UPSC CDS Syllabus, Exam Pattern — Combined Defence Services Examination (II) 2026 (Notice No. 11/2026-CDS-II)
| Conducting body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
|---|---|
| Qualification | IMA and OTA: a degree of a recognised University or equivalent. INA: a degree in Engineering, or B.Sc. with Physics as a core/elective subject, with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level. AFA: a degree with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level, or a Bachelor of Engineering. Age: IMA/INA 19–24 years (born 01.07.2003 – 01.07.2008), AFA 20–24 years, OTA 19–25 years; candidates below 25 must be unmarried — the notice gives the detailed marital-status conditions. |
| Selection process | Written Examination → SSB Test/Interview (two-stage: OIR + Picture Perception on day one, then Interview, Group Testing, Psychology Tests and Conference over 4 days). Final merit: written + SSB. |
| Negative marking | One-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer. Marking more than one answer counts as a wrong answer; a blank answer has no penalty. |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in |
Exam Pattern
Written Examination — IMA, INA and Air Force Academy
All three papers are objective-type. Elementary Mathematics is of Matriculation level; the other papers are of approximately graduate level.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (Code 11) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
| General Knowledge (Code 12) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
| Elementary Mathematics (Code 13) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
Written total: 300 marks
Written Examination — Officers' Training Academy (OTA)
OTA candidates do NOT take the Elementary Mathematics paper.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (Code 11) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
| General Knowledge (Code 12) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
Written total: 200 marks
SSB Test / Interview
The SSB maximum equals the written maximum for each course, so the grand total is 600 marks for IMA/INA/AFA and 400 marks for OTA.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSB Test/Interview — IMA, INA, AFA | — | 300 | — |
| SSB Test/Interview — OTA | — | 200 | — |
Grand totals: 600 marks (IMA/INA/AFA) · 400 marks (OTA)
Syllabus — Topics to Prepare
These topics are listed in the official notification's syllabus.
English
- Tests the candidate's understanding of English and workmanlike use of words
General Knowledge
- Current events
- Matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects, as expected of an educated person without special scientific study
- History of India and Geography, of a nature that can be answered without special study
Elementary Mathematics (Matriculation level)
- Arithmetic — Number System, Elementary Number Theory
- Algebra
- Trigonometry
- Geometry
- Mensuration
- Statistics
Sources (official documents)
Checked: Pattern verified from the official UPSC notification No. 11/2026-CDS-II dated 20.05.2026 (Appendix-I scheme and syllabus; Appendix-II penalty rule). The scheme table does not state question counts, so those are left blank. Always confirm with the latest notification before applying.