About the CDS (Combined Defence Services) Examination
The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination for the recruitment of Commissioned Officers in the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Indian Air Force Academy. The CDS examination is held twice a year. UPSC releases the notification for the examination usually in the months of December and May, and the examinations are conducted in April and September respectively. For success in any examination, it is important to know the detailed syllabus for the exam. In this post, we understand the detailed syllabus of CDS examination.
For complete details about the CDS, examination log on to https://shauryabharat.com/officers/upsc-cds-exam/
The Training Academies
The candidates who pass all stages of the CDS examination (Written Exam, Interview, Document verification, and Medical examination) undergo training at the following prestigious training institutions.
- Indian Military Academy (IMA) – It is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and trains officers for the Indian Army.
- Officers Training Academy (OTA) – It is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and trains officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC).
- Indian Naval Academy (INA) – It is located in Ezhimala, Kannur district, Kerala and is a training establishment for the officer cadre of the Indian Naval Service and the Indian Coast Guard.
- Indian Air Force Academy (AFA) – It is located in Dundigal, Hyderabad, Telangana and is a cradle of training for pilots, ground duty, and technical officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Scheme or Pattern of Examination
The UPSC conducts the CDS examination in two stages. The first stage is the written examination which is followed by an SSB interview. The written examination is an offline OMR sheet-based examination. Candidates opting for the Indian Military Academy, Air Force Academy, and Naval Academy have three papers i.e. English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics. However, candidates who opt for Officers Training Academy have only two papers, i.e. English and General Knowledge. Each paper has a weightage of 100 marks and the duration of each exam is 2 hours. The English and General Knowledge question papers consist of 120 questions each while the Mathematics paper consists of 100 questions.
For Indian Military Academy, Air Force Academy, and Naval Academy
| Subject | Marks | Number of Questions | Duration |
| English | 100 | 120 | 2 Hours |
| General Knowledge | 100 | 120 | 2 Hours |
| Elementary Mathematics | 100 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| Total | 300 | 340 |
For Officers Training Academy
| Subject | Marks | Number of Questions | Duration |
| English | 100 | 120 | 2 Hours |
| General Knowledge | 100 | 120 | 2 Hours |
| Total | 200 | 240 |
Syllabus of CDS Examination
The detailed Syllabus of CDS Examination is as follows:
English – To prepare well for this paper, students need to study the following topics in detail:
| S.No | Topic | S.No. | Topic |
| 1 | Tense | 14 | Non-finite verbs |
| 2 | Noun | 15 | Common Error |
| 3 | Pronoun | 16 | Root Words |
| 4 | Adjective | 17 | Antonyms |
| 5 | Adverb | 18 | Synonyms |
| 6 | Conjunction | 19 | One Word Substitution |
| 7 | Syntax | 20 | Idioms and Phrases |
| 8 | Article | 21 | Ordering of Jumbled Sentences |
| 9 | Preposition | 22 | Words Often Used Wrongly |
| 10 | Voice | 23 | Passage |
| 11 | Narration | 24 | Cloze Test |
| 12 | Removal of Too | 25 | Sentence Improvement |
| 13 | Modals | 26 | Sentence Completion |
Elementary Mathematics – To prepare well for this paper, candidates need to thoroughly understand and practice the following topics:
| S. No | Topic | S. No. | Topic |
| 1 | Number System | 15 | LCM and HCF of Polynomials |
| 2 | Sequence and Series | 16 | Rational Expressions |
| 3 | LCM and HCF of Numbers | 17 | Linear Equations |
| 4 | Decimal and Fraction | 18 | Quadratic Equations and Inequalities |
| 5 | Square Root and Cube Root | 19 | Set Theory |
| 6 | Time and Distance | 20 | Measurement of Angles and Trigonometric Ratios |
| 7 | Time and Work | 21 | Height and Distance |
| 8 | Percentage | 22 | Lines and Angles |
| 9 | Simple Interest | 23 | Triangles |
| 10 | Compound Interest | 24 | Quadrilateral and Polygon |
| 11 | Profit and Loss | 25 | Circle |
| 12 | Ratio and Proportion | 26 | Area and Perimeter of Plane Figures |
| 13 | Logarithm | 27 | Surface Area and Volume of Solids |
| 14 | Algebraic Operations | 28 | Statistics |
General Science – In order to prepare well for this paper, candidates need to thoroughly understand the following topics:
| S. No | Topic | S. No. | Topic |
| 1 | Measurement | 16 | Acids, Bases and Salts |
| 2 | Motion | 17 | Chemical Thermodynamics and Surface Chemistry |
| 3 | Work, Energy, and Power | 18 | Electrochemistry |
| 4 | Rotational Motion and Gravitation | 19 | Organic Chemistry |
| 5 | Properties of Matter | 20 | Inorganic Chemistry |
| 6 | Heat and Thermodynamics | 21 | Man-Made Materials |
| 7 | Oscillation and Waves | 22 | Environment and Pollution |
| 8 | Optics | 23 | Cell – The Unit of Life |
| 9 | Electric Current | 24 | Classification of Plants and Animals |
| 10 | Modern Physics | 25 | Genetic and Molecular Biology |
| 11 | Matter | 26 | Evolution of Life |
| 12 | Atomic Structure | 27 | Plant Morphology and Physiology |
| 13 | Radioactivity | 28 | Animal Physiology |
| 14 | Chemical Bonding and Redox Reactions | 29 | Human Health and Diseases |
| 15 | Gas Laws and Solutions | 30 | Applied Biology |
General Knowledge – To prepare well for this paper, candidates need to study the following topics:
| S. No | Topic | S. No. | Topic |
| 1 | Ancient History | 6 | Economics |
| 2 | Medieval History | 7 | Constitution of India – Important Facts of the Indian Constitution, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles, Powers of The President and Prime Minister, Constitutional Bodies, Indian Judiciary, etc. |
| 3 | Modern History | 8 | Miscellaneous GK |
| 4 | Indian Geography | 9 | Current Affairs – Important International and National Summits/ Conferences, Awards, Sports-Related News, Books, and Authors, etc. |
| 5 | World Geography |
Way to sure shot success in CDS Examination
After understanding the syllabus of CDS examination, let us understand how to crack it. The CDS exam conducted by the UPSC is one of the toughest examinations in the country and requires systematic preparation. However, to achieve success, one needs some smart work to complement the hard work. Shaurya Bharat Defence Exams Learning app provides just the right platform to prepare for this esteemed examination. The experienced, competent, and dedicated team of Shaurya Bharat acts as a perfect mentor for students preparing for the CDS examination. Carefully penned notes, interactive live classes, pre-recorded lectures, mock tests, practice tests, and pattern-based examinations give perfect material to students to study and prepare well.
For details refer to the official website of UPSC – https://www.upsc.gov.in/
To apply online visit https://upsconline.nic.in/
Use the following link to download the Shaurya Bharat app – The best digital platform to prepare for the CDS entrance examination: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shauryabharat
