The notification for the Combined Defence Services Examination (I) 2023 has been released on 21st December 2022 according to the Union Public Service Commission calendar. The exam is a national-level examination for the recruitment of candidates into the Indian Military Academy, the Officers’ Training Academy, the Indian Naval Academy, and the Indian Air Force Academy.
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The exam is conducted twice a year and can be attempted in Hindi or English. It is an offline, written examination. The CDS 1 2023 exam will be conducted on 16th April 2023.
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CDS 1 2023 Important Dates:
CDS 1 2023 Important Dates: UPSC will publish the CDS 1 2023 notification and important dates. Let’s have a look at the tentative schedule for CDS 1 2023 exam.
| CDS 1 2023 EVENTS | DATES |
| CDS 1 2023 Application Start Date | 21 December 2022 |
| CDS 1 2023 Application Last Date | 12 January 2023 (Updated) |
| CDS 1 2023 Exam Date | 16 April 2023 (SUNDAY) |
| CDS 1 2023 Admit Card Download Date | 3 weeks before exam |
| CDS 1 2023 Result Date (Expected) | May – June 2023 |
| CDS 1 2023 Official Notification | Download PDF |
CDS 1 2023 Notification:
The CDS 1 2023 notification will be released by the UPSC on the 21st of December, 2022, according to the UPSC calendar.
CDS 1 2023 Application Fee:
Candidates belonging to the General Caste and Other Backward Classes are required to pay the amount of Rs. 200/- as registration fees. Women and other castes are exempted from paying.
CDS 1 2023 Applications:
After the release of the notification, candidates can start applying for the exam by visiting the official UPSC website and clicking on “CDS 1 2023 Applications”. Fill in the form with accurate details and upload the application form.
CDS 1 2023 Admit Card:
Candidates can download their admit card from the official website two weeks prior to the examination. Carefully check your details and if there are any discrepancies, one can inform the authorities via email. Download and print your admit card and carry it for the exam.
CDS 1 2023 Eligibility Criteria:
Nationality:
- A Citizen of India
- A subject of Bhutan or Nepal
- A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1962, intending to permanently settle in India.
- A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam intending to permanently settle in India.
Candidates under points (2), (3), and (4), must have a certificate or proof issued by the Indian Government in favor of their statement.
Candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal are not required to show any kind of certificate of CDS eligibility.
A candidate in whose case a certificate of CDS eligibility 2022 is necessary may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him or her by the Government before the declaration of the results by the UPSC.
CDS 2023 Educational Qualification:
| Military Wing | Educational Qualification |
| For the Indian Military Academy and Officers’ Training Academy | Graduation from a recognized university. |
| For the Indian Naval Academy | An engineering degree from a recognized university. |
| For the Indian Air Force Academy | Bachelor of Engineering or graduation with physics and mathematics in class 12. |
Candidates who are appearing for their final year college exams are also eligible to attempt the CDS Exam. During the time of the SSB interview, an authentic graduation certificate must be provided to the board.
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CDS 2023 Age Limit And Marital Status:
| Military Wing | Age Limit | Marital Status |
| Indian Military Academy | between 19 and 24 years | Unmarried |
| Indian Naval Academy | between 19 and 22 years | Unmarried |
| Indian Air Force Academy | above 25 years unmarried and below 25 years married or unmarried | |
| Officers’ Training Academy | ||
| SSC Women Non-Technical Course | between 19 to 25 years | Unmarried Women, issueless widows who have not remarried, and issueless divorcees, in possession of divorce documents, who have not remarried are eligible. |
| SSC Men Course | between 19 to 25 years | Unmarried |
Undesired Health Issues:
- Wax in ears
- Deviated Nasal Septum
- Hydrocele/Varicocele/Phimosis
- Overweight/Underweight
- Piles
- Gynaecomastia
Permanent body tattoos are strictly prohibited anywhere on the body except for the inner face of the forearm i.e., inside of the elbow to the wrist and on the reverse side of the palm/back, dorsal, and side of the hand.
In certain cases, candidates with tattoos of specific tribes on their faces or bodies as per their existing customs and traditions will be permitted.
CDS 1 2023 Vacancies:
The CDS 1 2023 tentative vacancies are as follows:
| Military Branch | Course | Vacancies |
| Indian Military Academy | 152nd (DE) Course commencing in January 2024 | 100 |
| Indian Naval Academy | Course commencing in January 2024 | 26 |
| Indian Air Force Academy | Pre-Flying Training Course commencing in January 2024 | 32 |
| Officers’ Training Academy – Men | 115th SSC Men Non-Technical Course commencing in April 2024 | 170 |
| Officers’ Training Academy – Women | 29th SSC Women Non-Technical Course commencing in April 2024 | 17 |
CDS 1 2023 Exam Pattern And Syllabus:
Exam Syllabus:
Entrance into the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Indian Air Force Academy requires you to clear three subjects which are English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics.
Entrance into the Officers’ Training Academy requires clearance of only two subjects which are English and General Knowledge.
CDS Exam Pattern For IMA, INA, AFA:
| Subject | Time | Marks |
| English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 hours | 100 |
CDS 2023 Exam Pattern For OTA:
| Subject | Time | Marks |
| English | 2 hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hours | 100 |
CDS 2023 Exam Syllabus:
| Topic | Syllabus |
| English | Spotting Errors Sentence Arrangement Synonyms Antonyms Selecting Words Ordering of Sentence Comprehension Questions |
| General Knowledge | Physics Current Affairs Politics Chemistry History Defence Related Awards Geography Sports Biology Cultural Knowledge |
| Elementary Mathematics | Algebra Trigonometry Geometry MensurationStatistics Arithmetic |
CDS 1 2023 Exam Centres:
| Agartala | Delhi | Jorhat | Raipur |
| Agra | Dharwad | Kochi | Rajkot |
| Ajmer | Dispur | Faridabad | Gangtok |
| Ahmedabad | Gaya | Kohima | Kolkata |
| Aizawl | Ranchi | Kozhikode | Leh |
| Aligarh | Sambalpur | Shillong | Shimla |
| Almora | Bareilly | Chennai | Gorakhpur |
| Anantapur | Bhopal | Coimbatore | Gurgaon |
| Aurangabad | Bilaspur | Cuttack | Gwalior |
| Bengaluru | Chandigarh | Ghaziabad | Hyderabad |
| Imphal | Indore | Itanagar | Jabalpur |
| Jaipur | Jammu | Lucknow | Ludhiana |
| Madurai | Mumbai | Mysore | Nagpur |
| Panaji | Patna | Port Blaire | Prayagraj |
| Puducherry | Siliguri | Srinagar | Srinagar (Uttarakhand) |
| Thane | Thiruvananthapuram | Tiruchirapalli | Tirupati |
| Udaipur | Varanasi | Vellore | Vijayawada |
| Dehradun | Gautam Budh Nagar | Jodhpur | Navi Mumbai |
| Pune | Warangal | Visakhapatnam | – |
CDS 1 2023 Results:
The CDS 1 2023 results will be announced approximately a month after the commencement of the exam. Candidates can visit the official website to check their results. If they have cleared the cut-off, they will be called for the SSB Interview.
Last Official CDS Exam Cut Off
CDS 1 2023 Expected Cut-Off:
| Military Institution | Written Exam Cut-Off | Final Cut-Off |
| Indian Military Academy | 122-130 | 245-254 |
| Indian Naval Academy | 106-122 | 232-252 |
| Air Force Academy | 146-150 | 266-272 |
| Officers Training Academy (Men) | 75-84 | 164-170 |
| Officers Training Academy (Women) | 76-86 | 162-172 |
CDS 1 2023 Selection Process:
Step 1: Written Examination
- The first step is the written exam.
- The question pattern of the written exam for the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Indian Military Academy (IMA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) is divided into three sections which are English, Maths, and GK.
- The question pattern of the written exam for the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) consists of English and General Knowledge.
Step 2: SSB Interview
- Aspirants who clear the written exam are eligible for the SSB Interview which includes the Personality Test/Interview.
- The Personality Test/Interview includes two steps to test the aspirants’ efficiency, that is their personality and psychology.
- The first part is an intelligence and personality test.
- The second step is a psychology test which consists of an interview, group discussion, and conference round.
Step 3: Medical Test
- Aspirants who clear both interview and document verification rounds are eligible for the last step which is the medical tests.
CDS 1 2023 Answer Key:
The answer key will be released on the official website close to the date of the announcement of the results. Candidates can check the answer key on the official website.
Coaching institutions release the answer key sooner after consulting with their students who have given the exam. Candidates can refer to any coaching institution’s website for the answer key.
CDS 1 2023 Salary:
Once selected for training, cadets get a fixed stipend of Rs. 56,100/- per month. Once a commissioned officer, your salary increases gradually with each promotion.
| Rank | Level | Salary |
| Lieutenant | 10 | Rs. 56,100 – 1,77,500 |
| Captain | 10 B | Rs. 61,300 – 1,93,900 |
| Major | 11 | Rs. 69,400 – 2,07,200 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 12 A | Rs. 1,21,200 – 2,12,400 |
| Colonel | 13 | Rs. 1,30,600 – 2,15,900 |
| Brigadier | 13 A | Rs. 1,39,600 – 2,17,600 |
| Major General | 14 | Rs. 1,44,200 – 2,18,200 |
| Lieutenant General HAG Scale | 15 | Rs. 1,82,200 – 2,24,100 |
| HAG + Scale | 16 | Rs. 2,05,400 – 2,24,400 |
| VCOAS/Lieutenant General (NFSG)/Army Cdr | 17 | Rs. 2,25,000 fixed |
| COAS | 18 | Rs. 2,25,000 fixed |
CDS 1 2023 Roles:
- One must be willing to be completely dedicated to their line of work. The country always comes first.
- CDS working environment can be difficult and will vary from Army, and Navy to Air Force.
- The job requires being mentally and physically fit and to be extremely disciplined.
LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSION AND WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATIONS:
(i) Online Applications can be filled up to 12 January 2023 (Updated), 2023 till 6:00 PM.
(ii) The online Applications can be withdrawn from 18.01.2023 to 24.01.2023 till 6.00 PM.
CDS 1 2023 Frequently Asked Questions:
1: How many times is the exam conducted in a year?
The CDS Exam is conducted twice a year and can be attempted in Hindi or English.
2. How many attempts can one give?
There are no restrictions on a number of attempts but one must adhere to the age limit.
3. When can I give the CDS Exam?
One can attempt the CDS Exam in the last semester of their graduation or can give the exam after the completion of the course.
4. When CDS 1 2023 exam will be conducted?
The CDS 1 2023 exam will be conducted on 16th April 2023.
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