CDS Answer Key 2025; Download Answer Sheet (Set A, B, C & D)

CDS Answer Key 2025: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam twice yearly for candidates who want to join the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, or Officer’s Training Academy. The CDS 1 written exam was conducted on April, 2025. The UPSC CDS 2025 II will be conducted on September, 2025, and the Commission will release the CDS 2 answer key on the official website – upsc.gov.in.

*Steps to practice UPSC CDS unlimited questions are mentioned below in this article.

Once the answer key gets released, candidates who appear in the exam can check the same from this page. Furthermore, if they find any objections against any answer or question, they can challenge the same by paying the answer key challenge fee. Read this article to know more details regarding the answer key.

UPSC CDS 2025 Answer Key Release Date

After the exam is conducted successfully, the answer key will be released for courses beginning at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, and Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Check the dates for the release of answer keys from the table below:

CDS 2023 Answer Key (Official Links)

Following the announcement of the CDS final result, the Union Public Service Commission publishes the CDS answer key. The official answer key will be made available in PDF format for various subjects and codes.

How To Practice Questions on UPSC CDS Exam?

Know the steps to practice questions on the UPSC CDS Exam 2025 below:

• 1st Step: Visit Embibe’s official website, i.e., embibe.com.
• 2nd Step: Use the mobile number/email to log in.
• 3rd Step: Click on the menu bar “Getting a Government Job”.
• 4th Step: Select the Goal “Defence” from the Dropdown and click on “Next”.
• 5th Step: Search and select “UPSC CDS” on the search bar and click on “Next”.
• 6th Step: Select the preferred language and click on “Done”.
• 7th Step: Click “Practice” from the Header Section.
• 8th Step: Scroll down to the “Subjects” section.
• 9th Step: Click on any UPSC CDS subjects.
• 10th Step: Scroll down to click on the chapters from the selected subject to begin the practice.

How to Download CDS 2025 Answer Key?

The Combined UPSC Defence Services Response Key will be released on the official website of UPSC. Follow the process mentioned below to download it from the official website.

• 1st Step: Visit the official website of the UPSC – upsc.gov.in
• 2nd Step: Go to the “Examination” tab.

• 3rd Step: A drop-down menu will appear. Click on “Answer Keys” to get the list of all the Answer Keys available.

• 4th Step: Click on the “Combined Defence Services Examination” link to download the answer keys.

How To Calculate UPSC CDS Scores Using Response Key?

Candidates must be aware of the CDS exam pattern and marking scheme in order to calculate their probable score. Check the steps to calculate the score below:

• 1st Step: Check the exam pattern and marking scheme to know the system based on which marks are awarded.
• 2nd Step: Compare the OMR sheet (candidate’s copy) with the answer key.
• 3rd Step: Calculate the ‘Correct’ and ‘Incorrect’ responses and use the formula given below to calculate the score.

Calculate the Number of Correct and Wrong Attempts

Use the formula: Total Marks = Number of Correct Answers – (Number of Wrong Answers × 0.33)

UPSC CDS Exam Pattern

Note that candidates applying for OTA will only have to appear for English and GK papers for a total of 200 marks. Whereas, for IMA, INA & AFA, candidates must appear for all three papers for 300 marks. Therefore, keep this in mind while calculating the score and use the marks calculation formula.

UPSC CDS Marking Scheme 2025

• For every correct attempt: 1 mark will be rewarded.
• For every wrong attempt, 1/3rd or 0.33 marks will be deducted.

Once the candidate is aware of the pattern and marking scheme, the next step is to calculate the score by referring to the steps given above.

CDS Unofficial Response Key Links

Here are the direct links to all UPSC CDS response keys released by Major Khalsi and Cavalier: Check the unofficial answer key from the table below.

CDS (1) 2021 Response Key by Major Khalsi Classes

CDS I 2021 Response Key by Cavalier

Download Previous Years UPSC CDS Solution Key PDF

Candidates can go through the last 2 year’s key along with the question papers to get an idea of important topics for this year. The official CDS answer key for previous years is listed below:

UPSC CDS (2) 2020 Key PDF

Here we have provided answer keys for the CDS (2) 2020 examination held on November 8, 2020.

CDS 2 Answer Key 2020 English – All Sets

CDS 2 Answer Key 2020 General Knowledge

CDS 2 Answer Key 2020 Elementary Mathematics

UPSC CDS (2) 2020 Question Papers

Here, we have provided question papers for the CDS (II) examination held on November 8, 2020. Check the questions and then match them with answer keys.

• UPSC CDS (2) 2020 Elementary Mathematics Question Paper
• UPSC CDS (2) 2020 General Knowledge Question Paper
• UPSC CDS (2) 2020 English Question Paper

UPSC CDS 1 Answer Key 2020

Here we have provided CDS I 2020 unofficial answer keys. Candidates can check the response key for each subject from the table below:

CDS 2019 Response Key PDF

We have provided CDS 2019 answer keys for CDS 1 and CDS 2 here. Candidates can download these answer keys in PDF format and save them for future reference.

CDS 1 2019 Response Key

CDS (2) 2019 Response Key

CDS 2018, 2017 Key & Question Papers

In order to practice for the CDS exam, candidates can download and solve the question papers. After solving, candidates can cross-check with the response keys that we have provided below. Here is the question paper for 2018 and 2017.

CDS (1) 2018 Exam

CDS (2) 2018 Exam

CDS (1) 2017 Exam

CDS (2) 2017 Exam

We have provided the Combined Defence Services exam answer keys and other relevant information on the answer key download. We will also update the other answer keys here as soon as they are available. So keep visiting this page.

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FAQs on CDS Answer Key

Here, we have enlisted some of the frequently asked questions related to the UPSC CDS Answer Key 2025.

We hope this detailed article on UPSC CDS Answer Key 2025 has provided you with all the information you were searching for. Stay tuned to Embibe for the latest UPSC CDS Exam 2025 news and updates.