CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List: 243 Picks for IMA INA AFA
The Union Public Service Commission released the CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List on 2 November 2026. A total of 243 candidates have been recommended across the Indian Military Academy, the Indian Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. The medical examination is not included, so every selection remains provisional for now.
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New Delhi, 2 November 2026. The Union Public Service Commission released the CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List on Sunday, closing one more recruitment cycle for the Indian Armed Forces. A total of 243 candidates have been recommended for admission to the three pre-commission academies: the Indian Military Academy (IMA), the Indian Naval Academy (INA) and the Air Force Academy (AFA).
The result follows the written examination held on 12 April 2026 and the Services Selection Board interviews conducted over the following months by the Ministry of Defence. The academy-wise merit lists are now live on the official UPSC portal and can be downloaded as a single PDF.
For UPSC Civil Services aspirants, this announcement matters on two counts. It is a current-affairs flashpoint that connects to internal security, defence manpower and the role of the UPSC as a constitutional body. It is also a useful lens to understand how recruitment to the Indian armed forces works, a question that has appeared in Prelims and Mains in multiple years.
Result date: 2 November 2026 (Sunday). UPSC published the academy-wise merit lists on upsc.gov.in.
Total recommendations: 243 candidates across IMA, INA and AFA. Some candidates appear in more than one list because of their academy preferences.
Academy split: IMA 155, INA 63, AFA 25.
Courses on offer: 162nd Direct Entry Course (IMA), Executive Branch General Service and Hydro course (INA) and the No. 221 F(P) Pre-Flying Training Course (AFA), all commencing January 2027.
Written exam held: 12 April 2026; written result on 8 May 2026 shortlisted 8,826 candidates for the SSB stage.
Vacancies notified: 451 across all four academies including the Officers Training Academy (OTA).
Medical examination: not considered in the merit list preparation. Every recommendation stays provisional until medical fitness and document verification are cleared.
OTA result: will be announced separately. Marks of all candidates will be published only after the OTA final result.
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Particular | Details |
|---|---|
Examination | Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 |
Conducting authority | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
Notification released | 10 December 2025 |
Last date to apply | 30 December 2025 |
Written exam date | 12 April 2026 |
Written result date | 8 May 2026 (8,826 qualified) |
Final result date | 2 November 2026 |
Total vacancies | 451 (IMA, INA, AFA, OTA combined) |
Total recommendations | 243 (IMA 155, INA 63, AFA 25) |
Courses | 162nd DE Course (IMA), Executive Branch/Hydro (INA), No. 221 F(P) Course (AFA) |
Academies join month | January 2027 |
Selection process | Written examination + SSB interview |
Official website | upsc.gov.in |
Final result PDF | upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/FR-CDSE-I-2026-Engl-021126.pdf |
The Combined Defence Services Examination is the UPSC's gateway for graduates who want to join the Indian armed forces as commissioned officers. UPSC conducts it twice a year, in two cycles labelled CDS 1 and CDS 2. Both cycles share the same format: a written paper, then an SSB interview, then medical fitness and document checks.
Successful candidates are sent to one of four training academies depending on their eligibility, service preference and merit:
Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun for candidates recommended for the Army.
Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala, Kerala for candidates recommended for the Navy.
Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad for candidates recommended for the Air Force's flying branch.
Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai for men and women joining the Army on Short Service Commission.
The CDS 1 cycle's merit list released on 2 November 2026 covers only the first three academies. The OTA merit list, both for men and women, is released later in a separate announcement.
For aspirants mapping this to the static UPSC syllabus, the CDS examination fits into two neat boxes: the UPSC itself as a constitutional body under Articles 315 to 323, and the structure of the Indian defence services under GS Paper III (internal security and defence).
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The CDS 1 2026 cycle took nearly eleven months from start to finish. The timeline is useful for CDS 2027 aspirants trying to plan their study calendar, and for current-affairs preparation around UPSC's annual workload.
Stage | Date |
|---|---|
Notification released | 10 December 2025 |
Online application window closed | 30 December 2025 |
Written examination conducted | 12 April 2026 |
Written result announced | 8 May 2026 |
SSB interviews held | May to September 2026 (window) |
Final merit list released | 2 November 2026 |
Candidates join respective academies | January 2027 |
The written result on 8 May 2026 shortlisted 8,826 candidates for the SSB stage. Of these, 243 have been finally recommended, which puts the success rate at the SSB plus merit stage at roughly 2.75 per cent. That number explains why aspirants treat the SSB as the real bottleneck, not the written paper.
The academy-wise breakup of the 243 recommendations is as follows.
Academy | Candidates recommended |
|---|---|
Indian Military Academy (IMA) | 155 |
Indian Naval Academy (INA) | 63 |
Air Force Academy (AFA) | 25 |
Total (unique and overlapping counted together) | 243 |
Two points worth noting here. First, the 243 figure is the arithmetic sum across the three academy lists. Some candidates appear in more than one list because of their academy preferences at the time of application. That is normal and reflects how UPSC's merit ranking works across preferences.
Second, the Joining Letter (JL) will be issued to each recommended candidate based on their actual service preference, the number of vacancies available for that preference, their medical fitness and their final document verification. A rank in more than one academy's list does not mean the candidate joins two academies. They join only one.
A quick look at the top 10 names in each academy's merit list, drawn from the UPSC-released PDF.
Indian Military Academy (IMA): Top 10
AIR | Roll Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
2 | 1402694 | Lakshya Verma |
3 | 7900100 | Shubham Parmar |
4 | 0805121 | Sumit Kumar |
5 | 2604187 | Naman Singh |
6 | 1000789 | Ashutosh Kumar |
7 | 0805821 | Shivam Bisht |
8 | 5901027 | Aayush Raghav |
9 | 3500571 | Udit |
10 | 6900344 | Himanshu Sharma |
Indian Naval Academy (INA): Top 10
AIR | Roll Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
2 | 2604187 | Naman Singh |
3 | 5901027 | Aayush Raghav |
4 | 3500571 | Udit |
5 | 6300481 | Aditya Sharma |
6 | 0800212 | Saurav Singh Sigroha |
7 | 6300349 | Aryan |
8 | 2602234 | Abhay Pratap |
9 | 6600832 | Dhruv Khatri |
10 | 0809903 | Ansh Sharma |
Air Force Academy (AFA): Top 10
AIR | Roll Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
2 | 6300481 | Aditya Sharma |
3 | 7800330 | Ashwani Pawar |
4 | 6300349 | Aryan |
5 | 3401258 | Sourav Sharma |
6 | 8700026 | Yadav Abhinav Salikram |
7 | 0809903 | Ansh Sharma |
8 | 1102655 | Shubham Narwal |
9 | 0806570 | Aaryan Mishra |
10 | 0900270 | Jagat Singh Kalita |
Notice Roll Number 0500513 (Lohitaksh Mahajan) sitting at AIR 1 in all three academy lists. That is a striking example of a candidate who topped all three preferences, a reminder that the written paper and SSB preparation reward each other.
Each academy runs a distinct course cycle. The CDS 1 2026 recommended candidates will join the following courses, all starting January 2027.
Academy | Course | Location | Course start |
|---|---|---|---|
Indian Military Academy | 162nd Direct Entry Course | Dehradun, Uttarakhand | January 2027 |
Indian Naval Academy | Executive Branch (General Service) / Hydro | Ezhimala, Kerala | January 2027 |
Air Force Academy | No. 221 F(P) Pre-Flying Training Course | Hyderabad, Telangana | January 2027 |
A quick snapshot of each academy for context.
IMA Dehradun is the oldest officer training academy in India, set up in 1932. Cadets undergo 18 months of training before the Passing Out Parade (POP) and commissioning as Lieutenants in the Indian Army.
INA Ezhimala is one of the largest naval academies in Asia. The Executive Branch (General Service) wing produces officers for seagoing roles. The Hydro stream feeds the Navy's hydrographic survey ships, a niche capability that supports coastal and ocean mapping.
AFA Hyderabad, located at Dundigal, trains the Air Force's Flying Branch. The F(P) Pre-Flying Training Course puts cadets through ground school and flying training before they are commissioned as Flying Officers.
A question aspirants often ask is simple. If the government notified 451 vacancies, why have only 243 been recommended so far? The answer sits in two parts.
Academy | Vacancies | Recommendations in this list |
|---|---|---|
Indian Military Academy (IMA) | 100 | 155 |
Indian Naval Academy (INA) | 26 | 63 |
Air Force Academy (AFA) | 32 | 25 |
Officers Training Academy (OTA), Men | 275 | To be released separately |
Officers Training Academy (OTA), Women | 18 | To be released separately |
Total | 451 | 243 so far |
First, the OTA stream (both men and women) has its own merit list that UPSC releases separately, usually a few weeks or months later. So a chunk of the 451 figure, specifically 293 vacancies, is still pending.
Second, the recommended count against IMA, INA and AFA appears higher than the declared vacancies because candidates are placed in more than one academy's list based on preference and performance. Only one Joining Letter goes to each candidate. Final admissions will match the declared vacancies once JLs are issued and medical fitness is cleared.
This gap is also why the armed forces consistently flag an officer shortage. Not every recommended candidate clears medical and documentation; some withdraw before joining. Over multiple cycles this creates a persistent shortfall at the junior officer level, something the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has repeatedly pointed out.
NCC Special Entry Reservations in CDS 1 2026
Within the overall 451 vacancies, a few seats are set aside under the NCC Special Entry Scheme for candidates who hold a National Cadet Corps 'C' certificate from the relevant wing.
Academy | NCC Special Entry seats |
|---|---|
IMA (Army Wing 'C' certificate) | 13 |
INA (Naval Wing 'C' certificate) | 6 |
INA (Hydro course) | 1 |
AFA (Air Wing 'C' certificate, flying) | 3 |
These seats are inside the academy vacancy count shown earlier, not over and above it. Aspirants who have an NCC 'C' certificate from the correct wing can use this route for a slight advantage in the final allocation, though they must still clear the written paper, the SSB and the medical.
For UPSC Mains aspirants writing on youth and national development, the NCC's role as a pipeline for officer-level recruitment is a useful example.
How to Download the CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List PDF
The academy-wise CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List is published as a single PDF on the UPSC website. No login is needed to view or download it. Here is the step-by-step route.
Visit upsc.gov.in.
Open the Final Results section from the top menu.
Click the entry titled Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026.
The merit list PDF will open in a new tab. It carries an official note on the first page, followed by the three academy-wise lists.
Use Ctrl + F (or Cmd + F on a Mac) to search by your name or roll number.
Save a copy for your records. The PDF also serves as proof of your recommendation status.
Direct PDF: upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/FR-CDSE-I-2026-Engl-021126.pdf
A small practical note. Different browsers render large PDFs differently; if the page looks stuck, download the file instead of viewing it in the browser.
Medical Exam, Document Verification and Provisional Status
UPSC has made one point very clear in the official notice. The medical examination results have not been considered while preparing the IMA, INA and AFA merit lists. That means every recommendation on the list is provisional. A candidate can still be denied joining if they fail the medical fitness test or if their documents do not match the eligibility conditions.
What happens after the recommendation:
The service headquarters of the preferred academy will issue instructions on document submission and medical examination.
Candidates must submit the originals and self-attested photocopies of their educational certificates, date of birth proof, caste/category certificate (if claimed) and other prescribed documents.
Medical fitness is tested as per the standards laid down in the CDS 1 2026 notification and in the Indian Army Military Medical Standards.
Academy | Verification authority |
|---|---|
Indian Military Academy (IMA) | Army Headquarters |
Indian Naval Academy (INA) | Naval Headquarters |
Air Force Academy (AFA) | Air Headquarters |
Why this matters: historically, a fair share of candidates recommended through CDS and NDA drop out at the medical stage for issues like vision, body mass index or temporary ailments. Candidates who clear the written and SSB should treat the medical stage with equal seriousness.
When Will UPSC Release CDS 1 2026 Marks and the OTA Result
Two questions dominate aspirant chatter the day a final result drops: when will my marks come out, and when does OTA happen?
Marks release
UPSC has clarified that the marks of all CDS 1 2026 candidates, qualified or not, will be made available on upsc.gov.in only after the declaration of the final result for the OTA course under CDS 1 2026. The marks sheet will include the written examination score and the SSB interview score separately.
This delay is standard practice. UPSC releases marks only once all streams of a particular examination cycle have been closed, so that no candidate's performance information leaks out early. Candidates who want to self-evaluate for CDS 2 or for future cycles should wait for the OTA result window.
OTA final result
The OTA merit list, both the men's and women's streams, will be released separately. Historically, OTA results have followed the IMA/INA/AFA result by anything between a few weeks and a couple of months. There is no fixed interval. Candidates who appeared for OTA SSBs should keep checking the UPSC portal and the "What's New" section.
Once the OTA list is out, the full CDS 1 2026 cycle closes, marks of all candidates are released, and the recruitment calendar moves fully to the CDS 2 2026 selection and the CDS 1 2027 notification.
CDS Selection Process: Written Examination and SSB Interview
The CDS examination has two stages and candidates must clear both. The written paper filters on subject knowledge; the SSB filters on personality and officer-like qualities.
Stage 1: Written Examination
Academy preference | Subjects |
|---|---|
IMA, INA, AFA | English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics |
OTA | English, General Knowledge |
Each paper is of two hours. The qualifying marks are decided separately for each academy by UPSC every cycle and are not pre-announced. For CDS 1 2026, the written stage shortlisted 8,826 candidates for the SSB interview across IMA, INA and AFA.
Stage 2: SSB Interview
The Services Selection Board interview runs for about five days and tests personality, intelligence, leadership and communication. The stages inside the SSB are:
Day 1: Screening test, which includes the Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) test and the Picture Perception and Description Test (PPDT).
Day 2: Psychological tests, which include the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Word Association Test (WAT), the Situation Reaction Test (SRT) and the Self Description Test (SD).
Day 3 and Day 4: Group Testing Officer (GTO) tasks, which include group discussion, group planning exercise, progressive group task, half-group task, command task, individual obstacles, snake race and the lecturette. These run alongside the Personal Interview (PI).
Day 5: The Conference, where the full board meets to decide each candidate's result.
Candidates who are recommended by the SSB then face the medical examination, which decides whether they are fit for the service they have been recommended for.
CDS vs NDA vs AFCAT: Quick Comparison
A frequent question from UPSC CSE aspirants is how the CDS fits with other defence entries. A quick side-by-side.
Parameter | CDS | NDA | AFCAT |
|---|---|---|---|
Conducting body | UPSC | UPSC | Indian Air Force |
Eligibility | Graduate (or final-year) | Class 12 pass | Graduate |
Age range | 19 to 25 years (varies by academy) | 16.5 to 19.5 years | 20 to 26 years (24 for flying) |
Marital status | Unmarried (married allowed for OTA men/women) | Unmarried | Unmarried for flying branch; married allowed for ground |
Academies joined | IMA, INA, AFA, OTA | NDA Khadakwasla (then IMA, INA, AFA) | AFA Hyderabad |
Stages | Written + SSB | Written + SSB | Written + AFSB |
Frequency a year | Twice | Twice | Twice |
For a UPSC aspirant, understanding this trio helps in two ways. It sharpens the current-affairs answer on how India selects its officer corps, and it helps answer Mains questions on inter-service coordination and recruitment reforms.
The Constitutional Backbone: UPSC Under Articles 315 to 323
A result announcement is the right moment to revisit the body that runs the examination. For UPSC Prelims and Mains, this is a static-syllabus favourite.
The Union Public Service Commission is a constitutional body established under Part XIV, Chapter II (Articles 315 to 323) of the Constitution of India. The relevant articles are worth remembering:
Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
Article 315 | Constitution of Public Service Commissions for the Union and the States |
Article 316 | Appointment and term of office of members |
Article 317 | Removal and suspension of members |
Article 318 | Power to make regulations regarding conditions of service |
Article 319 | Prohibition on holding office after ceasing to be a member |
Article 320 | Functions of Public Service Commissions |
Article 321 | Power to extend functions of Public Service Commissions |
Article 322 | Expenses charged on the Consolidated Fund of India |
Article 323 | Reports of Public Service Commissions |
Under Article 320(1), it is the duty of the Union Public Service Commission to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union. The Combined Defence Services Examination falls squarely inside this constitutional mandate.
It is also useful to remember that UPSC turned 100 years old in 2026, having been founded on 1 October 1926 as the Public Service Commission. The CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List therefore sits inside a centenary year, a small bit of trivia that could appear in a Prelims current-affairs set.
UPSC Relevance Box
How the CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List maps to the UPSC Civil Services syllabus.
Stage | Linkage |
|---|---|
Prelims | Current affairs (news-based questions on UPSC, defence establishments, academies). Indian Polity (constitutional bodies, Articles 315 to 323). |
GS Paper II (Mains) | Constitutional and statutory bodies. UPSC's structure, powers and functions. |
GS Paper III (Mains) | Internal security and defence. Structure of the Indian armed forces, officer recruitment, and the human resource dimension of national security. |
Essay Paper | Themes such as the role of youth in nation-building, national security, and institutional integrity. |
Interview / Personality Test | Views on armed forces reforms, officer shortage, Agnipath, and the idea of a citizen-soldier. |
In short, this one news item is both a headline for the current-affairs log and a bridge to multiple static-syllabus topics. Treat it as both.
Criticism and the Other Side
A result release is a good moment to also look at the structural issues the CDS pipeline has flagged for years. These points are what Mains answer writing on defence reforms tends to pick up.
Officer shortage in the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly told Parliament that the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force run on fewer officers than their sanctioned strength. The persistent gap between CDS vacancies and actual joinings is one reason.
Gender gap in intake. OTA notifies 275 vacancies for men and 18 for women in CDS 1 2026. The numeric gap itself is not new, but it keeps the debate alive on scaling up women's intake into a Short Service Commission that now also allows Permanent Commission for women.
Medical rejection at the last mile. Candidates who clear both the written paper and the demanding SSB are sometimes denied joining due to medical issues that could have been flagged earlier. A pre-SSB medical check has long been proposed to save the time of both candidates and the services.
SSB subjectivity debate. Despite the layered design (OIR, PPDT, psychology, GTO, PI, Conference), the SSB is sometimes criticised as subjective. Defenders of the system argue that officer-like qualities can only be read by trained assessors in real-time settings, not through a written proxy.
Marks transparency. Final marks are released only after the OTA result. Aspirants and preparation academies have asked for faster release so that candidates can self-assess and reapply with better insight.
These points are not meant to diminish the value of the CDS process. They are the live questions that a Mains answer on armed forces manpower or recruitment reforms should acknowledge.
Way Forward
A balanced Mains answer or current-affairs note usually closes with constructive suggestions. Here are a few directions reform-minded experts have argued for.
Expand women's entry. Build on the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya that opened Permanent Commission for women across all ten combat support arms of the Army. Scale OTA women vacancies and open more combat-adjacent branches in a time-bound manner.
Front-load the medical check. A pre-SSB preliminary medical assessment, even if indicative, would save candidates and the services from last-mile dropouts.
Faster marks publication. Decouple the CDS 1 marks release from the OTA final result, or at least shorten the lag through automated tabulation.
Standardised SSB rubrics. Continue the reforms already piloted at Selection Boards: more structured scoring, periodic reassessment of psychological test banks and better transparency on what officer-like qualities look like in a 2026 context.
Career guidance for non-recommended candidates. More than 97 per cent of SSB candidates do not make it to the final list. A structured career guidance channel, perhaps through NCC or veterans' bodies, can redirect this talent pool into Territorial Army, CAPF, Agniveer or related services without losing time.
For aspirants writing Mains answers, remember the formula: data from the news (243 recommendations, 451 vacancies, 8,826 written qualifiers) + a constitutional hook (Articles 315 to 323) + a reform direction. That is a clean three-part structure that any GS Paper III answer on officer recruitment can use.
Frequently asked question (FAQs)
When was the CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List released?
How many candidates have been recommended in CDS 1 2026?
Does the 243 figure include OTA candidates?
When will UPSC release the CDS 1 2026 marks?
Where can I download the official CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List PDF?
The CDS 1 2026 Final Merit List closes one chapter for 243 young men and opens another. For them, the next step is medical fitness, document verification and the walk into IMA Dehradun, INA Ezhimala or AFA Hyderabad in January 2027. For the OTA cohort, the wait continues for a few more weeks.
For UPSC Civil Services aspirants reading this, there are three takeaways. First, remember the numbers: 243 recommended, 451 notified, 8,826 written qualifiers. Second, remember the constitutional anchor: Articles 315 to 323, and especially Article 320 which makes officer recruitment through UPSC a constitutional duty. Third, remember the policy debate: officer shortage, gender imbalance in OTA and the proposed pre-SSB medical.
If you track these three threads, the next Mains answer or Prelims current-affairs question on India's defence recruitment will write itself.
A quick scan of how the broader theme has appeared in UPSC Civil Services Examinations. These are not direct CDS result questions (UPSC rarely asks a result-specific fact) but on the surrounding themes of defence, security and institutional recruitment.
Prelims Questions
Mains Questions
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