The Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS)

The CDS Stands for Combined Defence Service Examination. This Exam is conducted for the selection of the Officers into the various Armed forces academies to be an officer. One can join the following Armed force academies through the CDS: Indian Air Force Academy Indian Military Academy Indian Naval Academy Officer’s Training Academy etc To get selected through the CDS Exam, One will have to clear the phases of selection. Both rounds are tough to clear. You need to join the Best CDS Coaching Center in Chandigarh to prepare in a better manner and be able to clear exams. Join the Graec IAS Academy and get prepared well for your examinations. Well, before moving more into the preparation, let’s see the CDS Exam details.

CDS Exam Pattern for IMA, INA, AFA

Subject

Duration

Maximum Marks

Marks for Correct answer

Negative marking

English 

2 hrs

100

+1 marks for each correct option

-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

General Knowledge

2 hrs

100

+1 marks for each correct option

-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

Elementary Mathematics

2 hrs

100

+1 marks for each correct option

-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

CDS Exam Pattern for OTA

Subject

Duration

Maximum Marks

Marks for Correct answer

Negative marking

English

2 hrs

100

+1 marks for each correct option

-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

General Knowledge

2 hrs

100

+1 marks for each correct option

-0.33 marks for each wrong answer

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CDS Exam Pattern – SSC Interview

Candidates who qualify in the CDS written examination will have to appear for SSB Interview. The examination of CDS is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission but the interview is held by the Service Selection Board – SSB. 

The SSB Interview is conducted in two stages over a period of 4 days – 

Stage I – comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception Description Test (PP&DT)

Stage II – consists of Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and Conference. Only the candidates shortlisted in Stage I of SSB Interview are called for this stage. 

Now that you are aware of the CDS exam pattern, let us move ahead to the section-wise and topic-wise CDS Syllabus.

CDS Syllabus – Elementary Mathematics

Algebra

Basic Operations, Simple factors, Remainder Theorem, HCF/LCM, Theory of polynomials, Quadratic equations,Relation between its roots and coefficients (Only real roots to be considered), Simultaneous linear equations in two unknowns—analytical and graphical solutions, Simultaneous linear inequations in two variables and their solutions, Practical problems leading to two simultaneous linear equations or inequations in two variables or quadratic equations in one variable & their solutions, Set language and set notation, Rational expressions and conditional identities, Laws of indices

Arithmetic

Number System: Natural numbers, Integers, Rational and Real numbers.

Fundamental operations: addition, substraction, multiplication, division, Square roots, Decimal fractions

Unitary method, Time and Distance, Time and work, Percentages, Simple and compound interest, Profit and loss

Ratio and proportion, Variation, Elementary Number Theory: Division algorithm, Prime and composite numbers, Tests of divisibility by 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11, Multiples and factors. Factorisation Theorem H.C.F. and L.C.M., Euclidean algorithm, Logarithms to base 10, Laws of logarithms and use of logarithmic tables

Geometry

Lines and angles, Plane and plane figures, Theorems on Properties of angles at a point, Parallel lines, Sides and angles of a triangle, Congruence of triangles, Similar triangles, Concurrence of medians and altitudes, Properties of angles, Sides and diagonals of a Parallelogram, Rectangle and square, Circles and its properties including tangents and normals and Loci

Trigonometry

Sine ×, cosine ×, Tangent × when 0° < × < 90°

Values of sin ×, cos × and tan ×, for ×= 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°

Simple trigonometric identities

Use of trigonometric tables

Simple cases of heights and distances

Statistics

Collection and tabulation of statistical data, Graphical representation frequency polygons, Histograms, Bar charts, Pie charts, etc., Measures of central tendency

Mensuration

Areas of squares, Rectangles, Parallelograms, Triangle and Circle. Areas of figures which can be split up into these figures (Field Book), Surface area and volume of cuboids, Lateral surface and volume of right circular cones and cylinders, Surface area and volume of spheres

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CDS Syllabus – English

1.Antonyms
2.Sentence improvement
3.Comprehension
4.Synonyms
5.Word substitution
6.Ordering of sentences
7.Spotting Errors
8.Selecting Words
9.Ordering of words in a sentence

CDS Syllabus – General Knowledge

Current Awareness, Economics, Physics, Biology, Sociology, Chemistry, Award and honours, books and authors, History, Politics, Geography, Environment, Defence, Sport and Culture.

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