UPSC CDS Eligibility 2024: Check Age & Education!

An official notification for the position of UPSC Combined Defense Services has revealed the UPSC CDS Eligibility 2024. All the applicants must be between the ages of 20 to 25 years, the age limit will vary depending on the various posts. The least degree required of interested individuals is 10+2 or graduation from a recognized university. The recruitment drive is open for single male candidates. In order to be eligible to apply for the UPSC CDS exam, candidates must meet certain requirements related to age, qualifications, nationality, physical fitness, etc. Those who do not meet the requirements for UPSC CDS Eligibility would be excluded. For further information, catch a glimpse of the eligibility criteria in the post below.

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UPSC CDS Age Limit 2024

The Indian Military Academy (IMA) & Indian Naval Academy (INA) is recruiting for the unmarried male aspirants who are not born earlier than 2nd January, 2000 and not later than 1st January, 2006 are eligible. This implies that 24 years is the maximum age limit. The age limit criteria for the Air Force Academy (AFA), both the candidates male and females should be between 20 to 25 years of age. There will be an age relaxation of up to 26 years for candidates holding a valid Commercial Pilot License (CPL) issued by DGCA (India). A detailed overview of the age limit is shown in the table below.

Various Departments	Age Criteria in each case	Age Limit	Marital Status
Indian Military Academy (IMA)	Candidates born not earlier than 2nd January 2001 and not later than 1st January 2006 only are eligible.	18-23 years	Unmarried
Indian Naval Academy (INA)	Candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 2001 and not later than 1st January, 2006 only are eligible.	18-23 years	Unmarried
Indian Air Force Academy (AFA)	20 to 24 years as on 1st January, 2025 i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January, 2001 and not later than 1st January, 2005	20-24 years	Married/Unmarried
Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) (SSC course)	Candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 2000 and not later than 1st January, 2006 only are eligible.	19-25 years	Unmarried females, issueless widows who haven’t remarried, and issueless divorcees who have not remarried.
Officers’ Training Academy—(SSC Women Non-Technical Course)	Candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 2000 and not later than 1st January, 2006.	19-25 years	Unmarried

UPSC CDS Educational Qualification 2024

The aspirants must know that the educational qualification will vary for various sub positions under the Combined Defense Service positions. The table shows the precise details about the qualifications.

Armed Forces	CDS Education Qualification
IMA (Indian Military Academy)	Candidates should have a Graduation from a recognised University or equivalent.
INA(Indian Naval Academy)	Candidates should have a degree in Engineering from a recognised University or Institution.
AFA (Air Force Academy)	Candidates should have a degree from a recognised University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or a Bachelor of Engineering.
OTA (Officer Training Academy)	Candidates should have a Graduation from a recognised University or equivalent.

UPSC CDS Nationality 2024

All the aspirants must be Indian nationals and they must be permanently settled in India. They must be able to provide all the documents for verification purposes. Or they can be either a:

A subject of Nepal, or
A subject of Bhutan, or
A refugee from Tibet who came over to India before the 01st January 1962 to set in India permanently, or
Indian origins who have migrated from Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zaire, Zambia, and Ethiopia or Vietnam to settle permanently in India.

UPSC CDS Physical Eligibility

The candidates must meet the necessary physical standards and be in good physical and mental health. They must be free from any illness that would make it difficult for them to carry out their duties effectively. Both on land and at sea, in times of peace or conflict anywhere in the world, they must perform well. There should be no signs of underweight, physical anomalies, or a weak constitution. Refer to the table below for more information.

CDS Physical Eligibility
Gender	Minimum Height	Height Relaxation for Certain Groups
Male	157.5 cm	152 cm for Navy162.5 cm for Air Force Flying Branch157.5 cm for Air Force Ground Duty152 cm for Gorkhas, Assamese, Garhwalis, etc.5 cm shorter for people from the hills of India’s north-eastern region such as Garhwali and Kumaon
Female	152 cm	147 cm for Gorkhas, Assamese, Garhwalis, etc.5 cm shorter for people from the hills of India’s north-eastern region such as Garhwali and Kumaon2 cm shorter for candidates from Lakshadweep
All	148 cm	After all kinds of waivers/dispensations, the minimum height for all entries is 148 cm. If not, the candidate will be labeled a dwarf.

CDS Height and Weight Standards for Army & Navy

Male applicants to the Army and Navy must meet the required weight and height requirements. The list of height and weight requirements for the various age groups of male candidates is provided below. For further information, see the table.

CDS Height and Weight Requirements for Army & Navy
Height in Centimeters (Without Shoes)	Weight (Kgs)
Height in Centimeters (Without Shoes)	18 years	20 years	22 years	24 years
152	44*	46	47	48
155	46	48**	49	50
157	47	49	50	51
160	48	50	51	52
162	50	52	51	54
165	52	53	55	56
168	53	55	57	58
170	55	57	58	59
173	57	59	60	61
175	59	61	62	62
178	61	62	63	64
180	63	64	65	66
183	65	67	67	68
185	67	69	70	71
188	70	71	72	74
190	72	73	74	76
193	74	76	77	78
195	77	78	79	81

Physical Eligibility for Male Candidates in the Air Force

A comprehensive list of the minimum height and weight requirements are given below. The UPSC CDS Eligibility for male applicants to the Indian Air Force is as follows:

CDS Height and Weight Requirements for Air force
Height (mm)	Weight (Kgs)
Height (mm)	15- 17 years	18-22 years	23-27 years	28-32 years	33-37 years	38-42 years	43-47 years	>48 years
1520	46	47	50	54	54	54	55	54
1530	47	47	51	55	55	54	56	54
1540	47	48	51	56	55	55	57	55
1550	48	49	52	56	56	56	57	56
1560	48	49	53	57	57	56	58	56
1570	49	50	54	58	58	57	58	57
1580	49	50	54	58	58	58	59	58
1590	50	51	55	59	59	59	60	58
1600	51	52	56	59	60	59	60	59
1610	51	52	56	60	60	60	61	60
1620	52	53	57	61	61	61	62	60
1630	52	54	58	61	62	61	62	61
1640	53	54	59	62	63	62	63	62
1650	53	55	59	63	63	63	64	62
1660	54	56	60	63	64	64	64	63
1670	54	56	61	64	65	64	65	64
1680	55	57	61	65	65	65	65	65
1690	55	57	62	65	66	66	66	65
1700	56	58	63	66	67	67	67	66
1710	56	59	64	66	68	67	67	67
1720	57	59	64	67	68	66	68	67
1730	58	60	65	68	69	69	69	68
1740	58	61	66	68	70	69	69	69
1750	59	61	66	69	71	70	70	69
1760	59	62	67	70	71	71	71	70
1770	60	62	68	70	72	72	71	71
1780	60	63	69	71	73	72	72	71
1790	61	64	69	72	73	73	73	72
1800	61	64	70	72	74	74	73	73
1810	62	65	71	73	75	75	74	73
1820	62	66	72	74	76	75	74	74
1830	63	66	72	74	76	76	75	75
1840	64	67	73	75	77	77	76	75
1850	64	68	74	75	78	77	76	76
1860	65	68	74	76	78	78	77	77
1870	65	69	75	77	79	79	78	77
1880	66	69	76	77	80	80	78	78
1890	66	70	77	78	81	80	79	79
1900	67	71	77	79	81	81	80	79
1910	67	71	78	79	82	82	80	80
1920	68	72	79	80	83	82	81	81
1930	68	73	79	81	83	83	–	–

Eligibility for Female Candidates – Height & Weight Standards

The height and weight requirements mentioned in the UPSC CDS Eligibility are given below. For female candidates seeking employment with OTAs are as follows:

CDS Height and Weight Standards for Female Candidates
Height in Cms. (Without shoes)	Weights (Kgs)
Height in Cms. (Without shoes)	18 years	20 years	30 years
148	39	41	43
150	40	42	43.5
153	42	43.5	45
155	43	44	46
158	45	46	48
160	46	47	49
163	47	48	51
165	49	51	53
168	50	52	54

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