The Union Public Service Commission has released the Combined Defence Services Examination-II, 2026 notification, confirming the written examination schedule, paper pattern, syllabus and selection process for admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers’ Training Academy. The exam is scheduled to be held on 13 September 2026, while the last date to submit the online application is 9 June 2026 up to 6:00 PM.
As per the official notice, CDS II 2026 will be conducted for 451 tentative vacancies across IMA, INA, AFA, OTA Men and OTA Women courses. The recruitment process will include a written examination followed by the Services Selection Board interview for candidates who qualify the written stage. The syllabus has been placed under Appendix-I of the notification and keeps the core focus on English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics.
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UPSC CDS II 2026: Key Dates and Vacancy Overview
The official notification was issued on 20 May 2026. Candidates are required to apply through the UPSC online portal, and no other mode of application has been allowed. The Commission has also made it clear that once the application is submitted, candidates will not be allowed to withdraw it or make corrections in the submitted application form.
| Particular | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam Name | Combined Defence Services Examination-II, 2026 |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission |
| Notification Number | 11/2026-CDS-II |
| Notification Date | 20 May 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply | 9 June 2026, up to 6:00 PM |
| Exam Date | 13 September 2026 |
| Total Tentative Vacancies | 451 |
| Mode of Papers | Objective Type |
| Negative Marking | Yes |
The vacancy distribution includes 100 posts for Indian Military Academy, 26 for Indian Naval Academy, 32 for Air Force Academy, 275 for Officers’ Training Academy SSC Men and 18 for Officers’ Training Academy SSC Women. UPSC has mentioned that the vacancy number is tentative and may change at any stage depending on the requirement of Services Headquarters.
UPSC CDS II 2026 Exam Pattern for IMA, INA and AFA
Candidates applying for Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy will have to appear in three papers: English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics. Each paper will be of 2 hours and 100 marks.
| Subject | Code | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 11 | 2 Hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 12 | 2 Hours | 100 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 13 | 2 Hours | 100 |
| Total | 6 Hours | 300 |
For IMA, INA and AFA, the written examination carries 300 marks. The interview/personality test also carries 300 marks, making the total assessment weightage 600 marks for these courses.
UPSC CDS II 2026 Exam Pattern for OTA
Candidates applying only for the Officers’ Training Academy will appear in two papers: English and General Knowledge. Elementary Mathematics is not included in the OTA written exam pattern.
| Subject | Code | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 11 | 2 Hours | 100 |
| General Knowledge | 12 | 2 Hours | 100 |
| Total | 4 Hours | 200 |
For OTA, the written examination carries 200 marks, and the interview/personality test also carries 200 marks. The final merit will be based on the marks secured in the written examination and SSB interview, subject to medical fitness and other eligibility conditions.
Nature of CDS Question Papers
The notification states that all papers will consist of objective-type questions only. The General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics question papers will be set bilingually in Hindi and English. Candidates must write the papers in their own hand, and the use of a scribe is not allowed.
UPSC has also clarified that calculators are not permitted for answering objective-type papers. Candidates should use a black ball pen only for writing and marking answers on the OMR sheet. The notice also confirms a penalty for wrong answers in objective-type papers, so candidates must attempt questions carefully rather than relying on blind guessing.
UPSC CDS II 2026 Syllabus: Standard of Papers
The Elementary Mathematics paper will be at the Matriculation level. The standard of English and General Knowledge papers will be at the level expected from a graduate of an Indian university. This makes the CDS exam different from purely school-level exams because GK and English require broader reading, current affairs awareness and language command.
The syllabus is compact on paper but broad in preparation demand. Candidates aiming for IMA, INA and AFA need to prepare mathematics along with English and GK, while OTA candidates can focus their written-test preparation on English and GK only.
English Syllabus for UPSC CDS II 2026
The English paper is designed to test the candidate’s understanding of English and workmanlike use of words. In practical terms, candidates should prepare grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension and correct usage.
This paper can include questions based on reading comprehension, synonyms, antonyms, spotting errors, sentence improvement, ordering of words or sentences, fill in the blanks and idiomatic usage. Since the paper carries 100 marks, candidates should not treat English as a scoring side subject. A strong English score often improves the written total significantly, especially for OTA candidates where only two papers are counted.
General Knowledge Syllabus for UPSC CDS II 2026
The General Knowledge paper includes current events and matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects. UPSC has specified that the paper is framed at a level expected from an educated person who has not made a special study of any scientific subject.
The paper will also include questions from Indian History and Geography. Candidates should cover modern Indian history, freedom movement, physical and political geography, Indian polity, economy basics, science, defence awareness, environment and national-international current affairs. For CDS, the GK paper is usually broad and rewards consistent reading rather than last-week revision.
Elementary Mathematics Syllabus for UPSC CDS II 2026
The Elementary Mathematics paper is applicable for IMA, INA and AFA candidates. UPSC has listed Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration and Statistics in the syllabus.
In Arithmetic, candidates need to prepare number system, natural numbers, integers, rational and real numbers, fundamental operations, square roots, decimal fractions, unitary method, time and distance, time and work, percentages, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, ratio and proportion and variation. The syllabus also includes elementary number theory, divisibility tests, multiples and factors, HCF, LCM, Euclidean algorithm, logarithms to base 10 and laws of logarithms.
In Algebra, the syllabus covers basic operations, simple factors, Remainder Theorem, HCF and LCM of polynomials, quadratic equations, relation between roots and coefficients, simultaneous linear equations, simultaneous linear inequalities, practical problems based on equations or inequalities, set language, set notation, rational expressions, conditional identities and laws of indices.
In Trigonometry, candidates must prepare sine, cosine and tangent values for standard angles, simple trigonometric identities, use of trigonometric tables and simple cases of heights and distances. Geometry includes lines and angles, plane figures, triangle properties, congruency and similarity of triangles, medians and altitudes, properties of parallelogram, rectangle and square, circles, tangents, normals and loci.
Mensuration includes areas of square, rectangle, parallelogram, triangle and circle, areas of composite figures, surface area and volume of cuboids, right circular cones, cylinders and spheres. Statistics includes collection and tabulation of data, frequency polygons, histograms, bar charts and pie charts.
Selection Process After Written Examination
Candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination, as fixed by UPSC, will be called for intelligence and personality test at the Services Selection Board. The SSB process follows a two-stage selection procedure based on psychological aptitude and intelligence tests.
All candidates are put through Stage-I testing on the first day of reporting. Only those who clear Stage-I are admitted to Stage-II and the remaining tests. Candidates who fail Stage-I are returned. Final selection is made in order of merit based on written exam marks and SSB marks, subject to medical fitness, eligibility and available vacancies.
Candidates who qualify the written exam and have given Army as their first choice for IMA or OTA must register on the recruiting directorate website to receive SSB call-up information. The notification also states that the same email ID should be used for UPSC and the recruiting directorate registration.
