CDS exam pattern 2020 is split into written exam and SSB Interview. The exam pattern is prescribed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for Indian academy (IMA), Indian academy (INA) and Air Force Academy (AFA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA). CDS exam pattern is analogous to previous years’. browsing the exam pattern, candidates can get a thought regarding the general structure of CDS examsuch as different sections of exam, section-wise weightage of topics, marking scheme and total marks. Read below for more details on CDS exam pattern.

Welcome To Our Academy

The “Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination is conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment of candidates into the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Indian Air Force Academy. The UPSC will conduct the CDS exam twice a year in the month of February and September.  Candidates who aim to serve the nation by joining the Defence forces can start applying for the CDS Examination.cademy and Indian Air Force Academy.

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Highlights of CDS Exam Pattern 2020

Mode of examOffline
Number of sectionsIndian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Air Force Academy (AFA) – Three

Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) – Two
Total marks of the testIMA, INA, and AFA – 300
OTA – 200
Nature of questionsObjective type
Language of question paperHindi and English
Duration of the test2 hours for each section of the test

CDS Exam Pattern 2020 for Written Test

The written exam for IMA, INA and AFA comprises three sections: English, public knowledge and Elementary Mathematics. The test paper for admission to OTA comprises two sections: English and public knowledge . Total exam duration for IMA, INA and AFA is 6 hours (each section is for two hours) while it’s 4 hours (with section for two hours) for OTA. Total marks of the test for IMA, INA and AFA are 300 while it’s 200 for OTA. The test paper will contains objective type questions only. the quality of the topics in CDS syllabus 2020 for Elementary Mathematics are going to be of sophistication 10 level. the quality of papers for other subjects are going to be of graduation level.

Structure of question paper

The structure of CDS Question Paper for IMA, INA, AFA, and OTA is as follows: 

IMA, INA, AFA

SubjectDuration (In hours)Maximum marks
English100
General Knowledge100
Elementary Mathematics100

OTA

SubjectDuration (In hours)Maximum marks
English100
General Knowledge100

CDS Marking Scheme 

  • Each question in CDS exam carries 4 options, out of which just one option are going to be correct
  • For the wrong answer, 1/3 marks are going to be deducted
  • Candidates marking quite one option are going to be treated as incorrect
  • If an issue is left unanswered there’ll be no negative marking

The Section-Wise Marking Scheme of CDS Exam is given below: 

Specifications English GK Mathematics 
Maximum Marks100100100
Marks for Correct answer+1 marks for each correct option+1 marks for each correct option+1 marks for each correct option
Negative marking-0.33 marks for each wrong answer-0.33 marks for each wrong answer-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

CDS Exam Pattern 2020 for SSB Interview

The SSB Interview for IMA, INA, AFA is for 300 marks each while for OTA it’s 200. The SSB Interview procedure consists of two stages: I and II. Only those candidates who qualify the stage i will be able to be permitted to seem in stage II. the small print of both the stages are given below:

  • Stage I comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT).  
  • Stage II comprises of Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and Conference. These tests are conducted for over 4 days.

CDS Syllabus 2020 

Subjects Topics 
English The question paper is designed to test the candidates’ understanding of
English and Grammar. 
General Knowledge Economics, Physics, General Awareness, Politics, History, Geography, Sociology, etc. 
Elementary Mathematics Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, Statistics, etc.

CDS 2020 Exam Analysis 

CDS 2 exam analysis are going to be provided after the exam gets over. CDS 1 2020 exam was conducted on Groundhog Day . The paper was moderate to difficult in terms of difficulty level. English and public knowledge sections were easy to moderate. The Elementary Mathematics section was difficult. to understand more about CDS exam analysis, watch the reactions provided by students regarding the exam.