Question – What is the Entry Procedure for Graduates (in Arts) to Join Defence Forces ( Army)

Answer – The Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS) is conducted twice a year (February and August) by the Union Public Service to admit cadets for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

The eligibility criteria and the pattern of the exam is as follows: (With your subject combination, you are eligible for the following)

For Indian Military Academy (IMA): Unmarried males with bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

For Officer Training Academy (OTA) (SSC course): Married or unmarried males with bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Selection is on the basis of an objective-type written exam followed by Service Selection Board (SSB) tests and interview for those who qualify the written exam. The intelligence and personality tests essentially cover outdoor, group and psychological activities.

The written exam is held at various centres all over the country and consists of three papers for admission to IMA, Naval and Air Force Academy. The examination for OTA consists of only the first two papers.

Paper I tests your English.

Paper II tests your general knowledge of current events and general science. It also includes questions on geography and history of India.

Paper III tests your knowledge of elementary mathematics, arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, mensuration and statistics.

You can take the general knowledge and mathematics papers in English or hindi.

Each paper is of two hours duration and carries 100 marks. There is negative marking for incorrect answers. Once you clear the written tests you will proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which is conducted by Service Selection Board. The SSB tests evaluate your potential and aptitude in terms of reasoning, intelligence, communication skills, courage, initiative, confidence, responsibility, social adaptability, decision making and organizational ability (“officer-like qualities”).

The tests call for average intelligence and comprise personal interview, outdoor/group task, officer’s test and psychological tests. These are conducted at designated army, navy and air force selection centres. For details visit UPSC Combined Defence Services Examination