Rules for CDS Examination 2021 conducted by the UPSC

Rules for CDS Examination 2021 by the UPSC – Eligibility, Fee, Exam Date, Syllabus, Admit Card, Results etc.

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, 28th October, 2020

RULES

S.L.N No.B/59111/IMA-152(DE)/Rtg’A’/CDSE/1 6(3)/2020-DMA (AG).-A Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2021 will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 7th February 2021.

NOTE (i): The date of holding the examination as mentioned above is liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission.

NOTE (ii): The above number of vacancies is tentative and may be changed at any stage by Services H. Q.

N.B. (I) (a): A candidate is required to specify clearly in respective column of the Online Application 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, subject to the condition given at paras (b) and (c) below, so that having regard to his rank in the order of merit due consideration can be given to his preferences when making appointment.

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

(b) (i) : 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, Indian 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.

(b) (ii) : Women candidates are being considered only for Short Service Commission at OTA. They should indicate OTA as the only choice.

(c) Candidates who desire to join Air Force Academy must indicate AFA as first choice, as they have to be administered Computer Pilot Selection System (CPSS) and/or and AF Medicals at Central Establishment/Institute of Aviation Medicines. Choice exercised for AFA as second/third etc. will be treated as invalid.

(d) 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).

(e) 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.

N.B. (II) The left-over candidates of IMA/Indian 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 in 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 Computer Pilot Selection System (CPSS) and/or 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 IHQ of MoD (Army)/DteGen of Rtg(Rtg A) 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 IHQ of MOD (Navy) DMPR, (OI&R Section), Room No. 204, ‘C’ Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi-110 011 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-110 106 in case of Air Force first choice candidates by 13th November 2021. To be eligible to compete for reserved vacancies the candidates should have served for not less than 3 academic years in the Senior Division Army Wing/ Air Wing/Naval Wing of National Cadet Corps and should not have been discharged from the NCC for more than 24 months for IMA/Indian 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/ Indian Naval Academy Course, the unfilled reserved vacancies shall be treated as unreserved and filled by general candidates. Admission to the above courses will be made on the results of the written examination to be conducted by the Commission followed by intelligence and personality test by the Services Selection Board of candidates who qualify in the written examination. The details regarding the (a) scheme, standard, syllabus of the examination, (b) Guidelines with regard to physical standards for admission to the Academy and (c) Brief particulars of services etc. for candidates joining the Indian Military Academy , Indian Naval Academy , Air Force Academy and Officers ‘ Training Academy are given in Appendices I, II and III respectively.

2. CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY:

(a) Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried and must either be :-

(i) a Citizen of India, or

(ii) a subject of Nepal, or

(iii) 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.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

Certificate of eligibility will, however, not be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal.

A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Govt. before declaration of result by UPSC.

(b) Age Limits, Sex and Marital Status:

(i) For IMA-Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1998 and not later than 1st January, 2003 only are eligible.

(ii) For Indian Naval Academy-Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1998 and not later than 1st January, 2003 only are eligible.

(iii) For Air Force Academy-

Age : 20 to 24 years as on 1st January, 2022 i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January, 1998 and not later than 1st January, 2002 (Upper age limit for candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxable upto 26 yrs. i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January, 1996 and not later than 1st January, 2002) only are eligible.

Note : Candidate below 25 years of age must be unmarried. Marriage is not permitted during training. Married candidates above 25 years of age are eligible to apply but during training period they will neither be provided married accommodation nor can they live with family out of the premises.

(iv) For Officers’ Training Academy-(SSC Course for men) Unmarried male candidate born not earlier than 2nd January, 1997 and not later than 1st January, 2003 only are eligible.

(v) 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 been born not earlier than 2nd January, 1997 and not later than 1st January, 2003.

NOTE: Male divorcee/widower candidates cannot be treated as unmarried male for the purpose of their admission in IMA/INA/AFA/OTA, Chennai courses and accordingly they are not eligible for these courses.

The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination 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 extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination certificate 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.

The expression Matriculation/Secondary School Examination Certificate in this part of the instruction includes the alternative certificates mentioned above.

Sometimes the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination Certificate does not show the date of birth , or only shows the age by completed years or completed years and months. In such cases a candidate must send in addition to the self attested/certified copy of Matriculation/Secondary School Examination Certificate a self attested/certified copy of a certificate from the Headmaster/Principal of the Institution from where he/she passed the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination showing the date of his/her birth or exact age as recorded in the Admission Register of the Institution.

NOTE 1 : Candidates should note that only the Date of Birth as recorded in the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination Certificate or an equivalent certificate on the date of submission of applications will be accepted by the Commission and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.

NOTE 2 : Candidates should also note that once a Date of Birth has been claimed by them and entered in the records of the Commission for the purpose of admission to an Examination, no change will be allowed subsequently or at a subsequent examination on any ground whatsoever.

NOTE 3 : The candidates should exercise due care while entering their date of birth. If on verification at any subsequent stage any variation is found in their date of birth from the one entered in their Matriculation or equivalent examination certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the Rules.

(c) Educational Qualifications:

(i) For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai- Degree of a recognized University or equivalent.

(ii) For Indian Naval Academy- A Degree in Engineering from a recognized university/institute.

(iii) 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/semester Degree course and have yet to pass the final year degree examination can also apply provided candidate should not have any present backlog upto the last semester I year for which results have been declared upto the time of submission of application and they will be required to submit proof of passing the degree examination at the time of commencement of course to reach the IHQ of MoD (Army), Rtg ‘A ‘,CDSE Entry, West Block III, R. K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 in case of IMA/SSC first choice candidates , Naval HQ ‘DMPR ‘ (OI & R Section), Room No. 204, ‘C’ Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi-110011 in case of Navy first choice candidates and P03(A)/Air Headquarters, T Block, Room No. 17, Opp. Vayu Bhawan, Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110 106 in case of Air Force first choice candidates by the following dates failing which their candidature will stand cancelled.

(i) For admission to IMA on or before 1st January, 2022, Indian Naval Academy on or before 1st January, 2022 and Air Force Academy on or before 13th November , 2021.

(ii) For admission to Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai on or before 1st April, 2022.

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

In exceptional cases the Commission may treat a candidate , who does not possess any of the qualifications prescribed in this rule as educationally qualified provided that he/she possesses qualifications , the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission, justifies his/her admission to the examination.

NOTE I : 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 indeclaration of results or any other ground whatsoever. Candidates who are studying in the final year/semester degree course are required to submit at the time of SSB interview a bonafide certificate issued by University/College stating that they will be able to submit their proof of passing the graduation degree examination by the specified date, failing which their candidature will be cancelled.

NOTE II: 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 III: In the event of Air Force candidates being suspended from Flying training for failure to learn flying, they would be absorbed in the Navigation/Ground Duty (Non Tech) Branches of the IAF. This will be subject to availability of vacancies and fulfilling the laid down qualitative requirements.

(d) Physical Standards:

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2021 as per guidelines given in Appendix-II.

3. FEE :

Candidates (excepting Female/SC/ST candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay a fee as prescribed in the Commission‘s Examination Notice.

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