UPSC CDS Exam Pattern 2026- UPSC has released the exam pattern of UPSC CDS 2026 on December 10 along with notification. Students preparing for the exam should be aware of UPSC CDS 2026 exam pattern. UPSC CDS paper pattern 2026 contains the details of marking scheme, examination mode, test duration, number of question asked and more. The questions asked in CDS 2026 exam will be from GK, Maths & English of Matric/ Class 10th Level.
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UPSC will conduct the CDS 1 2026 on April 12. Also, Combined Defence Services Exam (2) 2026 in pen and paper mode on September 13, 2026 for graduates to get admission in to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officer’s Training Academy. Here, we have compiled the detailed UPSC CDS 2026 Exam Pattern.
UPSC CDS Exam Pattern 2026 Highlights
| Exam Mode | Offline or pen and paper mode |
| Total Number of Questions | 300 |
| Number of questions in OTA | 200 |
| Maximum Marks | 300 (for Indian Military, Navy and Air Force) and 200 (for OTA) |
| Test Duration | 2 hours or 120 minutes for each paper |
| Paper Medium | Hindi or English |
| Negative marking | 1/3rd marks |
CDS Exam Pattern 2026- Important Points
- CDS 2026 Paper in all subject will comprise of Objective Type Questions
- Question papers of CDS of General Knowledge & Elementary Mathematics will be bilingual, to be set in English and Hindi, both.
- There will be negative marking for each incorrect answer. One third (0.33) will be deducted as penalty.
- Only Black Ball Point pen is allowed to write the exam.
- Paper of Elementary Mathematics will be of Matriculation Level
- For both writing and marking answers in the OMR sheet (Answer Sheet), candidates must use black ball pen only
- No mark will be given or deducted if a question is left blank.
UPSC CDS 2026 Exam Pattern for IMA, INA, Air Force Academy-
| Subjects | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| English | 02 hours | 100 Marks |
| General Knowledge | 02 hours | 100 Marks |
| Elementary Mathematics | 02 hours | 100 Marks |
CDS Exam Pattern 2026 for Officer’s Training Academy-
| Subjects | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| English | 02 hours | 100 Marks |
| General Knowledge | 02 hours | 100 Marks |
UPSC CDS Marking Scheme 2026
| CDS Paper | English | GK | Mathematics |
| Maximum Marks | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Marks for each right answer | +1 marks | +1 marks | +1 marks |
| Negative marking for each wrong answer | -0.33 marks | -0.33 marks | -0.33 marks |
CDS Marking Scheme 2026 for OTA
| CDS Paper | English | GK |
| Maximum Marks | 100 | 100 |
| Marks for each right answer | +1 marks | +1 marks |
| Negative marking for each wrong answer | -0.33 marks | -0.33 marks |
| Agartala | Chennai | Imphal | Lucknow |
| Ahmedabad | Cuttack | Itanagar | Madhurai |
| Aizawl | Dehradun | Jaipur | Mumbai |
| Allahabad | Delhi | Jammu | Nagpur |
| Bengaluru | Dharwad | Jorhat | Panaji (Goa) |
| Bareilly | Dispur | Kochi | Patna |
| Bhopal | Gangtok | Kohima | Port Blair |
| Chandigarh | Hyderabad | Kolkata | Raipur |
| Ranchi | Sambalpur | Shillong | Shimla |
| Srinagar | Tirupati | Udaipur | Visakhapatnam |
| Thiruvananthapuram | | | |
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