UPSC CDS is conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It is a Offline (OMR/Pen & Paper) exam consisting of 120 questions for 100 marks with a duration of 120 minutes.
There is a negative marking of 0.33 per wrong answer. The minimum qualifying score is As per academy-wise cut-off.
| Section | Questions | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 24 | 20% |
| Spotting Errors | 18 | 15% |
| Sentence Improvement / Ordering of Words | 18 | 15% |
| Synonyms & Antonyms | 20 | 17% |
| Fill in the Blanks / Cloze Test | 18 | 15% |
| Idioms & Phrases | 12 | 10% |
| Ordering of Sentences (Para Jumbles) | 10 | 8% |
| Total | 120 | 100% |
