CDS Previous Year Question Paper: Download PDF with Answer Key
The UPSC CDS previous year question papers have been shared here. The candidates who are going to appear for the CDS 2 exam 2025 on 14th September 2025 can download last year's question paper pdf from here. The past year's papers will enable the candidates to know what type of questions are asked in each of the sections, i.e. English, Maths, and GK.
CDS Question Paper 2025
The CDS 2 exam is going to be held on 14th September 2025 in offline mode in various exam centres across India. Candidates keen on qualifying the CDS 2 exam can download the UPSC CDS previous year question papers from here. We have shared the UPSC CDS GK, Maths and English question paper PDF.
The UPSC conducts the CDS exam two times in a year, CDS 1 and CDS 2. The Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam is a competitive exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment into the Indian Military Academy, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, and Officers Training Academy. Candidates appearing for the CDS Exam are advised to practice CDS Previous Year Question Papers more than once to perform well in the final examination.
CDS Question Paper 2023
UPSC conducted the CDS 2 exam 2023 on 3rd September 2023. UPSC CDS exam aspirants can download the CDS question paper 2023 through the link that is shared here. You can also download the CDS previous year question paper for English and GK.
CDS 1 Question Paper 2023 - Download PDF
The UPSC CDS 1 exam was held on 16 April 2023 in offline mode. Aspirants can download the CDS questions paper for CDS 1 exam conducted on April 16, 2023 for English, GK, and Maths from the direct link that is shared below.
| Subject | CDS 2023 Question Paper Link |
| CDS English Question Paper 2023 | PDF Link |
| CDS 2023 GK Question Paper | PDF Link |
UPSC CDS Previous Years Papers PDF Download
The UPSC conducts the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination twice in a year for recruitment in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Officers Training Academy (OTA), and Indian Air Force Academy (AFA). Check here the CDS previous years’ questions papers. We have shared the CDS question paper for GK, English and Mathematics in the subsequent paragraphs.
CDS GK Question Paper
CDS GK section tests candidates' knowledge of Current Affairs, General Awareness and Static GK such as Indian History, Geography, Economy, Physics, Chemistry, etc. Click on the link that is given below to download CDS GK question paper along with the answer key.
| Year | UPSC CDS GK Question Paper |
| 2021 (CDS II) | CDS Examination (II) 2021 (General Knowledge Paper) + Answer Key |
| 2021 (CDS I) | |
| 2020 (CDS II) | |
| 2020 (CDS I) | |
| 2019 (CDS I) | |
| 2018 (CDS I) | CDS Examination (I) 2018 (General Knowledge Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2018 (CDS II) | CDS Examination (II) 2018 (General Knowledge Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2017 (CDS I) | CDS Examination (I) 2017 (General Knowledge Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2017 (CDS II) | CDS Examination (II) 2017 (General Knowledge Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2016 (CDS I) | |
| 2016 (CDS II) |
CDS English Language Question Paper
The English Language section os CDS exam tests candidates' understanding of the English language and asks questions on Reading Comprehension, Fillers, Synonym & Antonym, Sentence improvement, Cloze Test, etc.CDS English Language question paper is given below in the table. You can download the CDS English Language paper by clicking on the link that is given below.
| Year | UPSC CDS Question Paper |
| 2021 (CDS II) | |
| 2021 (CDS I) | |
| 2020 (CDS II) | |
| 2020 (CDS I) | |
| 2019 (CDS I) | |
| 2018 (CDS I) | |
| 2018 (CDS II) | |
| 2017 (CDS I) | |
| 2017 (CDS II) | |
| 2016 (CDS I) | |
| 2016 (CDS II) |
CDS Mathematics Question Paper
We have shared the CDS Mathematics question paper in the table below. Click on the link that is given below to check the CDS Maths paper along with the answer key. UPSC Questions in this section are asked from topics like Number systems, profit & loss, percentage, decimal fractions, HCF & LCM, algorithm, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, mensuration & statistics.
| Year | UPSC CDS Question Paper |
| 2021 (CDS II) | |
| 2021 (CDS I) | |
| 2020 (CDS II) | |
| 2020 (CDS I) | |
| 2019 (CDS I) | |
| 2018 (CDS I) | CDS Examination (I) 2018 (Elementary Mathematics Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2018 (CDS II) | CDS Examination (II) 2018 (Elementary Mathematics Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2017 (CDS I) | CDS Examination (I) 2017 (Elementary Mathematics Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2017 (CDS II) | CDS Examination (II) 2017 (Elementary Mathematics Paper + Answer Key) |
| 2016 (CDS I) | |
| 2016 (CDS II) |
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