CDS Exam Pattern
The Combined Defence Services Examination pattern is based according to the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Indian Air Force Academy selection procedure. CDS Exam Pattern for Indian Military, Indian Navy and Air Force Academy Exam divided into 3 sections, whereas Officers’ Training Academy Exam divided into 2 sections, The subjects of the written examination, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject will be as follows:
For Admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy:—
| Subject | Duration | Questions | Maximum Marks | Marks for Correct Answer | Marks for Incorrect Answer |
| English | 2 Hours | 100 | 100 Marks | +1 | -0.33 |
| General Knowledge | 2 Hours | 100 | 100 Marks | +1 | -0.33 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 Hours | 100 | 100 Marks | +1 | -0.33 |
For Admission to Officers’ Training Academy :—
| Subject | Duration | Questions | Maximum Marks | Marks for Correct Answer | Marks for Incorrect Answer |
| English | 2 Hours | 100 | 100 Marks | +1 | -0.33 |
| General Knowledge | 2 Hours | 100 | 100 Marks | +1 | -0.33 |
CDS Exam Pattern Important Points:
| · The maximum marks allotted to the written examination and to the interviews will be equal for each course i.e. – Indian Military Academy – 300 Marks – Indian Naval Academy – 300 Marks – Air Force Academy – 300 Marks – Officers’ Training Academy – 200 Marks |
| · Objective type questions only for CDS written exam |
| · Bilingual language i.e. Hindi and English for General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics questions |
The amount of time required to put on particular subject topic-wise or concept-wise approaches the maximum points in CDS exam.
CDS Exam: English
| Topic | Number of Questions |
| Sentence Improvement | 20 |
| Reading Comprehension | 23 (5 passages) |
| Synonyms | 8 |
| Antonyms | 7 |
| One Word Substitution | 5 |
| Para-Jumble | 10 |
| Sentence-Jumble | 7 |
| Spot the Error | 20 |
| Cloze Test | 20 |
CDS Exam: General Knowledge
| Topic | Number of Questions |
| History | 19 |
| Science | 27 |
| Geography | 22 |
| Ecology | 06 |
| Polity | 20 |
| Economy/Trade | 11 |
| Miscellaneous /Armed Forces | 15 |
CDS Exam: Elementary Mathematics
| Topic | Number of Questions |
| Mensuration | 14 |
| Algebra | 7 |
| Mean-Median-Mode (Frequency Distribution Table) | 4 |
| Time speed and Distance | 6 |
| Number System | 20 |
| Simple interest/Compound interest | 5 |
| Percentage | 2 |
| Profit/Loss | 1 |
| Mixture | 1 |
| Time and Work | 3 |
| Trigonometry | 14 |
| Set Theory | 1 |
| Clock | 2 |
| Geometry | 20 |
