CDS Syllabus 2026 - UPSC has specified the CDS syllabus 2026 in the official notification. Candidates are advised to make use of the UPSC CDS syllabus 2026 PDF for their exam preparation. The syllabus of CDS exam helps candidates to better understand the type of questions asked. The CDS 2 exam exam date 2026 will be mentioned in the official notification. The direct link to download the UPSC CDS syllabus and exam pattern is also updated on this page.
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Aspirants can also get the CDS OTA syllabus in the form of a PDF file. Candidates should check the UPSC CDS 2026 syllabus, chapters and topics that will be asked in the exam. Read the article completely to know more about the CDS 2 syllabus 2026.
The Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam has two written papers for the OTA course and three written papers for other courses. The subjects from which the questions are asked in the CDS 2026 exam are Mathematics, English and General Knowledge.
English and General Knowledge questions are asked in both the CDS OTA and CDS IMA/ INA/ AFA courses. CDS IMA/ INA/ AFA course has one extra subject which is Mathematics. The questions asked in the CDS exam are of 10th and 12th standard.
Subjects | Topics |
CDS Maths syllabus |
|
CDS English syllabus | The question paper will be asked to test the candidates’ understanding of English and workmanlike use of words. |
CDS General Knowledge syllabus | General Knowledge including knowledge of current events and of such matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects as may be expected of an educated person who has not made a special study of any scientific subject. The paper will also include questions on the History of India and the Geography of nature which candidates should be able to answer without special study. |
The UPSC CDS 2026 exam pattern is prescribed by the Union Public Service Commission in the official notification. According to the CDS exam pattern, the written exam will be objective type in nature i.e. in the form of MCQs. As per the CDS OTA syllabus , OTA exam has two papers whereas CDS IMA/ INA/ AFA have three papers. Along with the exam pattern, candidates must also check the CDS exam syllabus for better preparations. There is a negative marking for every wrong answer.
Papers | Subjects | Marks | Duration |
Paper 1 | General Knowledge | 100 | Two hrs |
Paper 2 | English | 100 | Two hrs |
Papers | Subjects | Marks | Duration |
Paper 1 | General Knowledge | 100 | 2 hrs |
Paper 2 | English | 100 | 2 hrs |
Paper 3 | Mathematics | 100 | 2 hrs |
The CDS SSB procedure consists of two stages - Stage 1 and Stage 3. Candidates who clear Stage 1 are eligible to appear for Stage 2. The personality of a candidate is assessed by three different assessors viz. The Interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO) and the Psychologist. There is no separate weightage for each test. The marks are allotted by assessors only after taking into consideration the performance of the candidate.
SSB Interview: Stage I comprises of Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests are Picture Perception & Description Test (PP & DT). The candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of the combination of performance in the OIR Test and PP & DT.
SSB Interview: Stage II Comprises of Interviews, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and the Conference. These all tests are conducted for four days.
Candidates should make sure that their exam preparation is in the right direction while preparing for the UPSC CDS exam 2026. The commission will provide the UPSC CDS question paper 2026 in the form of PDF files. The question paper of CDS 2026 will help the candidates to improve their exam preparation. Also, It is mandatory to solve the previous years' question paper of CDS to get an overall idea about the syllabus and exam pattern. Candidates can evaluate themselves by solving the previous year's UPSC CDS 2026 question papers.
One of the toughest tasks in exam preparation is selecting the best books for the CDS exam 2026. Candidates get confused while selecting the best books for CDS 2026. A lot of preparation books are available in the market. Candidates are advised to choose the books based on the latest CDS syllabus 2026 and exam pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
UPSC CDS exam for both the courses i.e. OTA and IMA, INA & AFA are conducted in offline mode.
The minimum education qualification needed to be eligible for the CDS 2026 exam is graduation.
According to the CDS 2026 syllabus, there are three sections including English, Mathematics and General Knowledge.
The CDS 2026 exam has two stages – a written exam and an SSB interview.
CDS 2 2026 application form will be released on the official website at upsc.gov.in
As per the CDS OTA syllabus, there are two sections including English and General Knowledge.
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
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