Candidates can check the CDS exam analysis 2025 on this page. Various notable coaching centers provide the CDS 2025 exam analysis based on candidates feedback. The CDS paper analysis 2025 helps to know the difficulty of the exam and predict expected cut offs. The CDS 1 exam was concluded on April 13, 2025. Some coaching centres additionally release exam analysis and unofficial question papers along with unofficial CDS answer keys.
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Candidates can prepare for the exam by going through the previous year exam CDS exam analysis to better understand how the topics in the exam syllabus will turn up. For details regarding the UPSC CDS analysis of previous years' exams, candidates can go through the material given below.
Candidates can check the CDS 2025 exam analysis for the English and General Knowledge (GK) paper after the exam ends. The CDS exam analysis 2025 helps candidates understand the overall and important topics, section-wise difficulty level, topic-wise distribution of questions, etc. The CDS 2025 paper analysis is based on the actual CDS question paper.
| Subject | Good Attempts | Difficulty level |
| English | 85-91 | Moderate |
| Subject | Good Attempts | Difficulty level |
| General Knowledge | TBA | TBA |
| Subject | Good Attempts | Difficulty level |
| Mathematics | TBA | TBA |
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CDS Eligibility Criteria 2025
The past years exam analysis of UPSC CDS 1 & 2 are listed in the tables below.
Subject | Difficulty level |
English | Easy- Moderate |
Subject | Difficulty level |
General knowledge | Moderate-Difficult |
Subject | Difficulty level |
Mathematics | Moderate |
Sections | Number of Questions | Level |
English | 120 | Moderate |
General Knowledge | 120 | Moderate |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | Moderate to Difficult |
Overall | 300 | Moderate to Difficult |
Candidates who wrote CDS exam 2024 noted new question patterns for subjects like English. General Knowledge questions were difficult according to general consensus. The number of questions under science were lower than usual while economics saw a hike in the number of questions. The overall difficulty of the exam was considered moderate.
| Sections | Number of good attempts |
English | 90 - 100 |
| General Knowledge | 50 - 60 |
| Elementary Mathematics | TBA |
Subject | Difficulty level |
English | Easy- Moderate |
Subject | Difficulty level |
General knowledge | Moderate-Difficult |
Subject | Difficulty level |
Mathematics | Moderate |
The previous year's CDS paper analysis can help candidates in shaping their CDS preparation in such a way that they perform better in the exam. Candidates can go through the details mentioned below to get an idea about the weightage of topics and the number of questions asked from specific topics in the CDS exam.
Sections | Number of Questions | Level |
English | 120 | Moderate |
General Knowledge | 120 | Moderate |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | Moderate to Difficult |
Overall | 300 | Moderate to Difficult |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
English | 68-74 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
General knowledge | 65-72 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
Mathematics | 55-60 | Moderate to Difficult |
Sections | Number of Questions | Level |
English | 120 | Moderate |
General Knowledge | 120 | Moderate |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | Difficult |
Overall | 300 | Moderate to Difficult |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
English | 67-72 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
General knowledge | 60-71 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
Mathematics | 52-58 | Difficult |
Candidates can check the CDS 2 exam analysis for the English and General Knowledge (GK) paper. The CDS 2 exam analysis helps candidates understand the overall and important topics, section-wise difficulty level, topic-wise distribution of questions, etc. The CDS 2 paper analysis is based on the actual CDS question paper.
Sections | Number of Questions | Level |
English | 120 | Moderate |
General Knowledge | 120 | Moderate |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | Tough |
Overall | 300 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
English | 60 to 65 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
General knowledge | 55 to 65 | Moderate |
Subject | Good attempts | Difficulty level |
Mathematics | 50 to 60 | Moderate |
Based on the feedback of candidates who appeared for the Combined Defence Services 2 2021 exam, last year, the difficulty level of the UPSC CDS Maths question paper was moderate to difficult. As per the CDS maths paper analysis, the questions asked from geometry, algebra, mensuration, trigonometry, SI and CI, etc. were a bit hard. The overall CDS 2 maths paper was between moderate to difficult. Candidates who attempted 67 to 74 questions correctly in the maths paper should be able to clear the CDS exam depending on their performance in other papers.
Number system - 20 Questions
Geometry - 20 Questions
Mensuration - 14 Questions
Trigonometry - 14 Questions
Time and Work - 3 Questions
Clock - 2 Questions
Percentage - 2 Questions
Algebra - 7 Questions
Time speed and Distance - 6 Questions
Set Theory - 1 Question
Mean-Median-Mode - 4 Questions
Simple Interest/ Compound Interest - 5 Questions
Mixture - 1 Question
Profit/ Loss - 1 Question
According to the candidates who appeared in the CDS 2 exam last year, the general knowledge paper was of a moderate level. However, the current affairs section was moderately difficult. Students who attempted around 65 -70 questions will be able to clear this paper.
The following were the topics and number of questions asked in the UPSC CDS 2 examination (GK paper).
Current Affairs - 18 questions
Economics - 11 questions
Geography - 16 questions
Medieval History - 6 questions
Modern History - 18 questions
Polity - 17 questions
Physics - 11 questions
Chemistry - 14 questions
Biology - 7 questions
Defence - 2 questions
There was a mixed reaction from the candidates who appeared in the UPSC CDS 2 English exam last year. Some said it was moderate, many said it was easy and no one felt it was hard. Candidates who have a good command of English will be able to score more than 70 marks easily.
Other Relevant Links
The following were the topics and number of questions asked in the UPSC CDS 2 examination (English paper) last year.
Spotting Errors - 10 questions
Sentence arrangement
Synonyms - 10 questions
Antonyms - 10 questions
Selecting words - 10 questions
Ordering of sentences - 10 questions
Comprehension - 10 questions
Ordering of words in a sentence
Fill in the blanks - 10 questions
Idioms and phrases - 10 questions, etc.
Subject | Level of Difficulty | Good Attempts |
Elementary Mathematics | To be notified | To be notified |
English | Easy to Moderate | 85-95 |
General Knowledge | To be notified | To be notified |
Subject | Level of Difficulty | Good Attempts |
Elementary Mathematics | Moderate | 70-73 |
English | Easy to Moderate | 88-92 |
General Knowledge | Moderate to difficult | 70-72 |
Subject | Level of Difficulty | Good Attempts |
Elementary Mathematics | Moderate to Difficult | 85 -90 |
English | Easy to Moderate | 80 - 90 |
General Knowledge | Moderate to Difficult | 70 - 90 |
Topics | Number of Questions |
Idioms and phrases | 10 |
Ordering of sentences | 10 |
Reading Comprehension | 10 |
Spotting Error | 10 |
Ordering words in sentences | 10 |
Synonyms | 10 |
Spelling mistakes | 10 |
Antonyms | 10 |
Fill in the Blanks | 10 |
Part of speech | 10 |
Transformation of sentences | 10 |
Reported speech | 10 |
Quick links:
The CDS 1 result 2025 will be released online at upsc.gov.in. UPSC will release the result for the CDS written exam and SSB interview separately. As per the result of the CDS written exam, aspirants who qualify for one stage of the exam will be able to appear for the subsequent stage.
Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC CDS 2025 cut off after the final stage of the exam on the official website. UPSC CDS cut off is the minimum mark required by candidates to qualify for the CDS 2025 exam. The qualifying cut-off marks of CDS 2025 are prescribed by UPSC. The actual CDS 2025 cut off is determined on the basis of various parameters like - the difficulty level of the exam, the number of applicants who appeared for the CDS exam and the total number of vacancies. Candidates must score equal to or more than the CDS cut-off marks to clear the exam. Candidates appearing for the exam can check the expected CDS cut off 2025 for all the defence services in the table below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Candidates who appeared in the exam can check the CDS 2025 paper analysis here after the examination.
Applicant must be a graduate to apply for CDS examination.
The CDS 2025 application form fee is Rs 200.
The CDS exam is conducted in offline mode for all the stages.
The UPSC CDS exam has two stages - the written exam and the SSB interview.
On Question asked by student community
Hello aspirant,
On August 23, 2024, the Union Public Service Commission made the NDA 2 2024 admit card available on its official website, upsc.gov.in/upsconline.nic.in. The timeframe for editing NDA 2 2024 application forms was open until June 11, 2024. On June 5, 2024, the NDA rectification window opened. On June
Hello there,
Yes, you can apply for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam for the Indian Military Academy (IMA) after completing your graduation in 2027, based on your date of birth, 29th November 2003. Here’s how your eligibility works out:
Eligibility Criteria for CDS IMA:
Age Limit: For IMA, the
To determine your eligibility for the CDS (Combined Defence Services) exam in 2027, we need to consider the age criteria set by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the exam.
For the CDS exam, the age criteria generally are as follows:
Hello aspirant,
The upper age limit for CDS IMA is 24 years. Since you are currently 21 years 3 months old, you have 2 years and 9 months left to appear for the CDS IMA exam. This means you can attempt the exam 3 more times before reaching the age
Hello Aspirant
The eligibility criteria for CDS is that the candidate must be between the ages of 19 to 25 years. Since you were born in 2003, that will make you 24 years old, making you eligible for the exam.
But, just to be on the safer side, I would