Education and Career Forum

Respected Sir,
I have completed B.A. in English and I
am 23 years old. I want to apply for CDS.
Please let me know that I am eligible to
apply in CDS or not. Thank you!

Yes of course, you are eligible to apply for CDS examination. To apply for CDS examination, you should have completed degree course from a recognized university or equivalent qualification. Even, final year of degree course may also apply. Any degree holder can apply for CDS examination. So, you are definitely eligible to apply.

CDS i.e Combined Defence Service Examination is conducted by UPSC twice in a year for admission to Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officer Training Academy.

Eligibility Criteria:

Military Academy:

You should be graduate from a recognized university. No percentage bar is there to apply for this examination. You must have attained the age of 19 years and must not have attained the age of 24 years. No upper age limits are applicable. Only Unmarried male candidates are eligible to apply.

Naval Academy:

You should have completed B.Sc degree with Physics or Mathematics from a recognized university. No percentage bar is there to apply for this examination. You must have attained the age of 19 years and must not have attained the age of 22 years. No upper age limits are applicable. Only Unmarried male candidates are eligible to apply.

Air Force Academy:

You should have completed degree with Mathematics from a recognized university. No percentage bar is there to apply for this examination. You must have attained the age of 19 years and must not have attained the age of 23 years. No upper age limits are applicable. Only Unmarried male candidates are eligible to apply.

Officer Training Academy:

You should have completed degree from a recognized university. No percentage bar is there to apply for this examination. You must have attained the age of 19 years and must not have attained the age of 24 years. No upper age limits are applicable. Unmarried male / female candidates are eligible to apply.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Respected Sir,
I have completed B.A. in English and I
am 23 years old. I want to apply for CDS.
Please let me know that I am eligible to
apply in CDS or not. Thank you!

You have completed B.A in English and your age is now 23 years so you are eligible for CDS exam.

CDS stands for Combined Defence Service exam.

Eligibility criteria:-

Indian naval academy: You should have completed engineering graduation or B.Sc with physics, mathematics subjects from a recognized university.

Indian Air force academy: You should have completed engineering graduation or B.Sc with physics, mathematics from a recognized university.

Indian Military academy: You should have completed graduation in any stream from a recognized university.

Officers Training Academy: You should have completed graduation in any stream from a recognized university.

Age Criteria:-

Indian Military Academy: - 19-24 Years
Air Force Academy: - 19-23 Years
Naval Academy: - 19-22 Years
Officer's Training Academy: - 19-25 Years

Yes , you are eligible to apply for the CDS exam .

Note that , you are not eligible to join in Navy through CDS exam .

~ To join in Airforce through cds exam , maximum age limit is 23 years only .
~ To join in Army through cds exam , maximum age limit is 24 years only .
~ To join in Officers training academy through cds exam , maximum age limit is 25 years only.

** There is no Relaxation for any category .

~ To apply for the exam , the candidate shouldbe an unmarried candidate .




Selection process is ,

1. written exam
2. ssb interview
3. medical test



exam syllabus is ,

1. general knowledge - 100 marks
2. general english - 100 marks
3. elementary maths - 100 marks

Yes, you are eligible to appear in CDS examination being a 23 years old B.A Graduate. The CDS examination is conducted by UPSC twice a year and the eligibility criteria required to appear in CDS examination is mentioned below :-

1. Nationality :-
You must be a citizen of India.

2. Educational Qualification :-
--> For Indian Military Academy (IMA) :- You must have completed Graduation degree or equivalent from a recognised university.
--> For Indian Naval Academy :- You must have completed Graduation degree in Engineering from a recognised university.
--> Indian Air Force Academy :- You must have completed Graduation degree from a recognised university with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level.

3. Age Limit :-
--> Indian Military Academy :- 19-24 years
--> Air Force Academy :- 19-24 years
--> Naval Academy :- 19-22 years
--> Officers’ Training Academy :- 19-25 years

4. Martial Status & Gender :-
Only Unmarried Male candidates are eligible to apply for Indian Military Academy and Indian Naval Academy.

5. Physical Standards :-
You must be Physically fit as per physical standards mentioned in the UPSC CDS examination notification.

You can appear in the CDS examination but the criteria for the different defense force is different.
For getting into the air force, your age should be in between 19-23 years.
For army and navy, it is 19-24 years.
If you want to get into the OTA (Officers Training Academy), then the age limit id 19-25 years.
The examination is held in which there are 300 marks are there,
100 for mathematics,
100 for English and
100 for general knowledge.