Union Public Service Commission will conduct the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 on 12th April, 2026 for admission to various courses to be conducted at different institutions of the Defence services with a total intake of 451.

The courses will be held at (i) Indian Military Academy, Dehradun –DE Course commencing in January 2027: 100 vacancies [including 13 vacancies reserved for NCC `C’ Certificate (Army Wing) holders] (ii) Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala Course commencing in January 2027, Executive Branch (General Service)/Hydro- 26 Vacancies [including 06 vacancies for NCC ‘C’ Certificate (Naval Wing) holders and 01 for Hydro] (iii) Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course F(P) commencing in January 2027: 32 vacancies [including 03 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ Certificate (Air Wing) holders through NCC Special Entry] (iv) Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras) SSC (Men) (NT) (UPSC) Course Commencing in April 2027: 275 vacancies (v) Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras) SSC Women (NT) (UPSC) Course commencing in, April 2027: 18 vacancies.

Women candidates will be considered only for Short Service Commission at OTA. They should indicate OTA as the only choice.

Applicants are required to specify clearly in respective column of the Exam Specific Module, the Services for which he/she wishes to be considered in the order of his/her preference.

Applicants should satisfy the Nationality, Age Limits, Sex and Marital Status as given in the Notification at https://upsc.gov.in/

Educational Qualifications: (i) For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai: Degree of a recognised University or equivalent. (ii) For Indian Naval Academy: Degree in Engineering from a recognised University/Institution (iii) For Air Force Academy: Degree of a recognised University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering. Those who are studying in the final year/semester Degree course and have yet to pass the final year degree examination can also apply and they will be required to submit proof of passing the degree examination as specified in the Notification.

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of the Notification.

Application: Applications are to be submitted at https://upsconline.nic.in, latest by 6 pm on 30th December, 2025.

Application Fee: Candidates, excepting Female/SC/ST candidates who are exempted from payment of fee, are required to pay a fee of Rs. 200/- by using Visa/Master/Rupay Credit/Debit Card/UPI Payment or by using internet banking facility of any Bank.

Scheme of Examination: The Competitive examination comprises: (a) Written examination as specified in the Notification (b) Interview for intelligence and personality test of such candidates as may be called for interview at one of the Services Selection Centres. The subjects of the written examination, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject, syllabus etc; are given in the Notification.

The Union Public Service Commission will prepare a list of candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination as fixed by the Commission at their discretion. Candidates who are declared successful in the written exam will be detailed for intelligence and personality test at the Service Selection Board based on their preference by the respective service HQ.

To be acceptable, candidates should secure the minimum qualifying marks separately in (i) written examination and (ii) SSB test as fixed by the Commission and Service Selection Board respectively in their discretion. The candidates will be placed in the order of merit on the basis of the total marks secured by them in the written examination and in the SSB tests.

The final selection will be made in order of merit subject to medical fitness and suitability in all other respects and number of vacancies available.

Details related to the training and Commissioning are given in the Notification.