Going through the Combined Defence Service Exam (CDS) previous year question paper gives an insight into the important topics from the syllabus. Candidates can download CDS Question Papers with Answer Key PDFs from the article below. Given below are the links to download CDS Previous Year Question Paper from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, etc. CDS Written Exam consists of Objective Type questions and time duration 02 hrs and maximum marks is 100 for each subject (English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics). Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts CDS exam twice a year to recruit competent officers in the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officer Training Academy.
In this article we have shared the previous year paper of CDS with answer key, CDS exam pattern, CDS syllabus and we have also shared the steps to download the last year's paper of CDS from the official website of UPSC – www.upsc.gov.in. However the direct link to download the CDS question paper is given in the article below.
One who is aiming to successfully crack the CDS examination should solve as many sample question papers as possible to solidify the concepts and understanding of the topics. 10yearsquestionpaper offers free to download CDS question papers with solutions in PDF format. These sample papers have been curated by subject-matter experts who hold years of experience in the field.
If you are an aspirant looking to practice CDS questions, download the question papers from the link mentioned below in the article. Practice these previous year's papers to ace your examinations!
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS I Maths Written Examination.
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS I GK Written Examination.
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS I English Written Examination.
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS II Maths Written Examination.
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS II GK Written Examination.
Download Previous Year Question Paper/ Sample Paper with Answer key for CDS II English Written Examination.
The written test for IMA, INA, and AFA consists of 3 sections – English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics. Whereas the written paper for OTA consists of 2 sections – English and General Knowledge. The structure of the question paper is shown in the table below-
| Subject | Duration | Maximum Marks | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 2 hrs | 100 | 120 |
| General Knowledge | 2 hrs | 100 | 120 |
| Elementary Mathematics | 2 hrs | 100 | 120 |
| CDS Paper | English | GK | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Marks | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Marks for Correct answer | +1 marks for each correct option | +1 marks for each correct option | +1 marks for each correct option |
| Negative marking | -0.33 marks for each wrong answer | -0.33 marks for each wrong answer | -0.33 marks for each wrong answer |
UPSC designed the CDS English question paper to test the candidates understanding of the English language. As per the previous year's CDS question paper analysis, the following are the essential topics for the CDS English exam.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence Improvement | 20 | Easy |
| Reading Comprehension | 23 (5 passages) | Easy to Moderate |
| Synonyms | 8 | Moderate |
| Antonyms | 7 | Easy |
| One Word Substitution | 5 | Moderate |
| Para-Jumble | 10 | Easy to Moderate |
| Sentence-Jumble | 7 | Moderate |
| Spot the Error | 20 | Easy |
| Cloze Test | 20 |
Easy |
In the following table, the previous year's CDS question paper analysis, the following are the essential topics for the CDS mathematics exam.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Mensuration | 14 | Easy |
| Algebra | 7 | Easy to Moderate |
| Mean-Median-Mode (Frequency Distribution Table) | 4 | Easy |
| Time speed and Distance | 6 | Easy |
| Number System | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
| Simple interest/Compound interest | 5 | Easy |
| Percentage | 2 | Easy |
| Profit/Loss | 1 | Easy |
| Mixture | 1 | Easy |
| Time and Work | 3 | Easy |
| Trigonometry | 14 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Set Theory | 1 | Easy |
| Clock | 2 | Easy |
| Geometry | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
The aspirants can find the difficulty level of various GK topics asked in the CDS Exam.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| History | 19 | Difficult |
| Science | 27 | Easy (Concept-based questions) |
| Geography | 22 | Moderate (Analytical based questions) |
| Ecology | 06 | Moderate (Fact-based questions) |
| Polity | 20 | Easy to Moderate |
| Economy/Trade | 11 | Moderate (Fact-based questions) |
| Miscellaneous /Armed Forces | 15 | Moderate (Fact-based questions) |
Hey! Hope this previous year question paper of the CDS I & II written exam will help you in your preparation. So, have you started solving the CDS Previous Year Question Paper?