The Union Public Service Commission popularly known as UPSC is responsible for recruiting and taking examinations for various Central Government A group and B group of central services. The UPSC CDS exams are conducted for the admission of different A & B group officers in Indian Armed Forces or Military Academies in India. The aspirants need to practice and solve the UPSC CDS Important Topics to pass the written exam.

• The examination of commissioned officers of A & B group in the various Military Academies in India is taken by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). 
• The UPSC CDS is a written exam that serves as one of the important gateway for candidates preparing to seek admission in different military academies of India. 
• The UPSC CDS is a three-stage examination the Written Exam, followed by two-stage Intelligence and Personality Test, and by clearing all the stages, a candidate can secure admission in defence institutes of India like IMA, INA, AFA and OTA. 
• The UPSC CDS exam is an offline objective test with multiple choice question and answer format.
• The candidates preparing for OTA and IMA must be graduate in any discipline, while candidates preparing for INA or AFA must have a bachelor degree in engineering. 
• The candidates preparing for UPSC CDS should be medically sound, or they might be disqualified. 
• The UPSC CDS exam for IMA, INA and AFA have three papers of English, General Knowledge and Elementary Maths. 
• The UPSC CDS exam for OTA has two papers of English and General Knowledge. 
• The English language has topics like Reading Comprehension, Fill in the Blanks, Spotting the Error and Sentence Arrangement.
• The General Knowledge has topics like Awards, Defense News, Polity and General Science. 
• The Elementary Maths has topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Mensuration. 
• Cut-offs for UPSC ESE exams are determined based on exam level and the number of candidates.
• The final cut-offs scores are declared after the two-stage SSB Intelligence and Personality Test. 
• In the UPSC CDS exams, 1/ 3rd is deducted for every incorrect answer.
• The aspirants preparing for UPSC CDS exams need to follow and practice the important topics to clear the written test.
• To qualify the entire process and get admission, the candidates must focus on two-stage SSB Intelligence Personality Test as well. 

UPSC CDS Exam Pattern for Admission in Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy

UPSC CDS Exam is mainly for getting admission in Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA) and Air Force Academy ( AFA). Ex- NDA Cadets can get direct admissions in any of these three academies, but in that case, they require to get admission to National Defense Academy (NDA) through UPSC NDA exams. Undergraduate aspirants can prepare for this UPSC CDS exam which is an offline written exam. The questions are objective type, and an OMR sheet will be given for writing the answer. The questions of General Knowledge and Elementary Maths will also be in the Hindi language. There will be a separate 2 hours duration for each subject. Both English and Hindi has 120 questions individually, and Elementary Maths has 100 questions. No writing scribe are allowed in the examination.

Subjects	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks	Time Duration
English	120	100	2 Hours
General Knowledge	120	100	2 Hours
Elementary Mathematics	100	100	2 Hours
Total	340	300	6 Hours

UPSC CDS Exam Pattern for Admission in Officers Training Academy

The admission to the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) is only meant for aspirants willing to serve in the Indian Army. OTA prepares the graduate candidate for different departments of Indian Army, except the Army Medical Corps. The UPSC CDS exams for OTA is an offline pen and paper test where candidates will be provided with an OMR sheet. The question and answer format is objective type. The questions for General Knowledge will also be available in the Hindi language. The total number of questions will be 240, that is 120 each. The time duration for every subject will be 2 hours. No additional scribe will be given to write the answers. 

Subjects	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks	Time Duration
English	120	100	2 Hours
General Knowledge	120	100	2 Hours
Total	240	200	4 Hours

UPSC CDS Important Topics of English 

The English subject is meant to test the language proficiency skills of the candidates. The UPSC CDS Important English Topics include chapters like Spot the Error, reading Comprehension, Sentence Improvement and Cloze Test. All the topics are discussed below. 

• Spotting Errors
• Selecting Words
• Sentence Arrangement
• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Ordering of Words in a Sentence
• Ordering of Sentences
• Comprehension
• Fill in the Blanks

UPSC CDS Important Topics of General Knowledge

This is the scoring section of the competitive exams. It comprises static topics from science, economics and general studies. Recent topics include current affairs, defence news, awards, books, etc. Reading newspapers on a regular basis can also be beneficial for the candidates. The UPSC CDS Important Topics of General Knowledge are provided in details below. 

• Economics
• Physics
• Current Awareness 
• Politics
• Chemistry
• Sociology
• History
• Defence topics
• Award
• Geography
• Environment
• Sport
• Biology
• Cultural
• Book
• Statement true/false

UPSC CDS Important Topics of Elementary Maths

The elementary maths mainly includes topics from the 10th standard of mathematics. The curriculum of the subject is basically vast, and candidates need to practice well to have a better grip over this section. The undergraduate candidates willing to seek admission in IMA, INA or AFA have to prepare this additional paper for UPSC CDS test. The UPSC CDS Important Topics for Elementary Maths are Mensuration, Number Series, Trigonometry and Geometry. The entire syllabus has been discussed in details below.

Arithmetic

• Natural numbers
• Rational and Real numbers
• Fundamental operations
• Integers
• Multiplication
• Division
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Decimal Fractions
• Unitary Method
• Square Roots
• Percentage
• Time and Distance
• Time and Work
• HCF and LCM
• Simple and Compound Interest
• Profit and Loss
• Ratio and Proportion
• Variation
• Division Algorithm
• Multiples and Factors
• Factorization
• Theorems
• Prime and Composite Numbers
• Tests of Divisibility by 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 11
• Euclidean Algorithm
• Logarithms 

Algebra

• Basic Operations
• Simple Factors
• Remainder Theorem
• Theory of Polynomials
• Solutions of Quadratic Equations
• Set Language and Set Notation
• Laws of Indices
• Rational Expressions
• Conditional Identities
• Relation Between Quadratic Equation Roots and Coefficients
• Simultaneous Linear Equations- Analytical and Graphical Solutions
• Simultaneous Linear Inequations in Two Variables and their Solutions
• Practical problems leading to two simultaneous linear equations or inequations in two variables or quadratic equations in one variable and their solutions.

Trigonometry

• Sin x
• Cosine x
• Tangent x when 0 degree < x< 90 degree,
• Values of sin x, cos x and tan x, for x= degree 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90
• Use of Trigonometric Tables
• Simple Trigonometric Identities
• Simple Cases of Heights and Distance

Geometry

• Lines and Angles
• Plane and Plane Figures
• Theorems on:

1. Loci
2. Properties of Angles at a Point
3. Parallel Lines
4. Sides and Angles of a Triangle
5. Congruency of Triangles
6. Similar Triangles
7. The Concurrence of Medians and Altitudes
8. Circles and its Properties Including Tangents and Normals
9. Properties of Angles, Sides, and Diagonals of a Parallelogram, Rectangle, and Square

Mensuration

• Area of Square, Rectangle, Parallelograms, Triangle, and Circle
• Surface Area and Volume of Cuboids
• Lateral Surface
• The Volume of Right Circular Cones and Cylinders
• Surface Area and Volume of Spheres
• Area of Figures which can be Split up into Figures (field book)

Statistics

• Bar Charts
• Pie Charts
• Graphical Representation
• Frequency Polygons
• Histograms
• Collection and Tabulation of Statistical Data
• Measures of Central Tendency

UPSC CDS Cut Off Marks

• The UPSC CDS cut-off marks depend upon the difficulty level of the examination. 
• The UPSC CDS cut-off marks are also influenced by the number of candidates and the total number of seats available in the academy. 
• The average marks scored by the batch determine the cut-off criteria. 
• The cut-off is completely based on merit, and there is no separate cut-off provision for reserved category candidates. 
• There is a negative marking in UPSC CDS exams, and for every wrong answer, 1/ 3rd marks are deducted. 
• The final cut-offs are declared after the two-stage SSB interview rounds are completed. 

The candidates preparing for UPSC CDS exams should follow the important topics to qualify the written exams. The exams don’t conclude over here, and candidates must prepare extremely well for the two-stage interview of SSB conducted over a five-day duration. The Intelligence and Personality Test of SSB is challenging and cracking all three rounds a candidate will get admission in defense academies of India like IMA, INA, AFA and OTA.