective type (MCQs)
• Marking Scheme:83 marks will be awarded for every correct answer in English & General Knowledge and for each right response in Elementary mathematics, 1 mark will be given.
• Negative Marking:33 (one-third) marks will be deducted for marking the wrong answer

CDS 2023 Syllabus

CDS syllabus will be based on the curriculum prescribed for class 11^th and 12^th .The syllabus of UPSC CDS 2023 is as follows-

English: Antonym, Synonym, Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Sentence Correction, Error Spotting, Fill in the Blanks.

Mathematics: Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, Statistics and Probability, etc.

General Knowledge: Indian History, Geography, Polity, Economics, Environment, World Affairs, Sports, Awards, Culture etc.

Preparation Tips for CDS 2023

Here are some vital preparation tips for the aspirants through which they can score good marks in the UPSC CDS exam-

1. Always start your preparation by reading NCERTs first.
2. Make a practical timetable and follow it religiously. Work on your time management skills.
3. Don’t waste time in daydreaming, on social media, on mobile phones, on attending weddings and stay away from relatives during the exam preparation.
4. Revise the entire syllabus at least thrice. Solve mock tests for practice.
5. Focus on the static part of general knowledge. Most of the time candidates put all of their efforts into preparing current affairs. However, the past year trends show that most of the paper includes static part of G.K only.
6. Be confident and keep your attitude positive.
7. Do not start learning a new topic from scratch. Use the last week to revise the topics you have already studied.

Recommended Books

Candidates can prepare for the exam with the help of the notable reference books in order to clear the exam with flying colors-

1. English: Work power made easy by Norman Lewis, and English grammar by S.P Bakshi.
2. General Knowledge: Lucent’s G.K, General studies by Arihant publication and Indian Polity by Laxmikant.
3. Mathematics:S Aggarwal and R.D Sharma.

CDS 2023 Admit Card

Candidates will be issued the CDS exam admit card three weeks prior to the commencement of the exam. The admit card will be available to download on the official website of the UPSC. Candidates need to note that no hall ticket will be sent to them via post. They must download the admit card from the official portal and take the printout of the same for further reference. Without the admit card, no candidate will be permitted to take the exam. A valid ID proof is also needed to be brought along with the hall ticket.

CDS 2023 Result and Selection

The result of the CDS 2023 will be announced on the official web portal of UPSC. Candidates will be selected based on the marks secured by them in the written exam, and performance in the SSB test. After clearing the SSB Test, candidates will undergo medical examination where the unfit candidates will be sent back and only those who are claimed fit by the medical officer in charge shall be given the provisional selection letter.

Frequently Asked Questions