CDS Syllabus 2024: The Union Public Service Commission conducts the CDS exam twice a year. The CDS exam is conducted for hiring candidates in more prestigious defence training academies at officer rank.
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There are two stages in the CDS selection process: the CDS written exam and the SSB interview. The CDS syllabus for the written exam consists of English, elementary mathematics, and general knowledge.
The CDS syllabus for IMA, INA, and AFA consists of English, Elementary Mathematics, and General Knowledge, while the CDS syllabus for OTA only includes two subjects, i.e., English and GK.
As per the schedule, the exam date for CDS 1 is April 21, 2024. Hence, candidates must start their preparation by checking the detailed CDS syllabus for 2024.
Get the detailed CDS Exam Syllabus 2024 and the exam pattern in the given article.
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2024 Highlights
Specifications | Details |
Exam Name | CDS (Combined Defence Services) Examination |
Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission |
Exam Frequency | Yearly (Twice) |
Exam Level | National |
Exam Stages | Offline Written Exam Interview Rounds are conducted by SSB (Service Selection Board). |
Exam Duration | 2 hours/Section |
Total Questions | IMA/INA/AFA – 300 OTA – 200 |
Mode of Language | English and Hindi |
Official Website | www.upsc.gov.in |
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2024 (Revised)
As per the UPSC CDS exam pattern, the syllabus is divided into various sections as per the branches. The CDS Exam syllabus will hold three major sections: English, Elementary Mathematics, and General Knowledge.
These sections consist of objective-type questions on various topics. We have covered all the topics that will appear in these sections.
Along with the syllabus, candidates should also check the CDS previous year’s papers to know the weightage of each topic in the exam. Candidates can check the syllabus for each subject given in the article below.
CDS English Syllabus 2024
This section will assess the candidate’s grammatical skills. The CDS English syllabus is constructed with various topics, including language skills and grammar. We have included all the topics in the CDS syllabus for English are listed below
- Sentence Arrangement
- Words Arrangement
- Synonyms and antonyms
- Sentence Ordering
- Fill in the blanks.
- Idioms and phrases
- Comprehensions
- Paragraphs
- Spotting Errors
CDS Math Syllabus 2024
The CDS Syllabus 2024 for math consists of miscellaneous questions from various mathematical topics such as arithmetic, measurement, statistics, trigonometry, algebra, and geometry. Candidates are advised to practice the given topics consistently.
CDS Math Syllabus | Topics |
---|---|
Arithmetic | Number Systems Integers Rational Numbers Natural Numbers Real Numbers Decimal Fractions Addition Subtraction Multiplication Fundamental Operations Square Roots Unitary Methods Percentages Time, Work and Distances Profit and Loss Compound Interest Ratio and Proportion Variation |
Elementary Numbers | Division Algorithms Prime and Composite Numbers Multiple Factorization H.C.F. and L.C.M Logarithms Law of Logarithms Tables |
Algebra | Linear equations Residue theorems Polynomials Law of indices Set notations and languages Quadratic equations. |
Trigonometry | Trigonometric Tables Trigonometric Identities Height and Distances Sin, Cos and Tan |
Geometry | Parallel Lines Triangles Sides and Angles of Triangles Medians and Altitudes Circles Properties of Angles Diagonals. |
Mensuration | Squares Rectangles Circles Triangles and Parallelograms Volumes Lateral Surface Cylinders Surface Areas Spheres Volumes of Spheres Surface Area |
Statistics | Statistical Data Graphical Representations Measures of Central Tendency Bar Charts Histograms Pie Charts Collection Tabulation of Statistical Data |
CDS General Knowledge Syllabus 2024
The CDS syllabus 2024 for general knowledge covers current affairs and events related to the prominent issues happening worldwide. Candidates should keep themselves aware of national and international current events while preparing for this section.
Candidates should review updated CDS books and CDS previous-year papers for their CDS preparation. Most of the questions in this section will be based on the events related to the sections given in the table below.
- Sports
- Defence Awards
- Politics
- Geography
- Indian History
- Environment
- Indian Economy
- Current Affairs Related to National And International Events
- General Science: Physics, Biology, and Chemistry
CDS OTA Syllabus 2024
The CDS OTA syllabus is the same as the syllabus of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and the Indian Naval Academy (INA). The only difference is that the OTA doesn’t include mathematics papers. The CDS OTA syllabus only consists of English and general knowledge.
CDS OTA English Syllabus | CDS OTA General knowledge Syllabus |
---|---|
Fill in the blanks | Biology |
Selecting words | Chemistry |
Synonyms and Antonyms | Physics |
Comprehension | History |
Idioms and Phrases | Sociology |
Spotting Error | Economics |
Ordering of words | Environmental Science |
Ordering of Sentence | Sports and Culture |
Geography | |
Politics | |
Defence Related Awards |
UPSC CDS Syllabus: Distribution of Questions
Candidates preparing for the CDS exam must also know the importance of each topic included in the exam. Knowing the distribution of questions will help the candidates strategize their CDS exam preparation.
Check out the subject-wise distribution of the questions in the CDS exam in the table below. The table includes all the important topics and the number of questions released on that topic.
CDS Elementary Maths
CDS Math Topics | Expected Number of Questions |
---|---|
Trigonometry | 16 |
3D Mensuration | 16 |
Number System | 12 |
Simplification | 11 |
Triangle | 10 |
Statics | 5 |
Data Interpretation | 4 |
Quadrilateral | 3 |
Polynomial | 3 |
Percentage | 2 |
Time & Distance | 2 |
Profit & Loss | 2 |
Logarithm | 2 |
Average | 2 |
Divisibility Rule | 2 |
LCM & HCF | 2 |
Time & Work | 2 |
Sequence & Series | 1 |
Circle | 1 |
Remainder Theorem | 1 |
2D Mensuration | 1 |
CDS General Knowledge
CDS GK | Expected Number of Questions |
---|---|
Polity | 20 |
Geography | 18 |
Modern History | 16 |
Economics | 13 |
Current Affairs | 12 |
Chemistry | 12 |
Physics | 9 |
Biology | 9 |
Medieval History | 5 |
Defence | 3 |
Static GS | 3 |
CDS English
CDS English | Expected Number of Questions |
---|---|
Comprehension | 10 |
Ordering of words in a sentence | 10 |
Synonyms | 10 |
Antonyms | 10 |
Preposition & Determinants | 10 |
Ordering of sentence | 10 |
Cloze Test | 10 |
Spotting Error | 10 |
Parts of Speech | 10 |
Fill in the blanks | 10 |
Completion of sentence | 10 |
CDS 2024 Exam Pattern
The mode of the CDS 2024 exam is offline. Candidates will get an OMR sheet (Optical Mark Recognition) in which they have to mention their responses. The CDS Exam Pattern 2024 consists of three sections with a total of 300 marks for NA, IAF, and IMA, while for OTA, the exam consists of 2 sections with a total of 200 marks.
As per the CDS Exam Pattern 2024, the candidates will have 2 hours to finish each section of the paper, and for each incorrect response, 1/3 of the marks will be deducted.
- CDS Exam Pattern for NA, IAF, and IMA
Subjects | Total Questions | Total Marks | Exam Duration |
---|---|---|---|
English | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
General Knowledge | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
Elementary Mathematics | 100 | 100 | 2 Hours |
2. CDS Exam Pattern for OTA
Subjects | Total Questions | Total Marks | Exam Duration |
---|---|---|---|
English | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
General Knowledge | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
UPSC CDS Syllabus 2024 FAQs
Ans- The subjects included in the SSC CDS exam syllabus are English, elementary mathematics, and general knowledge.
Ans- There are only two sections: English and General Knowledge.
Ans- The UPSC CDS 2024 will be conducted in Hindi and English.
Ans- Candidates should consider The Hindu and The Economic Times for preparing this section.
Ans- For IMA/INA/AFA, there are three papers: general knowledge, English, and mathematics while for OTA there will be no Mathematics paper.
Ans- The CDS math syllabus includes various mathematical topics such as arithmetic, measurement, statistics, trigonometry, algebra, and geometry.
Ans: There are minor changes in the exam syllabus. The UPSC will release the CDS syllabus along with the CDS notification.
Ans- The CDS syllabus for OTA consists of two papers: English and general knowledge.
Does the CDS course curriculum change yearly?
Actually, the UPSC CDS syllabus and the nature of the exam’s questions typically stay the same over time. The CDS syllabus does not change annually, but the General Awareness syllabus changes, as it assesses applicants’ familiarity with current events and occurring. As a result, the questions from this section have been modified.
What Key topic Would Be Included in the 2023 CDS Syllabus?
To plan their preparations effectively, candidates should review the key topics in the CDS syllabus 2023. Reading Comprehension, Synonyms and Antonyms, Mensuration, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Current Events, History, Geography, and other key subjects are just a few.
How can I get ready to take the UPSC CDS exam?
All of the topics covered by the CDS syllabus must be well understood in order to create a study schedule that works. The entire syllabus for each subject must be read through before beginning preparation for any topic. Assign greater weight to subjects with higher weights, such as current affairs, data interpretation, and reading comprehension, for example.
The CDS syllabus is set by whom?
The Union Public Service Commission’s relevant officials set the requirements for the CDS curriculum. They design the syllabus such that candidates are evaluated based on their intelligence, persona, command of the English language, awareness of current events, and aptitude for mathematics, and then they hire the qualified candidates. The candidates must be familiar with the comprehensive CDS exam material if they hope to pass the test and land the desired job.