CDS 2020

Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) biannually i.e. two times each year for the enrollment into the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Indian Air Force Academy. The examination for CDS is conducted in offline mode, followed by SSB interview round.

CDA I exam will be conducted around February 2020 while CDS II exam will be conducted around September 2020. The online registration will be initiated from October 2019 for CDS I exam and in June 2020 for the CDS II exam.

CDS 2020 Highlights

CDS 2020 Important Dates

CDS 2020 Eligibility Criteria

CDS 2020 Physical Criteria

Candidates to be applying for the Defence services, the vital and the most important criteria are to be physically and mentally fit. It is a category on which the aspirants can look forward to serve its country in a committed way.

It is a necessary eligibility criterion for a CDS 2020 aspirants. Aspirants should have good mental along with physical health. It is advisable for the candidates to get oneself medically examined and checked before filling the registration form. On off all the chance that at all the candidates who might be unfit may apply for Appeal Medical Board (AMB) to be finished inside 42 days of SMB.

CDS 2020 Application Form

1.       Aspirants can access the application form of CDS 2020 by visiting the official website of

is non-refundable.

1.       UPSC. They can apply online and not through any other mode.

2.       Aspirants will see two parts of the registration process. They have required too complete both the steps. Part I- Fill in the information such as basic details, mobile number and valid email id given in the form carefully, as no changes will be allowed thereafter once submitted. After completion of the first step, aspirants will receive a valid registration id.

3.       The second part of the registration includes uploading all the necessary documents such as scanned copies of the aspirant's photograph, thumb impression, and signature which should be accessible while registering for the test.

4.       Re-check all the information before making the final submission.

5.       Aspirants can complete the registration process by initiating the fee payment which can be done via online mode (VISA/Master/Debit Card and Net banking) or via offline mode (through e-challan at any branch of SBI Bank).

6.       On successful completion of the process, aspirants must take the print out of the application form along with generated e-receipt.

The application fee is Rs. 200 only for all the candidates. SC/ST candidates and all the female candidates are not required to pay any application fee. Application fee for the CDS exam

CDS 2020 Admit Card

The official notification release of CDA 2020 admit cards will be available and issued for the candidates online 3 weeks prior to the exam.

·         Candidates have to visit the official UPSC website and click on the link to download the CDS 2020 hall ticket. Candidates will furthermore be notified via registered Email or SMS.

·         To download the hall ticket, candidates have to enter their registration number and password for the same.

·         The call letter will consist of details such as aspirants name, roll number, exam center, exam date, timing etc.

·         Without the admit card and valid id proof, candidates will not be allowed to appear for the examination.

CDS 2020 Exam Pattern

The CDS 2020 exam will be conducted in pen and paper (offline) mode. CDA exam will be conducted both in the morning and forenoon.

The exam comprises of objective type questions which candidates need to be attempted in 2 hours with the total marks allotment of 300 along with the provision of negative marking for wrong answers. Medium of the exam is English and Hindi.

Section-Wise distribution of questions:

CDS 2020 Recommended Books

·         Objective General - S. P. Bakshi.

·         Word Power Made Easy - Normen Lewis.

·         Grammar basics - Wren and Martin's.

·         Quantitative Aptitude - R. S. Aggarwal.

·         Geography & History - NCERT (Std 6th-12th)

·         Magazines such as Pratiyogita Darpan, Competition Success Review (CSR), and Yojana

·         General Awareness - Manohar Panday

·         Pathfinder for CDS - Arihant

CDS 2020 Result

Declaration of the CDS 2020 result will be on the official UPSC website. The result of the written examination will be a month later after the examination. Aspirants qualifying the written examination will then be called for the SSB interview and the final selection will be declared thereafter.