UPSC CDS Previous Year Question Papers with Solutions
The Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination, conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission, selects candidates for the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers Training Academy. Solving UPSC CDS previous year papers is the fastest way to understand the Commission's question pattern across English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics.
On this page you will find a year wise, session wise collection of CDS question papers for both the IMA/INA/AFA pattern (three papers) and the OTA pattern (two papers, no mathematics), each available as a free PDF download with fully worked solutions and the official answer key.
Why UPSC CDS Previous Year Papers Matter
CDS is conducted twice yearly, so the Commission draws on a large, fairly stable question bank across static General Knowledge, current defence and national affairs, and school-level Mathematics. Candidates who solve five or more years of papers quickly learn which General Knowledge areas (defence, geography, history, science) are repeated most often, and build the speed needed to attempt the Mathematics paper within the time limit.
How to Use These Papers
Attempt each paper under real exam timing, mark it against the official key, and maintain a separate error log for Mathematics versus General Knowledge mistakes. Since a written-exam score is only the entry ticket to the SSB interview, use your revision time efficiently and start reading about the SSB process well before your written result is out.