CDS OTA mock test: exam pattern, syllabus, question papers and preparation

A CDS OTA candidate writes only two papers: English and General Knowledge, 100 marks and two hours each, 200 written marks in all, with no Mathematics paper. A free mock test in exactly that shape, the two OTA papers and nothing else, is at /exam/upsc-cds/ota. If you searched for the "CDS OTA question paper 2026", UPSC publishes its own question papers on its website after the exam; the papers of CDS (II) 2026, held on 13 September 2026, are linked below. The next exam is CDS (I) 2027 on Sunday 11 April 2027, with applications from 2 to 22 December 2026, according to UPSC's Annual Calendar 2027 (checked 20 October 2026).

What OTA is

The Officers' Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, trains Short Service Commission (non-technical) officers for the Army. In the CDS (II) 2026 notice there were 275 tentative OTA vacancies for men and 18 for women, against 100 for IMA, 26 for the Naval Academy and 32 for the Air Force Academy. Women are considered only for OTA. The notice puts OTA training at about 49 weeks.

Check the CDS (I) 2027 notice for the exact dates of birth that apply to you.

CDS OTA exam pattern

• Objective questions with four options, marked on an OMR sheet with a black ballpoint pen.
• Negative marking: a wrong answer loses one-third of the marks of that question. With 120 questions for 100 marks, a right answer is worth 100/120 (about 0.83) and a wrong one costs about 0.28. A blank costs nothing.
• No calculator and no scribe.
• Qualifying marks: UPSC may fix them in any paper; the notice prints no figure.
• Question counts: the notice gives marks and time, not the number of questions. The 120 per paper come from the instructions printed on the CDS (II) 2026 test booklets.

OTA candidates sit the same English and GK papers as IMA, INA and AFA candidates on the same day, and simply do not write the afternoon Mathematics paper. On 13 September 2026 English ran from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and GK from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

After the written test, shortlisted candidates go to a Services Selection Board. The notice describes a two-stage SSB: stage I is the Officer Intelligence Rating test and the Picture Perception and Description Test, and only those who clear it go on to stage II (interview, group testing, psychology tests and the conference). For OTA the written and SSB marks are 200 each and are added for the final merit. Men and women have separate merit lists.

CDS OTA syllabus

The notice's syllabus is short:

• English: "designed to test the candidates' understanding of English and workmanlike use of words." Our practice papers cover it as grammar and error spotting, vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, idioms), sentence and word ordering, cloze passages and comprehension.
• General Knowledge: current events, and "matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects as may be expected of an educated person who has not made a special study of any scientific subject", plus history of India and geography "of a nature which candidate should be able to answer without special study".

The standard of both papers is about that expected of a graduate of an Indian university. Our CDS syllabus page lists the topics in more detail.

CDS OTA question paper 2026: where to find it

UPSC puts the question papers of its exams on its own website after each sitting. For CDS (II) 2026 these are UPSC's own files:

• English test booklet, CDS (II) 2026 (PDF)
• General Knowledge test booklet, CDS (II) 2026 (PDF)

These two are the whole OTA written exam. Use only the papers on upsc.gov.in and UPSC's final answer keys; "memory-based" papers and keys from other sites are not the real paper. Papers of earlier sittings are also on the UPSC website; take them in the same way, on a two-hour timer each.

How to prepare for CDS OTA

With only two papers, OTA rewards depth in English and steady GK work.

Now to December. Sit the free CDS OTA mock test to see where you stand, then sit UPSC's CDS (II) 2026 English and GK papers on a two-hour timer each. Create your UPSC account and Universal Registration Number now, so that applying in the 2–22 December window takes minutes.

January and February.

• English, daily: 30 minutes of vocabulary and idioms, 30 minutes of error spotting or sentence ordering, and one comprehension passage. Keep a notebook of every word and rule you got wrong.
• GK, by block: Indian history (ancient, medieval, modern and the national movement), then geography (India and the world), then everyday science (physics, chemistry and biology at school level). End each block with 50 timed questions.
• Current affairs: the past twelve months, especially defence, awards, sports and government schemes.

March. One full OTA mock a week: English at 9:00 and GK at 12:30, as on the real day. Review every wrong answer the same evening, as in how to analyse a mock test.

Early April. Two more full mocks, a final pass over current affairs, then rest.

On guessing. A wrong answer costs a third of a right one. If you can remove two options, a guess between the other two gains on average; with no idea at all, leave it blank. Our article on negative marking: when to guess works through the numbers. In 120 minutes for 120 questions, aim to finish the first pass in about 90 minutes and use the rest for the questions you marked.

Free CDS OTA practice test

The CDS OTA mock test has the English and General Knowledge papers only, scored out of 200 with UPSC's one-third penalty. For the full CDS (I) 2027 dates, eligibility and the application steps, read UPSC CDS 2027: exam date, pattern, syllabus and how to apply. If you are also taking IMA, INA or AFA, the three-paper practice test is on the CDS page.