CDS 2023 Application Form, Exam Dates, Pattern, Eligibility Criteria & Result

CDS 2023: For the year 2023, UPSC or Union Public Service Commission soon will be conducting the most awaited and notable CDS or Common Defence Services exam. Interested candidates advised filling the form to appear in the examination on the decided date. CDS EXAM 2023 come with overall 464 vacancies including for Officers Training Academy Chennai Women with 12 Posts, Indian Military Academy Dehradun with 200 posts, Air Force Academy Hyderabad with 32 posts, Officers Training Academy Chennai with 175 Posts, and Indian Naval Academy Ezhimala with 45 posts. For appearing in the upcoming exam, applicants need to go to acknowledge all about the exam pattern, syllabus, and other important info.

CDS 2023 Exam Dates:

CDS-I 

Events	Tentative dates
Official notification will be released on	4th week of October
Submission of online application form will commence from	4th week of November
Last date for receipt of application form	December
Admit card will be issued	January 2023
Entrance exam date	February 2023
Result Announcement	May 2023
Interview	updated later

CDS-II 

Events	Tentative dates
Official notification will be released on	August 2023
Submission of online application form will commence from	September 2023
Last date for receipt of application form	September 2023
Admit card will be issued	October 2023
Entrance exam date	November 2023
Result Announcement	December 2023
Interview	February

CDS 2023 Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria to apply for UPSC CDS 2023 exam given below:

Nationality

• Citizens of India
• Subjects of Bhutan or Nepal
• Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1^st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling
• Persons of Indian Origin who have migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling can apply for UPSC CDS 2023.

Age Limit and Marital Status

• Indian Military Academy (IMA)
  • Unmarried male candidates.
  • Born between 2nd January 1998 to 1st January 2003 are eligible.
• Indian Naval Academy (INA):
  • Unmarried male candidates.
  • Born between 2nd January 1998 to 1st January 2003 are eligible.
• Air Force Academy (AFA):
  • The candidate’s age must be 20 to 24 years, i.e. 1 January 2023 at a decisive date.
  • Application is therefore eligible for applications by candidates born between 2 January 1998 and 1 January 2002.
  • For applicants with the current DGCA Commercial Pilot License, a maximum age limit of 26 years will be imposed and these candidates must be born from 2 January 1996 to 1 January 2002.
• For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for Men):
  • Unmarried male candidates.
  • Born between 2nd January 1997 to 1st January 2003 will be eligible to apply.
• For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-technical Course):
  • Unmarried women.
  • issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees (having possession of divorce document) who have not remarried are eligible to apply.
  • Candidates must be born between 2nd January 1997 and 1st January 2003
• NOTE: Male divorcee/ widower candidates CANNOT be treated as unmarried males.

Educational qualification:

For IMA and OTA:	The graduate degree of a recognized university or equivalent is required.
For INA:	Candidates with a degree in engineering from a recognized university/ institution are eligible.
For AFA:	Those with a degree of a recognized university with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level or Bachelor of Engineering can apply.

NOTE: Candidates appearing in the final year exam of their degree are also eligible to apply.

Physical and Mental Standard

In addition to meeting the eligibility conditions mentioned above, candidates should be physically and mentally adequate and comply with all physical requirements specified in the CDS examination.

CDS 2023 Application Form:

• The UPSC official website upsconline.nic.in will enable interested candidates to apply online at CDS 2023.
• In the application, the candidates will be asked to provide their personal information such as their name, email Id, gender, etc.
• The application should also be selected in the order of preference for IMA, INA, AFA, and OTA.
• In the application form, candidates may also choose the examining centers they choose.
• The candidates are uploading their photographs and signature in a scanned format.
• The completed application form can be submitted with the prescribed fee in all respects.
• A printout shall be taken and kept secure for future reference after the successful submission of the application form.

Application fee:

• The fee for applying for the 2023 CDS examination is Rs. 200/.
• The candidates of SC /ST/women are exempted from the application fee payment.
• The fee may be paid online by net banking/debit card/credit card or by pay-in-slip offline.
• The pay-in fee can be generated online while registering and any branch of SBI may pay the fee in cash.
• The fee is non-refundable and any request to return the application fee will not be entertained.

Process for Selection:

The selection process is based on the following:

• Psychology Tests and Conference
• Medical Examination and
• Written Examinations
• Officer Intelligence Rating
• Group Testing Officer Tasks
• Picture Perception Description Test
• Interview

CDS 2023 Exam Pattern:

The Exam Pattern for the CDS 2023 examination. Candidates have to qualify two stages –

• Written Test
• Intelligence & Personality Test Interview

For the Navy, Military & Air Force Written Test:

• Mode of exam: The test is conducted offline (pen & paper)
• Type of questions: Objective type (Multiple Choice Question type).
• Questions: 120 questions each in English & GK and 100 questions in Elementary Mathematics.
• The medium of test: Hindi & English both, except for the English section
• Marks: Each paper will be of 100 marks.
• Time Duration: For each paper, 2 hours will be given.
• Negative marking: 1/3^rd marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer

Subject	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Elementary Mathematics	120	100	2 hours
General Knowledge	120	100	2 hours
English	1oo	100	2 hours

For Officers’ Training Academy:

• Mode of exam: The test is conducted offline (pen & paper)
• Type of questions: Objective type (Multiple Choice Question type).
• Questions: There will be 120 questions each in English & GK.
• The medium of test: Hindi & English both, except for the English section
• No. of papers: There will be 2 papers – English and GK.
• Marks: Each paper will be of 100 marks.
• Time Duration: For each paper, 2 hours will be given.
• Marking: +1 for each correct answer and -0.33 for each incorrect answer.

Subject	No. of Question	Maximum Marks	Duration
General Knowledge	120	100	2 hours
English	120	100	2 hours

CDS 2023 Syllabus:

The syllabus of CDS 2023 examination:

• UPSC is going to be preparing the Syllabus.
• Candidates who plan to appear at the examination should carefully go through the Syllabus.
• The syllabus of the exam helps candidates during their preparation.

English:	Sentence rearrangement, synonym, Vocabulary, Word meaning, antonym, homonym, one-word substitution, fill in the blanks, sentence correction, English grammar.
General Knowledge:	Environment, awards, and pageants, Indian history, Current affairs, national/international news, the person in limelight, geography, political science, etc.
Elementary Mathematics:	Trigonometry, Geometry, Number system, algebra, and mensuration.

Admit Card:

• Admit card will be released approximately three weeks before the examination starts.
• Candidates can download their admit card from UPSC’s official website using their registration I d, birth date, roll number, father’s name, etc.
• Any problem with downloading the admit card or any discrepancy should be reported one week before the exam to the commission.
• No candidate will normally be permitted to take the exam unless he/she has a valid admit card.
• Candidates should note that in some cases, for technical reasons, the name in the admission card may be abbreviated.

Result:

• The outcome of the CDS 2023 review will be declared online.
• The Commission will prepare a list of candidates in the examination who receive the minimum qualification marks.
• Such candidates must register on the recruiting directorate website.
• Candidates declared successful in the written exam will be called upon at SSB for intelligence and personality testing.
• The candidates will have to qualify separately in the written exam and SSB test to be considered for selection.
• Pilot Aptitude Test will be given to applicants selected for Air Force and Naval Aviation.
• If this test fails even in the past, candidates will be ineligible for Air Force selection. Air Force will also not consider those wearing spectacles on a regular basis.

SSB Interview:

• Following the successful clearing of the written test of CDS 2023, candidates will be considered eligible for the SSB interview round.
• The students will pass Officer’s Rating Intelligence and Image Perception & Description Test, Testing of Psychological Test, Conference Testing Group Officer in the course of SSB interviews.
• Following a clearing SSB interview, candidates must clarify a round of verification documents and medical examinations and then successfully recruit for various positions.

Answer Key:

• After the examination has begun, candidates can find CDS 2023 answer keys on the UPSC official website.
• Check the update on the official website from time to time.
• Candidates will be able to count their scores. Applicants will find the answer keys helpful to match their answers.
• If the candidate finds any discrepancies in the answer keys, they can report it within the specified time to the relevant authority.