UPSC CDS Exam 2021
CDS Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), it is conducted every year for the recruitment of the candidates for the Army, Airforce, and Navy wing of the Indian Military Academy (Dehradun), Officers Training Academy, Chennai (Madras), Indian Naval Academy (Ezhimala), Air Force Academy (Hyderabad).
On the 7th of February 2021 CDS Exam (1) has been conducted every year around three lakhs of students appear for the exam and around 6552 of them will be called for the stage two process that is SSB (Service Selection Board). Because of the Covid pandemic, many students skipped the CDS (1) 2021 exam.
CDS (1) 2021 Exam held for the 345 vacancies, the detail of vacancies for CDS (1) 2021 Exam given below:
Academy |
Number of Vacancies |
Indian Military Academy (Dehradun) (Army wing NCC ‘C’ certificate holders have 13 reserved vacancies) |
100 |
Indian Naval Academy (Ezhimala) (Navy wing NCC ‘C’ certificate holders have 6 reserved vacancies) |
26 |
Air Force Academy (Hyderabad) (Airforce wing NCC ‘C’ certificate holders have 3 reserved vacancies) |
32 |
Officers Training Academy, Chennai (Madras)- SSC (men) |
170 |
Officers Training Academy, Chennai (Madras)- SSC (women) |
17 |
Total |
345 |
CDS Exam Cut off
CDS Cut Off 2021 (1)
The important CDS (1) 2021 dates are given below:
Events |
Dates |
Description |
CDS (1) Notification |
28/10/2020 |
Schedule and other exam details are released. |
CDS (1) Application Form |
28/10/2020 |
Online registration for NDA started. |
CDS (1) Last Date to Apply |
17/11/2020 |
Candidates must submit their online applications before this date. |
CDS (1) Admit Card |
07/01/2021 |
Admit Card will be available to download. |
CDS (1) Written Exam |
07/02/2021 |
The offline written exam will be held in three shifts. |
CDS 1 2021 Result date |
23 March 2021 |
Declaration of results of selected candidates. |
CDS (1) SSB interview |
Between April to May 2021
Between June to July 2021 (for OTA) |
SSB will be conducted for the selected candidates from stage 1 of the written exam. |
CDS 1 2021Cut Off release |
November 2021 |
UPSC officially announced the CDS (1) cut-off. |
CDS (2) 2021 Cut Off Dates:
The important CDS (2) 2021 dates are given below:
Events |
Dates |
Description |
CDS (2) Notification |
04/08/2021 |
Schedule and other exam details are released. |
CDS (2) Application Form |
04/08/2021 |
Online registration for NDA started. |
CDS (2) Last Date to Apply |
24/08/2021 |
Candidates must submit their online applications before this date. |
CDS (2) Admit Card |
October 2021 |
Admit Card will be available to download. |
CDS (2) Written Exam |
14/11/2021 |
The offline written exam will be held in two shifts. |
CDS (2) Result |
December 2021 |
Declaration of results of selected candidates. |
CDS (2) SSB interview |
Between January to February 2022
Between March to April 2022 (for OTA) |
SSB will be conducted for the selected candidates from stage 1 of the written exam. |
CDS (2) Cut Off release |
May 2022 |
UPSC officially announced the CDS (1) cut-off. |
UPSC CDS Exam Pattern:
CDS Exam is conducted in offline mode in objective questions format. CDS 2021 has three papers that are of English, General Knowledge, and Mathematics. Each paper is of 100 marks and the duration of each paper is 2 hours. The detailed pattern analysis of the CDS paper is given below:
Paper | Subjects | Duration | No. of Questions |
Max. Marks |
Paper 1 | English | 2 hours | 120 |
100 |
Paper 2 |
General Knowledge | 2 hours | 120 |
100 |
Paper 3 |
Elementary Mathematics | 2 hours | 100 |
100 |
CDS 1 2021 Expected Cut Off:
The difficulty level of the UPSC CDS (1) 2021 exam is moderate the level of questions asked are mostly of moderate difficulty level and simple, few questions are conceptual based which need in-depth knowledge to solve it but the overall difficulty of the paper is medium and depending on the number of students appeared in the exam and available vacancies the cut off for CDS (1) 2021 is expected to be:
Academy |
Written Marks | |
Minimum Qualifying Marks |
Expected Cut Off Marks |
|
IMA |
20 |
130-135 |
INA |
20 |
120-125 |
AFA |
20 |
145-150 |
OTA (Men) |
20 |
90-95 |
OTA (Women) |
20 |
90-95 |
See Here: CDS Exam 2021 Syllabus
Factors that determine the UPSC CDS (1) 2021 Cut Off:
- CDS Cut Off of previous years.
- The total number of candidates who appeared in the CDS (1)2021 exam.
- A total number of candidates who qualify for CDS (1)2021.
- Exam difficulty level.
- Total vacancies available for all the wings and academies.
Important Related Links for CDS Exams
Previous Years UPSC CDS Exam Cut Off:
The previous year’s UPSC CDS cut-off will help you to understand the expected future cut-off and helps you to make your preparation strategy. The previous years of CDS cut off given below:
UPSC CDS (2) 2019 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks |
Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
134 |
258 |
INA |
122 |
245 |
AFA |
148 |
272 |
OTA (Men) |
95 |
176 |
OTA (Women) |
95 |
179 |
UPSC CDS (1) 2019 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks |
Final Selection Marks |
|
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
IMA |
116 |
242 |
INA |
105 |
233 |
AFA | 129 |
264 |
OTA (Men) |
78 |
160 |
OTA (Women) |
78 |
162 |
UPSC CDS (2) 2018 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
116 |
242 |
INA |
102 |
228 |
AFA |
131 |
253 |
OTA (Men) |
80 |
162 |
OTA (Women) |
80 |
163 |
UPSC CDS (1) 2018 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
118 |
240 |
INA |
98 |
225 |
AFA |
138 |
279 |
OTA (Men) |
69 |
154 |
OTA (Women) |
69 |
150 |
UPSC CDS (2) 2017 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
120 |
244 |
INA |
111 |
237 |
AFA |
135 |
260 |
OTA (Men) |
86 |
167 |
OTA (Women) |
86 |
171 |
UPSC CDS (1) 2017 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
125 |
249 |
INA |
118 |
241 |
AFA |
144 |
268 |
OTA (Men) |
82 |
163 |
OTA (Women) |
82 |
164 |
UPSC CDS (2) 2016 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
105 |
227 |
INA |
90 |
225 |
AFA |
135 |
258 |
OTA (Men) |
72 |
157 |
OTA (Women) |
72 |
159 |
UPSC CDS (1) 2016 Official Cut Off:
Academy |
Written Exam Marks | Final Selection Marks |
Cut Off Marks of Last Qualifying Candidate |
Last Recommended Candidates Marks |
|
IMA |
72 |
214 |
INA |
63 |
217 |
AFA |
123 |
249 |
OTA (Men) |
68 |
150 |
OTA (Women) |
68 |
157 |
Previous Years Result Analysis of UPSC CDS Exam:
The list of the total number of qualifying candidates of stage 1 written exam and final recommended candidates is given below:
Exam |
Number of Candidates Qualified CDS Written Exam |
Final Recommended Candidates |
CDS (1) 2021 |
6,552 |
NA |
CDS (2) 2020 |
6,727 |
NA |
CDS (1) 2020 |
7,018 |
NA |
CDS (2) 2019 |
4,902 (Excluding OTA Candidates) |
196 (Excluding OTA Candidates) |
CDS (1) 2019 |
7,953 |
370 |
CDS (2) 2018 |
7,650 |
295 |
CDS (1) 2018 |
8,261 |
272 |
CDS (2) 2017 |
8,692 |
419 |
CDS (1) 2017 |
8,548 |
441 |
CDS (2) 2016 |
8,563 |
593 |
CDS (1) 2016 | 8,411 |
325 |
See Here: UPSC NDA Exam Syllabus