AFCAT stands for AIR FORCE COMMON ADMISSION TEST and CDSE stands for COMBINED DEFENCE SERVICE EXAMINATION. To select suitable candidates (young boys and girls) for the Defence forces of India, both these exams are conducted in written , which are followed by SSB. These exams vary from each other.
Type of Force
AFCAT is for the Air Force only whereas CDSE is for selecting the candidates for all the three wings of the Indian force i.e., Army, Navy and Airforce.
Conducting Body
The Indian Air Force conducts AFCAT twice a year and the UPSC conducts CDSE twice a year.
Time of Notification
For AFCAT1, the notification comes in the first week of December. In the first week of June, notification comes for AFCAT2. Generally, notification for CDSE1 comes in the beginning of November. For CDSE 2 notification comes in the last week of May.
Examination
AFCAT1 is conducted in the last week of February and AFCAT2 in the last week of August. CDSE 1 and CDSE 2 are conducted in the beginning of February and September respectively.
Result Declaration
AFCAT-1 and AFCAT-2 are declared by the end of March and by the end of September respectively, after which the qualified candidates are called for SSB.
The results for the written of CDSE 1 and CDSE 2 are declared by the month of June and January respectively after which SSB follows for the qualified candidates.
Eligibility
Bachelor‘s degree is required. Further qualifications depend on the type of service they want to join. There is a difference in age for both exams.
- For AFCAT the age depends on the course they want to join.
- Flying: 19-23 years
- Technical: 18-28 years.
- Ground Duties: Graduate (20-23yrs), PG (20-25yrs), LLB (20-26 yrs.), Med/PhD/CA/ICWA (20-27 yrs).
- CDSE- the age limit differs based on the forces:
- Indian Army – 19-24 years
- Indian Air force – 19-23 years
- Indian Navy – 19-22 years
Courses Offered
AFCAT makes the candidates(both girls and boys) to join the Indian Air Force in Flying, Technical or Ground Duty course. In CDSE, only young boys join the IAF for the Flying course whereas girls can join only OTA i.e., SSC for Non-Technical course of Army and no other wing of the Defence through CDSE.
Exam Pattern
It differs. AFCAT exam consists of a single paper of 100 questions in 2 hours, which comprises English, General Awareness, Mathematics and reasoning. The CDSE exam consists of three papers: English, General Awareness and Mathematics (optional for OTA candidates). Each paper has 120 questions each and duration is 2 hours each.
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