Union Public Service Commission conducts Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS) twice in a year in the month of February and November. The examination for CDS I is over and now the application for CDS will release on August 4, 2021.
Candidates who want to appear for UPSC CDS II Exam must be aware of the CDS Syllabus and CDS Exam Pattern.
- The syllabus for IMA, INA, and AFA is divided into 3 subjects e., English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics.
CDS Exam Pattern for IMA, INA, AFA
| Subjects | Duration of exam | Maximum marks |
| English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 hours | 100 |
- For the OTA there are 2 sections in the written exam i.e., English and General Knowledge.
CDS Exam Pattern for OTA
| Subjects | Duration of exam | Maximum marks |
| English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 |
- The standard of the questions in Mathematics will be of grade 10 and for other subjects, it will be of graduation level.
UPSC conducts CDS exam for the recruitment of candidates for the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Officers Training Academy (OTA) and the Indian Air Force Academy (AAF). Further information regarding the UPSC CDS Syllabus pdf is given on the official governments’ website.
CDS 2021 Selection Process
There are four stages in the CDS Selection Process which are as follows:
- Written Test: MCQ
- SSC Interview / Personality Test: Oral
- Document Verification
- Medical Examination
UPSC CDS 2021- Marking Scheme
The marking scheme of CDS is given below:
- For every correct answer, candidates score one mark.
- For every incorrect answer, 1/3 marks will be deducted.
- More than one option is treated as incorrect
- There is no negative marking for unanswered questions.
CDS Vacancy 2021
Post-wise number of vacancies for both CDS I and CDS II has been released. Here are the details in the table below:
| Academies | Vacancies for CDS I | Vacancies for CDS II |
| Indian Military Academy, Dehradun | 100 | 100 |
| Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala | 26 | 26 |
| Air Force Academy, Hyderabad | 32 | 32 |
| Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai | 170 | 169 |
| Officers Training Academy, Chennai | 17 | 17 |
| Total | 345 | 344 |
UPSC CDS Online Application Form 2021:
On August 05, 2021, the online CDS application form for appearing in the CDS II exam is expected to be released. The online applications will only be accepted.
Now, let us look into the detailed CDS Syllabus for each section:
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021 for Elementary Maths
Elementary Maths consists of basic topics from High School Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, Trigonometry, and Mensuration. Check the detailed topic-wise syllabus from below:
CDS Mathematics Syllabus – Arithmetic
The Arithmetic section basically tests your knowledge of Number System, Elementary Number Theory, and other basic concepts as below:
– Basic Operations (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division)
– Number Series (Natural numbers, Integers, Rational and Real numbers)
– Square Roots, Decimal Fractions
– Unitary Method
– Time and Distance
– Time and Work
– Percentage
– Applications to Simple and Compound Interest
– Profit and Loss
– Ratio and Proportion
– Variation
– Division Algorithm
– Prime and Composite Numbers
– Tests of Divisibility by 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11
– Multiples and Factors
– Factorization
– Theorems
– Highest Common Factor (HCF)
– Lowest Common Multiple (LCM)
– Euclidean Algorithm
– Logarithms to Base 10
– Laws of Logarithms
– Use of Logarithmic Tables
UPSC CDS Mathematics Syllabus – Algebra
– Simple Factors
– Remainder Theorem
– Highest Common Factor
– Lowest Common Multiple
– Theory of Polynomials
– Solutions of Quadratic Equations
– The relation between Quadratic Equation Roots and Coefficients
– Simultaneous Linear Equations- Analytical and Graphical Solutions
– Simultaneous Linear Inequations in Two Variables and their Solutions
– Practical problems leading to two simultaneous linear equations or inequations in two variables or quadratic equations in one variable and their solutions
– Set Language and Set Notation
– Rational Expressions
– Conditional Identities
– Laws of Indices
UPSC CDS Mathematics Syllabus – Geometry
– Lines and Angles, Plane and Plane Figures, Theorems on Properties of Angles at a Point
– Parallel Lines
– Sides and Angles of a Triangle
– Congruency of Triangles
– Similar Triangles
– The concurrence of Medians and Altitudes
– Properties of Angles, Sides, and Diagonals of a Parallelogram, Rectangle, and Square
– Circles and its Properties Including Tangents and Normal
CDS Mathematics Syllabus- Statistics
– Collection and Tabulation of Statistical Data
– Graphical Representation
– Frequency Polygons
– Histograms
– Bar Charts
– Pie Charts
– Measures of Central Tendency
CDS Mathematics Syllabus – Trigonometry
– Sin x, Cosine x, Tangent x when 0 degree < x< 90-degree values of sin x
– cos x and tan x for x= degree 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90
– Simple Trigonometric Identities
– Use of Trigonometric Tables
– Simple Cases of Heights and Distance
CDS Mathematics Syllabus – Mensuration
– Area of Square
– Rectangle
– Parallelograms
– Triangle
– Circle
– Area of Figures which can be Split up into Figures (field book)
– Surface Area and Volume of Cuboids
– Lateral Surface
– Volume of Right Circular Cones and Cylinders
– Surface Area and Volume of Spheres
Check out>> UPSC Syllabus 2021 – upsc mains syllabus | upsc IAS syllabus
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021 for English Language
This section will test your knowledge about grammar and vocabulary, it also tests your sentence formation skill. Following are the topics covered in English.
- Spotting Errors
- Sentence Arrangement
- Synonyms and Antonyms
- Selecting Words
- Ordering of Sentences
- Comprehension
- Ordering of Words in a Sentence
- Fill in the blanks
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021 for General Knowledge
This section of includes Current Affairs and Static General knowledge. The GK paper includes questions on various topics as mentioned below:
- History
- Geography
- Politics
- Economics
- Sociology
- Physics, Chemistry, Biology
- Environment
- Sports
- Awards, Books & Authors
To prepare for the current affairs section, candidates will have to follow the daily current affairs. Candidates can read newspapers and several current affairs books to prepare for this section like:
- Manorama Yearbook
- Lucent’s General Knowledge
- Competition in Focus (Half Yearly and Yearly)
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2021: Intelligence & Personality Test
Candidates who qualify in the Written Test will be called for the SSB Interview. The SSB Interview consists of Stage I and Stage II. Aspirants who clear Stage I will go ahead for Stage II.
Stage I: This stage has tests based on Picture Perception (PP), Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR), and Description Test (DT). Aspirants are shortlisted based on their combined performance in OIR Test, PP and DT.
Stage II: This stage comprises Interview, Psychology Tests, Group Testing Officer Tasks, and the Conference. This stage takes over 4 days to get over.
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