CDS 2024 Exam Pattern – Check Marking Scheme, Subjects and Duration

The Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam is a challenging and prestigious test conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruiting officers for India’s defense sector.

The exam is held twice a year and the CDS exam consists of a written test, an interview, and a medical examination. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has laid down the CDS examination pattern for the written and SSB interview.

The CDS OTA examination pattern differs slightly from the other three examinations. CDS examination is an offline examination conducted in pen-paper format. The CDS marking system, negative marking, overall marks, exam timing, and paper pattern for the CDS exam are available below.

Overview Of The CDS Exam Pattern 

The table mentioned below will provide you with a clear overview of the CDS exam pattern simply and understandably:

CDS Exam Pattern 

The exam pattern for CDS may differ as per the academies but the number of questions and type will be the same i.e. objective-type questions. The exam conducted for the OTA may have a slight difference in the number of sections otherwise everything will remain the same. Both the examinations will be bilingual.

The details about both the CDS exam patterns are mentioned below:

1. IMA, INA, and AFA Exam Pattern:

• The IMA, INA, and AFA examinations consist of three subjects: English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics. 
• Their subject codes are 11, 12, and 13 respectively. 
• The time duration provided to complete all the tests is 2 hours.
• Each subject contains 100 marks in total.

2. Officers Training Academy Exam Pattern:

• The Officers Training Academy (OTA) examination has two subjects i.e. English and General Knowledge.
• The examination code for English is 11 and for General Knowledge, it is 12.
• The time duration provided to complete the examination is 2 hours.
• Both tests are of 100 marks each.

CDS Examination Pattern FAQs