UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021 : UPSC CDS 2021 exam pattern and syllabus are given in detail here as per the Combined Defence Services notification. UPSC CDS exam consists of a written examination and interview for intelligence and personality test. Candidates who successfully qualified in the written examination are eligible for SSB Interview (Intelligence and Personality Test).
- UPSC CDS exam will be conducted twice every year to admit prospective candidates in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy as well as in the Officer’s Training Academy.
- UPSC CDS (I) Notification has been released on 28 Oct 2020 and the application form’s last date was 17 Nov 2020. CDS (I) is scheduled to be held on 2 Feb 2021.
- UPSC CDS (II) Notification has been released on 4th August 2021 and the application process will begin from 4th August and last till 24th August 2021.
- UPSC CDS II written exam will be conducted on 14th November 2021. After the written examination, there will be an intelligence and personality test for the candidates who score the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination as fixed by the Commission.
- UPSC CDS 2021 selection will be based on merit in the written exam and SSB Interview.
UPSC CDS Important Dates
| Event | CDS (I) Dates | CDS (II) Dates |
|---|---|---|
| CDS Online application start date | 30th October 2020 | 04.08.2021 |
| Last Date Of CDS Online Application | 17th November 2020 | 24.08.2021 |
| CDS Exam Date | 2nd February 2021 (Sunday) | 14.11.2021 |
| UPSC CDS Result Declaration | March 2021 | December 2021 |
| CDS SSB interview | To be notified | - |
UPSC CDS Exam Pattern 2021
- UPSC CDS exam will be conducted in 2 phases. Phase I – Written exam, Phase II – SSB Interview.
- Phase I CDS written exam will be conducted in pen and paper mode. The written exam will be followed by Phase II which is an SSB Interview and Document Verification process followed by Medical Examination.
- Candidates who successfully qualify all the stages will be admitted to the Academy.
UPSC CDS exam pattern 2021 consists of the following
- Written Examination (Pen and Paper mode)
- Interview for Intelligence and personality test
UPSC CDS Written Exam Pattern
Candidates who successfully apply for the UPSC CDS Exam 2021 will be called to appear for the CDS written examination.
The pattern of the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy
| Subject | Total questions | Total duration (In Hours) | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 100 | 2 | 100 |
| Elementary mathematics | 100 | 2 | 100 |
| General knowledge | 100 | 2 | 100 |
- The total duration of the exam is 6 hours i.e. 2 hours for each subject.
- Each subject will have 100 questions and the total marks awarded for each subject is 100 marks. The final score will be stipulated out of 300 marks which will be the combined score of all three subjects.
- The question paper will only have MCQs and Mathematics and GK will be set bilingually i.e., both in Hindi and English.
- For every wrong answer, there will be a negative marking. Each candidate will lose one-third of marks for every answer that goes wrong i.e., o.33 marks will be deducted for the wrong answer and 1 mark is given for the right answer.
- No marks will be deducted for an unanswered question
Pattern Of The Officer’s Training Academy
| Subject | Total questions | Total duration (In Hours) | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| English language | 100 | 2 | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 100 | 2 | 100 |
- The total duration of the exam for the OTA will also be 4 hours i.e. 2 hours for each subject.
- Each subject will have 100 questions and the total marks for each subject are 100. The candidates will obtain their final score out of a total of 200 marks.
- Question papers will have objective type questions only and GK will be set bilingually i.e. Hindi and English.
There will be a negative marking for each wrong answer. One-third mark allotted to each question shall be deducted for every wrong answer. Each mark will be awarded to each right answer and a 0.33 marks will be deducted for each wrong attempt.
Interview For Intelligence and Personality Test
Candidates who qualify in the written examination by obtaining the minimum qualifying marks to be decided by the Commission will be eligible for the SSB interview. However, in order to receive a call letter for an SSB interview, shortlisted candidates will have to register themselves on the website www.joinindianarmy.nic.in.
SSB process consists of 2 stage selection processes namely stage I and stage II.
- Stage I: OIR test and PP & DT – Officers Intelligence Rating and Picture Perception & Description Tests
- Stage II: Interview, Psychology Tests, Group Testing Officer Tasks, and the Conference.
Marks allotted for Interviews of Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy are 300 and Officer’s Training Academy is 200.
Further details on the Interview for Intelligence and personality tests are explained in the selection process.
Standard Of Examination
Elementary Mathematics will be in the standard of Matriculation level and other subjects will be in the level of Graduation.
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021
UPSC CDS syllabus 2021 for the pen and paper mode are written exam will comprise of 3 sections viz. English language, Elementary mathematics, and General knowledge. For the OTA candidate’s Elementary mathematics is not included in the syllabus.
Combined Defence Services subject wise syllabus 2021 is mentioned below.
English Language
- Antonyms and Synonyms
- Sentence reordering
- Sentence rearrangement
- Spotting of errors
- Reading comprehension
- Appropriate word selection
- Fill in the blanks
Elementary Mathematics
This section consists of questions from Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and Statistics.
Arithmetic
- Integers
- Rational numbers
- Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
- Time and work
- Time, speed, and distance
- Simple and compound interest
- Profit and loss
- HCF and LCM and divisibility rules
- Ratio and proportion
- Mensuration
- Number system
- Natural numbers
- Real numbers
- Percentages
- Variations
- Prime and composite number
- Multiples and factors
- Logarithms to base 10
- Laws of Logarithms
Algebra
- Basic questions
- HCF and LCM
- Remainder theorem
- Linear equations in one and two variables
- Polynomials
- Quadratic equations
- Law of indices
- Identities
- Simple factors
- Simultaneous linear equations
- Practical problems
- Rational Expressions
- Conditional identities
Trigonometry
- Sine X, Cosine X, and Tangent X
- Trigonometric identities and trigonometric tables
- Heights and distances
- Use of trigonometric tables
- Simple cases of heights and distances
Geometry
- Lines and angles
- Property of triangles, parallel lines
- Congruence of triangles
- Similar triangles
- Properties of 3-D and 2-D figures
- Circles
- Sides and angles of a triangle
- The concurrence of medians and altitudes
- Circles and their properties
- Loci
Mensuration
- Areas of squares, rectangle, parallelograms, triangle, and circle
- Area of figures
- Surface Area and Volume of spheres
- Surface area and volume of cuboids
- Volume o right circular cone and cylinders
Statistics
- Collection of Data and Tabulation of data
- Polygons and Histograms
- Bar graph and Pie charts
- Graphical representation frequency
General Knowledge
- Indian history
- Indian economy
- Polity and constitution
- Indian geography
- Culture and heritage
- General science
- Current affairs and important events
- Static G.K
Download UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021 Pdf
Selection Procedure
UPSC CDS selection procedure 2021 involves a written test and SSB tests (Interview/Personality Test). Candidates who qualify in the written test and Interview will be called for document verification. After conducting an interview and personality test, SSB will shortlist candidates for medical examination.
Candidates recommended by SSB will have to qualify the medical examination for taking admission into the Academy of their choice. The final selection will be based on the combined score in the Written Test and SSB Interview.
UPSC CDS Written Exam
Candidates who want to be selected through the UPSC CDS exam need to first qualify in the offline mode (pen and paper) written exam. The written exam will test the English Language, Elementary Mathematics, and General Knowledge of the candidates. Once this exam is completed and the results are announced in a PDF file that comprises the roll numbers of those candidates who have qualified the exam.
Picture Perception and Description Test and Officer Intelligence Rating Test
This is the stage prior to the SSB 4-day interview. This is a 1-day program qualifying which candidates are eligible for the SSB interview.
The Officer Intelligence Rating Test aims to test the verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills of the candidates. The verbal reasoning section comprises 50 questions which are to be completed in a span of 30 minutes. After finishing off these tests candidates are handed over the non-verbal set which consists of 50 questions and needs to be completed in 25-30 minutes.
After this test, candidates move on to the next stage i.e. the PPDT test. In this test, candidates are shown a picture or a series of pictures for 30 seconds which is to explain properly in 3-4 minutes. This is one of the challenging tasks of the CDS exam.
UPSC CDS SSB Interview
Candidates successfully qualifying the OIR test and PPDT are then called on for the 4 day SSB interview. This stage involves Psychological Tests, Group tasks, Personal Interview, and Conference. A candidate is scrutinized and tested through each of these tests and is put to test in Officer situations. Candidates who are able to successfully qualify this stage are then called for the final verification and medical examination.
Document Verification
Candidates who are called on for the document verifications need to present the following documents.
- Certificate of proof of education qualifications
- A government approved valid photo ID proof
- Proof of residence
- Date of birth certificate
- Passport size photographs
- Caste certificate (if applicable)
- Disability certificate (if applicable)
- Declaration of the minority in a judicial stamp paper
After the verification of documents, candidates are required to pass the medical examination which aims to ensure that all candidates who are selected as prospective officers are medically fit and sound. After medical examination, the final list of selected candidates will be released based on the combined score in the Written test and SSB Interview and appointed as per their preference of institutes.
UPSC CDS 2021 Exam FAQs
Q. What is the date of the written examination?
A. CDS (II) 2021 written examination will be held on Sunday, 14 Nov 2021.
Q. What will be the type of question paper?
A. UPSC CDS Exam will contain Objective Type Questions.
Q. What are the subjects for the CDS exam?
A. For Admission to Officers’ Training Academy, MCQs in CDS written examination will be asked from 2 subjects, viz., General Knowledge and English.
For admission to rest academies like Indian Naval Academy, Indian Military Academy, and Air Force Academy, MCQs in CDS written examination will be asked from 3 subjects, viz., General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics, and English.
Q. How many papers there will be on the CDS exam?
A. For admission to any Academy, there will be a single written paper having MCQs. Candidates who qualify in the written test will be called to appear for the rest stages of the CDS exam i.e. SSC tests (Interview/Personality Test), document verification, and medical examination.
Q. Will be there any penalty for marking the wrong answer?
A. Yes. For each wrong answer, 1/3rd of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as negative marking.