CDS(Combined Defence Services) | Shield Defence Academy

Overview

UPSC has announced exam dates for the CDS examination cycle of 2023. The CDS 1 exam will be held on April 06, 2023. The exam center will be in 70 cities. The release of the CDS Admits Card will be three weeks before the exam date. The best CDS defence institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy is here with all doubt clarifications for the CDS(Combined Defence Services) examination.

UPSC will announce CDS Official Notification for the exam on December 21, 2022. UPSC will conduct CDS Exam for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Officers Training Academy.

CDS will be conducted by UPSC for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Officers Training Academy. The best CDS defence coaching in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy imparts the best education methodologies for selection. The selection of candidates is based on the written exam followed by SSB Interview for intelligence and personality test.

CDS aspirants must begin their preparations as per the exam schedule at least six months before the exam by going through the previous year’s question papers, exam pattern, and syllabus. Join the best CDS defence center for the historic selection. Candidates must also attempt mock tests to improve speed and accuracy.

·      What are CDS (I) and (II) Exams? The "Combined Defence Services" (CDS) Examination is conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment of candidates into the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Indian Air Force Academy. The UPSC will conduct the CDS exam twice a year in the month of February and September.  Candidates who aim to serve the nation by joining the defence forces can start applying for the CDS examination. In order to apply online for the CDS examination, candidates should meet all the eligibility requirements set by the Commission. The selection of the candidates will be based on a written examination followed by an interview for intelligence and personality test. The shortlisted candidates will be placed at the respective academies based on their preference and merit

·         Name of the Academy City 1 Indian Military Academy Dehradun 2 Indian Naval Academy Ezhimala 3 Air Force Academy Hyderabad 4 Officers’ Training Academy Chennai.

CDS Eligibility Criteria:-

UPSC prescribes CDS eligibility criteria in terms of nationality, age limit, and educational qualification. To apply for the exam, candidates need to meet the eligibility parameters. CDS eligibility criteria are given below.

Candidates must be citizens of India

For the Indian Military Academy (IMA), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply

For the Indian Naval Academy (IMA), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply

Candidates applying for Air Force Academy should be between 20 to 24 years as on January 1, 2023. They must have been born not earlier than January 2, 1999, and not later than January 1, 2003

For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for men), unmarried male candidates born not earlier than January 2, 1998, and not later than January 1, 2004, are eligible to apply

For Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course), candidates should be unmarried and born not earlier than January 2, 1998, and not later than January 1, 2004

@For IMA and Officers’ Training Academy, the required educational qualification is Graduation in any discipline from a recognized university

@For Indian Naval Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognized university

@For Air Force Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognized university. They must have studied Physics and Mathematics in Class 12.

CDS Application Form 2023-

CDS 2023 application form will be released online by UPSC. The application form comprises two parts. The application fee can be paid both online and offline. The application fees are INR 200 for General and OBC male candidates. SC, and ST candidates are exempted from fee payment. Candidates must check the eligibility criteria before filling out the application form. The best CDS defence institute inLucknow Shield Defence Academy is here to share the best strategies. must join.

How to Fill CDS Application Form 2023?

The steps to fill CDS application form 2023 are given below.

1) Visit the official website of UPSC

Go to the Part 1 registration CDS online form.

2)Fill in personal details, contact details, preferences of academies, etc

Registration ID is generated

3)Fill out the Part 2 registration form of CDS by logging in with the required credentials

4)Pay the application fees, select exam center, upload the scanned images of the photograph, signature, and photo-identity card document

5)Submit the application form after verifying the details.

Eligibility Criteria Physical Criteria Candidates must be physically and mentally fit according to prescribed physical standards for admission to CDS, a candidate who has resigned or withdrawn on disciplinary grounds from any of the training academies of Armed Forces is not eligible to apply Permanent body tattoos are only permitted on the inner face of the forearm, i.e. from inside of elbow to the wrist and on the reverse side of palm/back (dorsal) side of the hand Permanent body tattoos on any other part of the body are not acceptable and candidates will be barred from further selection. Tribes with tattoo marks on the face or body as per their existing custom and traditions will be permitted on a case-to-case basis.

The concessions are not applicable to Air Force Height and Weight standards and are mentioned in the official notification for Army and Navy only. Interpolation for weights against the height not mentioned may be done.

@Nationality: Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried and must either be:- (i) A Citizen of India, (ii) A subject of Nepal, or (iii) A Person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India. Provide that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii) above shall be a person who is in favor of a certificate of eligibility that has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will, however, not be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Government.

Educational Qualification:

1. For IMA & Officers' Training Academy, Chennai - Degree of a recognized University or Equivalent.

2. 2. For Indian Naval Academy - Degree in Engineering from a recognized University / Institution.

3. 3. For Air Force Academy - Degree of a recognized University (with Physics & Mathematics at 10+2 Level) or Bachelor or Engineering.

NOTE: Candidates with the first choice as Army / Navy / Air Force are to submit proof of Graduation / Provisional Certificates on the date of commencement of the SSB interview at the SSB. Candidates who are studying in the final year / Semester Degree Course and have yet to pass the final year degree examination can also apply provided the candidate should not have any backlog up to the last semester/year for which results have been declared up to the time of submission of application and they will be required to submit proof of passing the degree examination at the time of commencement of the course. Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Combined Defence Services Examination (I) & (II), 2022 as per guidelines given in the official notification.

Exam Pattern:-

The CDS examination consists of three sections, namely English Language, General Knowledge, and Mathematics. The duration of each subject is two hours. The overall CDS (I) 2022 exam was rated between moderate and tough. Let's look at each section. 

English Language - A total of 120 questions were asked for a total of 100 marks. Around 20 synonym and antonym questions were asked which are believed to be a bit tough. 10 questions each from the phrase rearrangement, fill in the blanks, and sentence rearrangement. Around 20 questions from the reading comprehension, were rated as moderate. Aspirants also found 20 questions on error detection which were difficult. After analyzing the paper, more than 60 attempts in English will make the chances bright. 

General Knowledge -This is a scoring section and many test takers find it easy to answer. The questions were about history, geography, economy, and politics. Aspirants also found that questions about current affairs are easy. However, 27 questions from general science are moderate. One who has attempted more than 84 questions can be considered a good attempt. 

Mathematics - It consists of 100 questions with one mark each. Around 20 questions came from the number system. The geometry and area & perimeter questions were easy. Test takers also got questions from trigonometry, statistics, time and work, simple and compound interest, average, ratio and proportion, profit and loss, and percentage.

SSB Overview

The selection process at the SSB is based on highly scientific and well-evolved techniques, which aim at assessing the personality traits of an individual in the context of the requirements of the Defence Forces. The SSB recommends the candidate as a potential officer material, who after rigorous training in the stipulated training academy and further chiseling in the unit into which he/she is commissioned subsequently, can be suitably groomed into an officer. The best SSB coaching center in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy grooms the aspirant's personality in a well-trained manner.

The experience, maturity, and familiarity with the service conditions, enable him/her to subsequently discharge the service obligations appropriately.

The SSBs adopt three different techniques of testing the candidates, applied by three different assessors (Interviewing Officer, GTO &Psychologist) to assess the same personality traits of the candidate at his conscious, sub-conscious & non-conscious levels. These techniques are as listed below:-

·         Interview Technique

·         Group Testing Technique

·         Psychological Technique

It is interesting to understand, that though the above three techniques are divergent in their application and tools of assessment; these converge to quantify the acceptable shades of the same personality traits desired to be possessed by the candidate.

The requirement of applying the three techniques to a candidate is to provide a three-dimensional view of his personality. It may be compared to viewing an object from its three different sides so that an overall complete picture is available when the assessment of the three assessors is finally put together.

Further, certain traits and qualities are more prominently discernable through a particular technique, eg, physical stamina, through GTO’s technique, as compared to the other two techniques. Hence, the ‘grey areas of one technique are confirmed by the inputs received from the other assessors during the final Board Conference. Hence the best and most excellent SSB defence institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy helps to inculcate officer quality.

SSB Interview Procedure

The SSB interviewer looks for 15-character traits called “Officer Like Qualities”. The best SSB coaching institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy imparts the best part of hacks to deal with the SSB process.

The mechanism to check the done by the following procedure:

@Day 1 (Screening):

The first day involves 3 tests:

Picture Perception & Discussion Test (PP&DT)

Officer Intelligence Rating Test (OIR Test):

The first day involves the ‘Officer Intelligence Rating Test’ which consists of Verbal and Non-verbal Tests. The candidate gets two booklets having 40 questions each. The time allotted for each booklet is 15- 17 minutes.

Picture Perception & Discussion Test (PP&DT):

This test can be further categorized into:

Picture Perception: An image is displayed for a time period of 30 seconds and the candidates need to note down its details such as sex, age, and mood of the characters, action performed by them. The candidates then create a story based on that image in a time period of 4 minutes.

Group Discussion: A group of 10-15 candidates is formed from the batch and each candidate needs to narrate his/her story and then discuss it in the group, to reach a common consensus.

The results are declared after which the shortlisted candidates are retained for the subsequent round of testing.

@Day 2 (Psychology Test):

On the second day of SSB, a Psychological Test is conducted. The following tests take place on this day:

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):

Candidates are shown 12 images (including 1 blank) and then they need to write a story on each for 4 minutes. The time limit is imposed to gauge the natural response of each candidate.

Word Association Test (WAT):

60 words are displayed in front of the candidates for 15 seconds each and the candidates need to write down a sentence that comes to their mind on seeing the word.

Situation Reaction Test (SRT):

A booklet is given to the candidates with 60 real-life situations and the candidates are required to write their reactions to those situations. The total duration of this exercise is 30 minutes.

elf-Description Test (SDT):

Candidates need to write a few paragraphs covering their self-description for the context given. For instance, writing the opinion of their parents, teachers, friends, etc., and the qualities the candidates wish to develop. The time allotted for this test is 15 minutes.

These tests are aimed to gauge the psychological suitability of a candidate for the defence forces.

@Day 3 (Group Testing – I):

Day 3 involves Group Testing. Here several outdoor tests are conducted where the candidates need to take part in groups. This day involves the following group tests:

Group Discussion:

The group discussion is conducted on two topics back to back on some current events or social issues. The discussion is usually 20-30 minutes each.

Group Planning Exercise (GPE):

Here the candidates are clubbed in a group of 10 – 15 people and are then given a story based on a model having certain issues. Candidates need to identify the issues and provide a practical solution for it.

Progressive Group Task (PGT):

Candidates need to overcome the 4 given obstacles collectively in a group for which they are given some helping material and a load with some rules.

Group Obstacle Race (GOR):

Commonly referred to as the Snake race, each group is required to compete against another group for 6 given obstacles.

Half Group Task (HGT):

This exercise is like PGT, but it is conducted with a smaller group over a single obstacle.

@Day 4 (Group Testing – II):

This day is again dedicated to Group Testing. Following tests are conducted on this day:

Lecturette:

Each candidate is presented with 4 topics out of which he needs to choose one and speak on it for a period of 3 minutes.

Individual Obstacles (IO):

Each candidate needs to clear 10 given obstacles in a time period of 3 minutes which are marked from 1-10 based on the difficulty level.

Command Task (CT):

Each candidate is made the commander and is given an obstacle similar to HGT which he/she needs to overcome with the help of his subordinates.

Final Group Task (FGT):

The entire group is reunited and required to complete the assigned task similar to PGT in the stipulated time.

@Personal Interview:

Personal Interviews are generally conducted on days 2, 3, and 4 after the respective daily tasks have been completed. Interviews are usually related to everyday experiences, work, education, family, hobbies, achievements in academics, general awareness, etc.

@Day 5(Conference):

Day 5 is the last day in which the assessor starts with a closing address, then the conference of candidates starts.

A board conference is conducted where all the officers who assessed the candidates on the previous days are present. Each assessor discusses among themselves respect to the suitability of a candidate.

Each candidate then appears individually before the board where their total assessment is narrated, and the board makes a recommendation accordingly.

The candidates who are borderline are given certain situations and then a collective decision is taken.

After the result is announced the shortlisted candidates are retained for further medical examinations and once you cleared the medicals and made it to the merit list then you become worthy of wearing the stars of pride after the rigorous training process.

Join the best CDS/SSB training institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy. Stay tuned to us for more info.