CDS Selection Procedure โ€“ Complete Details

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The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination for recruitment into the following defence academies:

  • Indian Military Academy (IMA)
  • Indian Naval Academy (INA)
  • Air Force Academy (AFA)
  • Officers Training Academy (OTA)

The CDS selection process consists of four stages, as mentioned below:

  1. Written Examination
  2. Interview/ Intelligence Test/ Personality Test
  3. Document Verification
  4. Medical Examination

1. Written Examination

The written examination is the first stage of the CDS selection process. The key points are:

  • The written test consists of objective-type (multiple-choice) questions.
  • The time duration for each paper is 2 hours, and the maximum marks for each subject are 100.
  • Subjects Covered:
    • Candidates applying for IMA, INA, and AFA have to appear for:
      • English (100 Marks)
      • General Knowledge (100 Marks)
      • Elementary Mathematics (100 Marks)
    • Candidates applying for Officers Training Academy (OTA) have to appear for:
      • English (100 Marks)
      • General Knowledge (100 Marks)

Qualifying for the Next Stage

Candidates who clear the written exam will be shortlisted for the Intelligence and Personality Test at the Services Selection Board (SSB) based on their preference and as per the cutoff set by the respective defence service headquarters.

2. Interview/ Intelligence Test/ Personality Test

The SSB Interview process is conducted for candidates who qualify in the written examination. It is a comprehensive assessment of a candidateโ€™s mental, psychological, and leadership abilities.

The SSB Interview is divided into two stages:

Stage I โ€“ Screening Test

This stage includes:

  1. Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) Test โ€“ Consists of verbal and non-verbal reasoning questions.
  2. Picture Perception and Description Test (PP&DT) โ€“ Candidates are shown an image and asked to write a story based on it, followed by a group discussion.

Candidates who clear Stage I are eligible for Stage II, while those who fail are sent back.

Stage II โ€“ Assessment Tests (Conducted over 4 Days)

This stage includes multiple rounds to assess a candidateโ€™s personality and potential as an officer. It comprises:

a) Personal Interview

  • Conducted by a senior interviewing officer who evaluates the candidateโ€™s personality, communication skills, and confidence.

b) Group Testing Officer (GTO) Tasks

  • Includes group discussions, group planning exercises, outdoor tasks, and command tasks.
  • Candidates are assessed based on leadership qualities, teamwork, and decision-making ability.

c) Psychological Tests

  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) โ€“ Candidates are shown images and asked to write stories based on them.
  • Word Association Test (WAT) โ€“ Candidates are given words, and they must form meaningful sentences.
  • Situation Reaction Test (SRT) โ€“ Candidates are presented with real-life scenarios and asked how they would react.
  • Self-Description Test (SDT) โ€“ Candidates write about themselves from different perspectives (e.g., parents, teachers, friends).

d) Conference Round

  • A final meeting where all assessors (Interviewing Officer, Group Testing Officer, and Psychologist) discuss the candidateโ€™s overall performance and decide the final recommendation.

Marking System

  • There is no fixed weightage for individual tests.
  • The final marks are based on the candidateโ€™s overall performance across all assessments.
  • The final decision of selection is made by the SSB board.

3. Document Verification

Candidates who pass the SSB Interview are required to verify their documents before proceeding to the medical examination.

The required documents include:

  • 10th and 12th mark sheets & certificates
  • Graduation degree or equivalent
  • Identity proof (Aadhar Card, PAN Card, or Passport)
  • Other category certificates (if applicable)

4. Medical Examination

Candidates recommended by the SSB Board must undergo a detailed medical examination to ensure they meet the medical standards for defence services.

Types of Medical Examinations

  • Conducted by a Special Medical Board (SMB) comprising Service Medical Officers.
  • Includes a thorough physical and mental fitness check.
  • Candidates found unfit are not eligible for selection.

Appeal Medical Board (AMB)

  • If a candidate is declared unfit, they can appeal for a review medical board at a Command Hospital within 42 days.
  • If the appeal is successful, the candidate is considered for final selection.

Final Selection and Training

After clearing all four stages, the final merit list is prepared based on:

  1. Written Exam Scores
  2. SSB Interview Performance
  3. Medical Fitness

Candidates who make it to the merit list are offered admission to their preferred academy:

  • IMA (Dehradun) โ€“ Army training for permanent commission
  • INA (Ezhimala, Kerala) โ€“ Naval training for permanent commission
  • AFA (Hyderabad) โ€“ Air Force training for permanent commission
  • OTA (Chennai & Gaya) โ€“ Army training for short service commission

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