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Union Public Service Commission – Combined Defence Services Examination – CDS – 2010

1.Candidates to ensure their eligibility for the examination:

The candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to the examination. Their admission at all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.

Mere issue of admission certificate to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the commission

Commission take up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for interview/personality test

Application form:

Candidates must apply in the Common Application Form devised by the Commission for its examinations, which can be purchased from the designated head post offices/post offices (specified in appendix-III of the notice) throughout the country against cash payment of Rs 20/- (Rupees twenty only). Each such form can be used only once and only for one examination. In case of any difficulty in obtaining application forms from the designated HPOs/Pos, the candidates should immediately contact the concerned post master or UPSC’s “Forms supply monitoring cell” over telephone no. 011-23389366/Fax no. 011-23387310

Candidates are advised to read carefully the ‘Instruction for filling up the application form’ given in appendix-II of this notice.

Important Dates

Date of Notification – 26.09.2009

Last Date for Receipt of Applications – 26th October, 2009

Date/Day of CDS 2010 Examination – 14th February, 2010

Application Form:

3.Last date for receipt of applications:

All applications must reach the “Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069” either by hand or by post/speed post or by courier, on or before the 26th October, 2009

Candidates should notes that applications will be received by hand, only one at a time, at the designated counter(s) and not in bulk, till 5 pm only

However, in respect of candidates residing abroad or in certain remote areas the last date for receipt of applications by Post/Speed Post only (not by hand or by courier) is 03rd November, 2009

4.Penalty for wrong answers:

Candidates should note that there will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type question papers

5.Facilitation counter for guidance of candidates:

In case of any guidance/information/ clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. candidates can contact UPSC’s Facilitation Counter near Gate ‘C’ of its campus in person or over Telephone No. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098542 on working days between 10.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs

6.Mobile Phones Banes:

• (a) Mobiles phones, pagers or any other communication devices are not allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.

• (b) Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned items including mobile phones/pagers to the venue of the examination, as arrangements for safekeeping cannot be assured.

7.Candidates are advised not to bring any valuable/costly items to the examination halls, as safe keeping of the same cannot be assured. Commission will not be responsible for any loss in this regard.

No. F.8/1/2009-E.I(B)-A Combined Defence Services Examination will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 14th February, 2010 for admission to the under mentioned courses.

Name of the Course and approximate no. of vacancies

• Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 130th Course commencing in January, 2011 [includes vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ certificate (Army wing) holders] – 250 vacancies

• Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, course commencing in Jan 2011 Executive (Hydro/General service) [including 06 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ certificate holders (Naval wing) – 40 vacancies (02 for Hydro/38 for Executive (General service)

• Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) training course commencing in January, 2011 i.e. No. 189th F(P) course – 32 vacancies

• Officers Training Academy, Chennai 93rd SSC course (for men) commencing in April 2011 – 175 vacancies

• Officers Training Academy, Chennai 7th SSC women (Non-technical) course commencing in April 2011 – 18 vacancies

Note: The number of vacancies given above is tentative and may be changed at any stage by service H.Q.

1. A candidate is required to specify clearly of the application form the services for which he/she wishes to be considered in the order of his/her preference. A male candidate is advised to indicate as many preferences as he wishes to, so that having regard to his rank in the order of merit due consideration can be given to this preferences when making appointment.

Since women candidates are eligible for OTA only, they should give OTA as their first and only preference.

1. If a male candidate is competing for short service commission (Army) only, he should indicate OTA as the one and only choice. However, a male candidate competing for short service commission course at OTA as well as permanent commission course at IMA, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy should indicate OTA as his last preference, otherwise OTA will be deemed to be the last choice even if it is given a higher preference by the candidate.
2. Women candidates are being considered only for short service commission at OTA. They should indicate OTA as the only choice.
3. Candidates who desire to join Air Force Academy must indicate AFA as first choice, as they have to be administered pilot aptitude battery test at one of the AFSB and AF Medical at Central Medical Establishment/Institute of Aviation Medicines. Choice exercised for AFA as second or third will be treated as invalid.
4. Candidates should note that, except as provided in N.B. (ii) below, they will be considered for appointment to those courses only for which they exercise their preference and for no other course(s)
5. No request for addition/alteration in the preferences already indicated by a candidate in his/her application will be entertained by the commission. No change of choice once exercised will be allowed. Second choice will come for consideration only when the first choice is not offered to the candidate by Services HQ. When first choice is offered and a candidate declines the same, his/her candidature will be cancelled for all other choices for regular commission.

1. The left-over candidates of IMA/Naval Academy/Air Force Academy courses viz. those who have been recommended by the Union Public Service Commission for grant of permanent commission on the basis of the final results of this examination, but who could not be inducted on these courses for any reason whatsoever may be considered for grant of SSC even if they have not indicated their choice for this course in their applications, if they are subsequently willing to be considered for this course subject to the following conditions: (i) There is a shortfall after detailing all the candidates who competed for the SSC course; and (ii) The candidates who are detailed for training even though they have not expressed their preference for SSC will be placed in the order of Merit List after the last candidate who had opted for this course, as these candidates will be getting admission to the course to which they are not entitled according to the preference expressed by them (iii) Candidates with Air Force as first and only choice cannot be considered as left over for grant of SSC (OTA) if they fail in the pilot aptitude battery test. Such candidates, if they desire to be considered for SSC (OTA) should exercise their option for OTA also.

Note 1: NCC ‘C’ certificate (Army wing/Senior division air wing/Naval wing) holders may also compete for the vacancies in the short service commission course but since there is no reservation of vacancies for them in this course, they will be treated as general candidates for the purpose of filling up vacancies in this course. Candidates who have yet to pass NCC ‘C’ certificate (Army wing/Senior division air wing/Naval wing) examination, but are otherwise eligible to compete for the reserved vacancies, may also apply but they will be required to submit the proof of passing the NCC ‘C’ certificate (Army wing/Senior division air wing/Naval wing) examination to reach the Army HQ/Rtg. CDSE entry for SSC male candidates and SSC women entry for female candidates West Block-III, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 in case of IMA/SSC first choice candidates and Naval HQ DMPR, (IO&R Section), Room No. 204, ‘C’ Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi-110011 in case of navy first choice candidates and PO 3(A)/Air Headquarters, J Block, Room No. 17, Opp. Vayu Bhawan, Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110011 in case of Air Force first choice candidates by 13th November, 2010. To be eligible to compete for reserved vacancies the candidates should have served for not less than two academic years in the Senior Division Army Wing and three academic years in the Senior division air wing/Naval wing of national cadet corps and should not have been discharged from the NCC for more than 24 months for IMA/Naval academy/Air force academy courses on the last date of receipt of application in the commission’s office.

Note 2: In the event of sufficient number of qualified NCC ‘C’ certificate (Army wing/Senior division air wing/Naval wing) holders not becoming available on the results of the examination to fill all the vacancies reserved for them in the Indian Military Academy course/Air force academy course/Naval academy course, the unfilled reserved vacancies shall be treated as unreserved and filled by general candidates.

• scheme, standard, syllabus of the examination
• Instructions to candidates for filling up the application form
• List of head post offices/post offices where UPSC application forms are available
• Special instructions to candidate for objective type tests
• Guidelines with regard to physical standards for admission to the Academy and
• Brief particulars of services etc. for candidates joining the Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers’ Training Academy are given in appendices I, II, III, IV, V and VI respectively

entres of examination: The examination will be held at the following centres

Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttak, Dehradun, Delhi, Dharwad, Dispur, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kochi, Kohima, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa), Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Ranchi, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Udaipur, Vishakhapatnam

The centres and the date of holding the examination as mentioned above are liable to be changed at the discretion of the commission. While every effort will be made to allot the candidates to the centre of their choice for examination, the commission may, at their discretion allot a different centre to a candidate, when circumstances so warrant. Candidates admitted to the examination will be informed of the time table and place or places of examination.

Candidates should note that no request for change of centre will normally be granted. When a candidate, however, desires a change in centre from the one he/she had indicated in his/her application form for the examination, he/she must send a letter addressed to the Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, giving full justification as to why he/she desires a change in centre. Such requests will be considered on merits but requests received after the 25th November, 2009 will not be entertained under any circumstances

Condition of Eligibility

• Nationality: A candidate must either be
  • a citizen of India, or
  • a subject of Bhutan, or
  • a subject of Nepal, or
  • a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
  • 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.

• Age limits, Sex and Marital Status
  • For IMA – Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1987 and not later than 1st January, 1992 only are eligible
  • For Naval Academy – Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1989 (2nd January, 1987 in case of NCC naval wing ‘C’ certificate holders) and not later than 1st January, 1992 only are eligible
  • For Air Force Academy – Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1988 and not later than 1st January, 1992 only are eligible
  • For Officer’s Training Academy (SSC course for men) – Male candidates (married or unmarried) born not earlier than 2nd January, 1986 and not later than 1st January, 1992 only are eligible
  • For Officers Training Academy (SSC women non-technical course) – Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees (in possession of divorce documents) who have not remarried are eligible. They should have born not earlier than 2nd January, 1986 and not later than 1st January, 1992.

The date of birth accepted by the commission is that entered in the matriculation or secondary school leaving certificate or in a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to matriculation or in an extract from a Register of matriculates maintained by a university which must be certified by the proper authority of the university or in the higher secondary or an equivalent examination certificate. These certificates are required to be submitted only after the declaration of the result of the written part of the examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from municipal corporation, service records and the like will be accepted.

Educational Qualification

• For IMA and Officers Training Academy – Degree of a recognized university or equivalent
• For Naval Academy – B.Sc (with Physics & Mathematics) or Bachelor of engineering
• For Air Force Academy – Degree of a recognized university (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of engineering

Graduates with 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 degree course and have yet to pass the final year degree examination can also apply but they will be required to submit proof of passing the degree examination to reach the Army HQ/Rtg. CDSE Entry, West Block III, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 in case of IMA/SSC first choice candidates and Naval HQ ‘DMPR’, (OI & R section) room no, 204, ‘C’ wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi-110011 in case of Navy first choice candidates and PO3/Air Headquarters, ‘J’ Block, Room No. 17, Opp. Vayu Bhawan, Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110011 in case of Air Force first choice candidates by the following dates failing which their candidature will stand cancelled

1. For admission to IMA, Naval and Air Force Academy on or before 13th November, 2010
2. For admission to Officers Training Academy, Chennai on or before 01st February, 2011

Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognized by government as equivalent to professional and technical degrees would also be eligible for admission to the examination.

Note 1: Candidates, who have yet to pass their degree examination will be eligible only if they are studying in the final year of degree examination. Those candidates who have yet to qualify in the final year degree examination and are allowed to appear in the UPSC examination should note that this is only a special concession given to them. They are required to submit proof of passing the degree examination by the prescribed date and no request for extending this date will be entertained on the grounds of late conduct of basic qualifying university examination, delay in declaration of results or any other ground whatsoever.

Note 2: Candidates who are debarred by the Ministry of Defence from holding any type of commission in the Defence Services shall not be eligible for admission to the examination and if admitted, their candidature will be cancelled

Note 3: In the event of air force candidates being suspended from flying training for failure to learn flying, they would be absorbed in the navigation/administration/logistic branch of the IAF. This will be subject to availability of vacancies and fulfilling the laid down qualitative requirements (including 60% in graduation)

Fee: A candidate seeking admission to examination must pay the commission a fee of Rs 100/- (Rupees one hundred only) through a single central recruitment fee stamp of the requisite denomination. Central recruitment fee stamp (not postage stamps) may be obtained from the post office and affixed firmly on the application form in the space provided therein. The stamp must be got cancelled from the issuing post office with the date stamp of the post office in such a manner that the impression of the cancellation mark partially overflows on the application form itself but within the space provided on the form. The impression of the cancellation mark should be clear and distinct to facilitate the identification of data and the post office of issue.

All female candidates and candidates belonging to SC/ST are not required to pay any fee. No fee exemptions is, however, available to OBC candidates and they are required to pay the full prescribed fee.

How to apply

The UPSC have developed an application form common for all their examinations which can be processed on computerized machines. This application form along with an Information Brochure containing general instructions for filling up the form, an acknowledgement card and an envelope for sending the application is obtainable from the designated head post offices/post offices throughout the country as listed in Appendix-III of this notice against cash payment of Rs 20/- (Rupees twenty only). Form should be purchased from the designated head post offices/post offices only and not from any other agency. This form can be used only once and for only one examination. The candidates should also fill up in the relevant places of the Acknowledgement Card, their application form number (8-digit) and the name of the examination. The applicants are required to affix the postage stamp of Rs 6/- on the acknowledgement cards and send the same along with application form to UPSC. If an applicant fails to affix the postage stamp of requisite amount his/her acknowledgement card will not be dispatched and commission will not be responsible for non-receipt of acknowledgement cards by the applicant. The duly filled in application form and the acknowledgement card along with unstamped self addressed envelope to receive a SSB interview call letter should then be mailed in the special envelope supplied with the Information Brochure. The candidates should also write the name of examination viz. ‘Combined Defence Services Examination-(I), 2010’ on the envelope before dispatching it to Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069.

Scheme of CDS Examination

For admission to Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy

English, Duration – 2 hours, Maximum marks – 100 General Knowledge, Duration – 2 hours, Maximum marks – 100 Elementary Mathematics, Duration – 2 hours, Maximum marks – 100

For admission to Officers Training Academy

English, Duration – 2 hours, Maximum marks – 100 General Knowledge, Duration – 2 hours, Maximum marks – 100

For More Details