CDS Exam 2023: Result (Soon), Expected Cutoff, Merit List

UPSC CDS result can be announced soon on the official website of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). CDS 2 exam was successfully conducted on September 3, 2023, at over 75 exam centers across the country. More than 5 lakh candidates appeared in the exam for 349 vacancies. Read More: CDS Result 2023

CDS Cut off 2023 for the written examination will likely be around 134-138 for admission to Indian Military Academy. The CDS cut off is likely to be higher for Air Force Academy and lower for Indian Naval Academy. Candidates who clear the cut off will be called for the SSB Interview round. It is to be noted that UPSC releases the cut off after the completion of the whole examination process.

The Union Public Service Commission has recently released its exam calendar for the year 2024. According to the exam calendar released by UPSC on its official website, the CDS 1 exam 2024 is scheduled to be conducted on April 21, 2024. The CDS 2 exam 2024, as per the official calendar, will be held on September 01, 2024. UPSC has also notified the registration dates in the exam calendar for both CDS 1 & CDS 2 exams. Aspiring students can check the CDS exam dates 2024 in the article below.

CDS Exam 2023: Highlights

Particulars	Details
Name of the Exam	Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE)
Conducting Authority	Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Frequency of the Exam	Twice a year
Mode of the Exam	Online
Duration of the Exam	6 Hours (For IMA, INA & AFA) & 4 Hours (For OTA)
Medium of Language	English and Hindi

What is CDS Exam 2023?

The Combined Defence Services examination, also known as the CDS examination, is conducted by UPSC for students who are willing to join the Indian Military Academy, Indian Air Force Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy. The exam is conducted for students who are either graduated or in the final year/semester of their graduation. The CDS exam 2023 is conducted twice a year in April and September.

CDS Notification 2023

The UPSC releases the CDS notification on its official website. The CDS 1 exam 2023 notification has been released on December 21, 2022. The CDS notification is important for candidates who are appearing for the examination as it contains all important details relevant to the exam. Candidates must download and read the CDS notification PDF to make sure they do not miss out on any important information or changes done by UPSC.

The notification contains information on the CDS eligibility criteria, exam pattern, and syllabus. Candidates should be aware that any modifications to any of the aforementioned will be indicated in the notification. The official notification also lists the physical and medical requirements that each applicant must fulfil in order to join the Indian Armed Forces.

CDS Exam Dates 2024

Students can check the exam dates for CDS 1 & CDS 2 in tables below:

CDS 1 Exam Dates 2024

Particulars	Details
Application Form Starts	December 20, 2023
Application Form Ends	January 9, 2024
Admit Card	April 2024
Exam Date	April 21, 2024
Result	May 2024

CDS 2 Exam Dates 2024

Particulars	Details
Application Form Starts	May 15, 2024
Application Form Ends	June 4, 2024
Admit Card	August 2024
Exam Date	September 01, 2024
Result	October 2024

CDS Exam Dates 2023

The Union Public Service Commission has released the CDS exam calendar for the year 2023 on its official website. The CDS exam date table can be checked below:

Particulars	CDS 1 Exam 2023	CDS 2 Exam 2023
Release of Notification	December 21, 2022	May 17, 2023
Application Begins	December 21, 2022	May 17, 2023
Application Ends	January 10, 2023	June 06, 2023
Exam Date	April 16, 2023	September 03, 2023

CDS Eligibility Criteria 2023

The CDS eligibility criteria include a list of requirements that applicants must meet in order to be considered for the CDS examination. Candidates must meet the criteria related to educational qualifications, age limit, and nationality in order to take the CDS exam.

CDS Eligibility Criteria: Nationality

A candidate must either be a:

(i) Citizen of India

(ii) a Subject of Nepal

(iii) a person of Indian origin who has moved to India from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the 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

CDS Eligibility Criteria: Educational Qualification

Candidates preparing for the CDS exam in 2023 must have graduated or at the very least be taking the final year exam. The following are the specific CDS educational eligibility requirements:

Academies	Educational Qualification
Indian Air Force Academy	Candidates must have a degree from a recognized University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering.
Indian Military Academy & Officers’ Training Academy	Candidates must have a degree or equivalent from a recognized university
Indian Naval Academy	Candidates must have an engineering degree from a recognized university or institute.

CDS Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit

The age limit criteria must be strictly met by candidates who are seeking admission to any of the four academies of the Indian Armed Forces. The CDS age limit criteria as per the CDS 2 notification 2023 are as follows:

Indian Military Academy: Male candidates (unmarried) born not earlier than 2nd July, 2000 and not later than 1st July, 2005 only are eligible.

Indian Naval Academy: Male candidates (unmarried) born not earlier than 2nd July, 2000 and not later than 1st July, 2005 only are eligible.

Indian Air Force Academy: Candidates must be 20 to 24 years as on 1st July 2024 i.e. born not earlier than 2nd July 2000 and not later than July 1, 2004.

Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for Men): Candidates must not be born earlier than 2nd July, 1999 and not later than 1st July, 2005. 

Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course): Candidates should have been born not earlier than July 2, 1999 and not later than July 1, 2005

CDS Exam Pattern 2023

Candidates must have knowledge of the CDS exam pattern if they are seeking admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Indian Air Force Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy. The exam pattern for the CDS exam is tabulated below:

Particulars	Details
Exam Name	Central Defence Services (CDS)
Exam Duration	IMA, INA and AFA - 6 hours OTA - 4 Hours
Exam Mode	Offline
Type of Questions	Objective
Maximum Marks	IMA, INA and AFA - 300 OTA - 200
Language	Both Hindi & English

CDS Marking Scheme

Check out the table below to learn about the CDS marking scheme.

Particulars	Details
English Language	For every correct answer, 0.83 marks will be awarded.  For every incorrect answer, 0.27 marks will be deducted.
General Knowledge	For every correct answer, 0.83 marks will be awarded.  For every incorrect answer, 0.27 marks will be deducted.
Elementary Mathematics	For every correct answer, 1 mark will be awarded. For every incorrect answer, 0.33 marks will be deducted.
SSB Interview Marks	For IMA, INA, and AFA, the CDS SSB interview carries 300 marks, and for OTA, 200 marks.

CDS Syllabus 2023

The detailed CDS syllabus 2023 is outlined in the official notification of the exam released by UPSC. Candidates must download the CDS syllabus PDF to make sure they have in their mind what topics must be covered for the exam. Aspirants can check the syllabus for the CDS exam in the table below:

Subjects	Topics
Mathematics	Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, Statistics
English Language	Reading Comprehension, Sentence Improvement, Jumbled Sentence, Vocabulary (Synonym/Antonym), Fill in the blanks, Spot the Error
General Knowledge	Indian Polity, Indian History, Economics, General Science, Current Affairs

CDS Application Form 2023

With the official notification comes the release of the CDS application form. The CDS 1 application form was made available on December 21, 2022, and the deadline to submit an application was January 10, 2023. According to the official UPSC exam calendar, the CDS 2 application form will be made available on May 17, 2023, with the deadline for submission being June 6, 2023.

How to Fill the CDS Application Form 2023?

The steps to fill out the CDS application form are stated below:

• Visit the official website of UPSC
• Go to Part I of the CDS registration form
• Fill out the personal information, contact details, and preference of academies.
• Submit it and the registration ID will be generated
• Login to the Part II of the CDS online registration with registration credentials.
• Upload scanned images of the photograph and signature
• Select the exam centre and pay the application fee
• Submit the application form

CDS Admit Card 2023

The CDS 1 exam 2023 is scheduled to be conducted on April 16, 2023. The admit card for the same will be released tentatively in March 2023. The CDS 1 admit card will contain the following details:

• Name of the Candidate
• Date of Birth
• Roll Number 
• Category
• Exam Center
• Exam Date
• Exam Timings
• Signature & Photograph

How to Download CDS 1 Admit Card 2023?

To download the CDS 1 admit card, check out the steps below:

• Visit the official UPSC website.
• Candidates will find a link to the CDS E-Admit Card on the home page.
• Candidates must read and accept the instructions page that appears after clicking the link.
• Candidates can then use their Registration ID or Roll Number to download their admit cards.
• Select one of them, then fill out the information as required.
• When you submit your information, the UPSC CDS  admit card will show up on the screen.
• For future use, download and print the admit card.

Read More: CDS Admit Card 2023

CDS Exam Centre 2023

The CDS examination is conducted across multiple exam centres in India. Candidates will be able to check the list of CDS exam centres on the official notification. Candidates will have the opportunity to indicate their preferred exam centre on the application form.

CDS Exam Day Guidelines

Candidates who will receive their CDS admit card will be allowed to take the examination. However, aspirants must follow certain exam day guidelines otherwise they will be barred from taking the exam. It is important candidates must have beforehand knowledge of the guidelines/instructions. The following are exam day guidelines:

• Candidates must mandatorily bring their CDS admit card to the exam centre.
• To make sure there are no mistakes, carefully check your admit card.
• Bring identification documents like an Aadhar card, a driver's license, or a voter ID card along with the admit card.
• No books, papers, calculators, or other items should be brought into the exam room.
• Candidates should refrain from bringing their own rough sheets because the exam centre will provide them.

CDS Answer Key 2023

The UPSC releases the NDA answer key following the conclusion of the recruiting process. However, a number of coaching institutions publish unofficial answer keys following the written examination. Candidates can estimate their likely score using the CDS unofficial answer key.

CDS Result 2023

The CDS result for the written exam is released after the exam is successfully concluded. The CDS result PDF is released by UPSC on its official website. The PDF contains the roll number and names of the candidates who passed the CDS written exam.

SSB Interview Result 2023

On the final day of the interview process, the results of the SSB Interview are released. Candidates are recommended for the academy of their choice if they successfully passed the SSB interview round, which includes a medical examination. It should be noted that the commission might not recommend as many candidates to fill all the positions that were initially advertised.

Read More: CDS Result 2023

CDS Cutoff 2023

After the exam and SSB interview process are successfully completed, the Union Public Service Commission announces the CDS cutoff. The written exam and SSB interview results are taken into consideration when determining the CDS final cutoff. To be placed on the merit list or the list of recommended candidates, candidates must meet the final cutoff. 

The CDS cutoff 2022 has not been released yet. Meanwhile, candidates can check the CDS 1 & CDS 2 cutoff for 2021 below:

CDS 1 Cutoff 2021

Academy	Written Exam	Final Exam
	Aggregate marks of  last qualified candidate	Marks  of  last recommended candidate
IMA	145	268
INA	136	260
AFA	158	281
OTA (Men)	107	189
OTA(Women)	107	191

Note: To qualify for the written exam, candidates must score at least 20% in each paper.

CDS 2 Cutoff 2021

Course	Written Result	Final Result
	Minimum aggregate marks of the last qualified candidate	Marks of last recommended candidate
IMA	138	263
INA	132	256
AFA	148	270
OTA (Men)	102	183
OTA (Women)	102	184

Read More: CDS Cutoff 2023

CDS Vacancy 2023

CDS Vacancy 2023 has been released by UPSC along with the official notification. Interested candidates can check the table below detailing the number of vacancies released for the CDS 1 exam 2023.

Academy	CDS 1 Vacancy
Indian Military Academy (IMA)	100
Indian Naval Academy (INA)	22
Air Force Academy (AFA)	32
Officer Training Academy - Men (OTA)	170
Officer Training Academy - Women (OTA)	17
Total	341

CDS Salary 2023

The CDS salary includes a number of benefits and allowances, including perks, reimbursements, and other benefits. Depending on the rank and location, a serviceman may receive different benefits and allowances.

Students receive an INR 56,100 stipend during their training period. Once they are commissioned into various wings, trainees are compensated with government-specified salaries.

Candidates can refer to the following table for more details on CDS pay:

Ranks	Salary (Per Month)
Lieutenant	INR 56,100/- to INR 1,77, 500/-
Captain	INR 61,300/- to 01,93,900/-
Major	INR 69,400/- to 02,07,200/-
Lieutenant Colonel	INR 01,21,200/- to 02,12,400/-
Colonel	INR 01,30,600/- to 02,15,900/-
Brigadier	INR 01,39,600/- to 02,17,600/-
Major General	INR 01,44,200/- to 02,18,200/-
Lt. General HAG Scale	INR 01,82,200/- to 02,24,100/-
HAG+ Scale	INR 02,05,400/- To  02,24,400/-
VCOAS/ Army Cdr/ Lt Gen (NFSG)	INR 02,25,000/- Fixed
COAS	INR 02,50,000/- Fixed

Read More: CDS Salary 2023

CDS Previous Years’ Question Papers

CDS previous years’ question papers allow them to know the level of questions asked in the exam in the last few years. Aspirants who are preparing for the CDS exam must practice the previous year's question papers as a part of their CDS preparation. The previous year's exam questions also aid candidates in understanding the relevance of question types that are frequently asked in exams.

CDS Mock Test Papers

By solving CDS mock test papers, candidates can learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Practising mock test papers will allow candidates to formulate their CDS preparation strategy based on their performance.

Conclusion

For graduates who want to join the Indian Armed Forces, the CDS defence examination is the most highly coveted. The aforementioned article provides comprehensive details on the CDS exam format, syllabus, and other crucial exam components. To ace the CDS exam, candidates must possess a thorough understanding of every component.