CDS-2 2026 Official Question Paper of English, G.K & Maths

The CDS written exam conducted by UPSC for CDS-2 2026 was held on 13th September 2026. After the examination, candidates preparing for a defence forces career should be interested in knowing the difficulty level of the question paper, pattern, and important topics. One of the best methods to analyse the examination is to understand the question pattern. Therefore, Centurion Defence Academy will provide the CDS-2 2026 Question Paper in PDF for the candidates’ easy access and analysis after the examination.

Use the links provided below to get the question papers sorted subject-wise and prepare accordingly for your examinations.

About the CDS-2 2026 Exam

The Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination was in offline mode and consisted of three papers:

• English Language
• General Knowledge
• Elementary Mathematics

Candidates who applied for the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Indian Naval Academy (INA) appeared for all three papers (English, General Knowledge (GK), and Elementary Mathematics). However, candidates who applied for the Officers Training Academy (OTA) appeared only for English and GK papers, as Mathematics is not part of the written examination for OTA. Download Official CDS-2 2026 Question Papers (All Sets)

In-Depth Analysis – CDS-2 2026 Official Question Paper

English

The CDS-2 2026 English paper tested candidates on several aspects of the English language. The questions covered topics such as:

• Reading comprehension
• Grammar and spotting errors
• Sentence construction and usage
• Synonyms and antonyms
• Vocabulary
• Sentence completion
• Idioms and phrases

The detailed difficulty level and topic-wise distribution of questions can be analysed based on the CDS-2 2026 question paper.

General Knowledge

The General Knowledge paper had questions from various disciplines of the CDS syllabus. The major areas that were covered:

• Indian History, including the Freedom Movement
• Geography and map-based questions
• Indian Polity
• Indian Economy
• Current Affairs
• Defence-related news
• General Science
• Environment and Ecology

Elementary Mathematics

The Elementary Mathematics paper primarily focused on the basic mathematical concepts included in the CDS syllabus. Some of the common topics:

• Arithmetic: Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Time and Work
• Algebra: Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations and more
• Geometry and Mensuration: Triangle, Circles, Areas, Volumes, properties of various shapes, etc.
• Trigonometry: Basic Trigonometry
• Statistics: Mean, Median, Mode, and basic probability

What’s Next After the CDS-2 2026 Written Exam?

The CDS 2 2026 written exam has been conducted; the candidates who appeared for the exam have to wait now till the UPSC releases the results and cutoffs for the exam.

Candidates who clear the written examination with marks equal to or above the cutoff marks are eligible for the next round of the selection process. The eligible candidates are then called for an SSB interview, which varies for different academies and courses.

The SSB interview tests the candidate's personality, psyche, leadership quality, communication skills, and team spirit. The candidates are put through psychological tests and group tasks, followed by a personal interview.