CDS II Previous Years Question Papers
Combined Defence Services (CDS) is a written examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) biannually for recruiting candidates to the Officers Training Academy(OTA), Indian Naval Academy(INA), Indian Military Academy(IMA), and Indian Air Force Academy(AFA) accordingly.
CDS 1 is the examination conducted in the first half(February) of the year and CDS II is the examination conducted during the second half of the year (usually by November). Both these examinations are not co-related and therefore Candidates can attempt any one of the CDS examination or both of them. Only medically-fit candidates are eligible for this examination. The candidates scoring good marks for this examination are further interviewed for the Intelligence and Personality Test conducted by the Service Selection Board (SSB) and who qualifies both the written test and interview round are recruited for Indian Army, Navy or Air Force respectively.
CDS II Eligibility:
Check the eligibility criteria before registering for the UPSC CDS Examination.
The candidates must qualify the Age Limit, Educational Qualification and Marital Status inorder to appear in these examinations. The specifications for each post is given below.
- Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) – The Candidates applying for this post should checklist the below requirements:
- Educational Qualification – Graduation or equivalent
- Age Limit – 19 to 24
- Marital Status – Unmarried, Married, Widow, Divorcee
Note: Girls can apply only for the post in OTA – Officers Training Academy.
- Indian Naval Academy (INA) – The Candidates applying for this post should checklist the below requirements:
- Educational Qualification – Bachelor of Engineering
- Age Limit – 19 to 23
- Marital Status – Unmarried
- Indian Military Academy (IMA) – The Candidates applying for this post should checklist the below requirements:
- Educational Qualification – Graduation or equivalent
- Age Limit – 19 to 23
- Marital Status – Unmarried
- Air Force Academy – The Candidates applying for this post should checklist the below requirements:
- Educational Qualification – Graduation with PCM in 10+2 Or Bachelor of Engineering
- Age Limit – 20 to 24
- Marital Status – Unmarried
Note: All candidates must be physically fit according to the standards prescribed by UPSC. Post medical examination if the candidate is found unfit, He/she wouldn’t be eligible for the CDS Examination.
CDS II Exam Pattern:
The CDS Examination comprises of two stages primarily:
1) A written examination
2) Interview by Service Selection Board (SSB).
The Written Examination:
- The mode of examination is Offline
- The question paper consists of Objective Type Questions only.
- The medium of language is English and Hindi for the examination except for the Subject English.The Question Paper pattern for Admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy are:
| Subject | Number of Questions | Marks | Duration |
| English | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| General knowledge | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| Elementary Mathematics | 100 | 100 | 2 Hours |
- The Question Paper pattern for Admission to Officers’ Training Academy is:
| Subject | Number of Questions | Marks | Duration |
| English | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| General knowledge | 120 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| Mathematics | Not Included | – | – |
Note that Negative marking is applicable in the CDS exam. For every wrong answer, one-third mark will be deducted.
The next stage of the selection process is the SSB Interview. It comprises of 2 parts:
- Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) which involve a Picture Perception and Description Test (PP & DT) wherein candidates will be shown a picture for 30 seconds. Post 30 seconds, candidates will be given 4 minutes to write about the picture. Then several groups of 15 members will be formed to discuss and arrive at a conclusion regarding the picture. Based on the discussion and conclusion, the officer will rate your intelligence skills.
- Once this is cleared, the 2nd round consists of Interview, Group Discussion, Psychology Tests and Personality Test Assessment. Based on their performance at these rounds, the candidates are selected for Indian Army, Navy or Air Force respectively.
CDS Syllabus:
The main subjects covered in this examination are English, General knowledge and Mathematics (except for OTA). The syllabus for CDS 1 and CDS II examination is the same. The standard of the papers in Elementary Mathematics will be of Matriculation level while for other subjects, it will be of a graduate level of an Indian University.
English:
- Reading Comprehension
- Synonyms and Antonyms
- Sentence Arrangement
- Spotting Errors
- One Word Substitution
- Para-Jumble
General knowledge:
- Latest Current Affairs
- Indian Constitution
- Indian History and Geography
- Indian Economy
- Indian Politics
- Indian Navy & Military
- Physics topics like motion, force, units, heat, electricity, temperature etc.
- Chemistry topics like organic, inorganic, physical and general Chemistry.
- Biology topics like important diseases and human & plant biology.
Mathematics:
- Arithmetic – Number System, Elementary Number Theory—Division algorithm, Factorisation Theorem, H.C.F. and L.C.M., Euclidean algorithm, Unitary method etc.
- Algebra – Theory of polynomials, solutions of quadratic equations, Simultaneous linear equations, set language and set notation, Remainder Theorem etc.
- Geometry – Theorems on
(i) Properties of angles at a point
(ii) Parallel lines
(iii) Sides and angles of a triangle
(iv) Congruency of triangles
(v) Similar triangles
(vi) Concurrence of medians and altitudes
- Mensuration – Areas of squares, rectangles, parallelograms, triangle and circle; Surface area and volume of cuboids; surface area and volume of spheres.
- Statistics – Graphical representation frequency polygons, histograms, bar charts, pie charts etc.; Measures of central tendency and Collection and tabulation of statistical data.
- Trigonometry – Use of trigonometric tables and Simple trigonometric identities.
Reference to the previous years Question Papers would give a clear idea about the exam pattern, topics covered, marking scheme, time management, etc.
Year wise question papers of CDS II Exam
Click on the below links to download the previous years CDS II Question Papers
| Sl. No | Yearwise Download Link of CDS2 Solved papers |
| 1 | CDS II 2019 |
| 2 | CDS II 2018 |
| 3 | CDS II 2017 |
| 4 | CDS II 2016 |
| 5 | CDS II 2015 |
| 6 | CDS II 2014 |
| 7 | CDS II 2013 |
| 8 | CDS II 2012 |
| 9 | CDS II 2011 |
| 10 | CDS II 2010 |
| 11 | CDS II 2009 |
| 12 | CDS II 2008 |
| 13 | CDS II 2007 |
| 14 | CDS II 2006 |
Some Model Question Papers for the CDS Examination are also provided for your reference. Click on CDS Exam Model Question papers to access them.
For further information, please visit https://upsc.gov.in w
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