Kamiyab
UPSC CDS (Combined Defence Services) mock test
Government Exams · Syllabus

UPSC CDS (Combined Defence Services) Syllabus 2026

The complete UPSC CDS (Combined Defence Services) syllabus for 2026 — 3 sections and 49 topics in all, organised exactly as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) prescribes. Use it as your revision checklist, then test yourself with a free UPSC CDS (Combined Defence Services) mock below.

English (Paper I) — 100 marks, 120 questions14 topics

  • Synonyms and antonyms (graduate-level vocabulary — Norman Lewis depth)
  • Spotting errors in sentences (subject-verb agreement, tense, prepositions, articles, modifiers)
  • Sentence improvement / sentence correction
  • Ordering of words in a sentence (jumbled-words rearrangement)
  • Ordering of sentences in a paragraph (jumbled paragraphs / para-jumbles)
  • Reading comprehension (one or two passages — inference, vocabulary-in-context, tone, author's purpose)
  • Fill in the blanks (single and double blanks — grammar + vocabulary)
  • Cloze passage (contextual word fitting)
  • Idioms and phrases (high-frequency idiomatic expressions)
  • One-word substitution (literary, descriptive, classical vocabulary)
  • Active and Passive voice transformations
  • Direct and Indirect speech transformations
  • Antonym and synonym pairs in given sentence contexts
  • Spelling and commonly confused words

General Knowledge (Paper II) — 100 marks, 120 questions, defence-heavy15 topics

  • Modern Indian History (1857 onwards, freedom struggle, Gandhian era, Partition, post-Independence consolidation)
  • World History (World War I, World War II, Cold War, decolonisation, recent world events)
  • Indian Geography (physical, climate, soils, rivers, drainage, agriculture, minerals, industry, transport)
  • World Geography (continents, latitudes/longitudes, ocean currents, world climate zones, major industrial regions)
  • Indian Polity and Constitution (Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, DPSP, Parliament, judiciary, federalism, Articles 14/19/21/32/352-360)
  • Indian Economy (basic concepts, RBI and monetary policy, Budget, taxation, schemes, NITI Aayog)
  • General Science (NCERT 9-12 Physics, Chemistry, Biology — emphasis on basic principles, not advanced theory)
  • Defence — Armed Forces structure (Army/Navy/IAF organisation, ranks and insignia, commands, theatre commands debate, CDS post)
  • Defence — recent inductions and platforms (Rafale, Tejas Mk1A, INS Vikrant, INS Arnala, Agni-V/Agni-P, BrahMos, S-400, K-9 Vajra, Pinaka, Arjun Mk1A)
  • Defence — joint exercises (Yudh Abhyas with USA, Malabar with USA/Japan/Australia, Indra with Russia, Garuda with France, Vajra Prahar, Cope India)
  • Defence — wars and operations (1947-48, 1962, 1965, 1971, Kargil 1999, surgical strikes, Galwan stand-off context)
  • Current Affairs — last 12 months (national, international, defence, schemes, science & tech, awards, appointments)
  • Sports (Olympics, Commonwealth, Asian Games, cricket, hockey, recent national and world champions)
  • Books and Authors, Awards (Padma awards, Bharat Ratna, Gallantry awards — Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra)
  • Static GK (national symbols, dance forms, classical music, important days, museums, capitals)

Elementary Mathematics (Paper III) — 100 marks, 100 questions, IMA/INA/AFA only20 topics

  • Number system — natural, integers, rationals, irrationals; HCF and LCM; divisibility rules
  • Decimals, fractions, simplification (BODMAS), surds and indices
  • Percentages, profit/loss/discount (single and successive), marked price and selling price
  • Simple interest and compound interest (yearly, half-yearly, quarterly compounding)
  • Ratio, proportion, variation and partnership (simple and compound partnerships)
  • Average and ages
  • Time and work; pipes and cisterns; wages division
  • Time, speed and distance — trains, boats and streams, relative speed, average speed
  • Mixtures and alligation (two-component and replacement problems)
  • Algebra — linear equations (one and two variables), quadratic equations, factorisation
  • Algebra — polynomials, remainder theorem, identities, surds and indices
  • Geometry — lines and angles, parallel lines, transversal
  • Geometry — triangles (congruence, similarity, Pythagoras, centroid/incentre/circumcentre)
  • Geometry — quadrilaterals (parallelogram, rhombus, trapezium, square, rectangle)
  • Geometry — circles, chords, tangents, cyclic quadrilateral, alternate segment theorem
  • Mensuration 2D (square, rectangle, triangle, parallelogram, trapezium, circle, sector)
  • Mensuration 3D (cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere, hemisphere, frustum)
  • Trigonometry — ratios at 0°/30°/45°/60°/90°, identities, complementary angles
  • Trigonometry — heights and distances (angle of elevation and depression)
  • Statistics — mean, median, mode; frequency tables; bar/pie/line graphs; basic graph interpretation

Know the syllabus — now see where you stand.

Practice UPSC CDS (Combined Defence Services) free →