What is the maximum age to join OTA in CDS?

The maximum age to join OTA through CDS exam is 25 years. Candidates can join the Officers Training Academy through the following entries: CDS SSC Technical NCC Special Entry Judge Advocate Entry

What is the training duration of candidates at OTA through CDS exam?

The training duration of candidates at the Officers Training Academy OTA through the CDS exam is 49 Weeks. The candidates undergo training in OTA for Short Service Commission.

What is the CDS OTA selection process?

The CDS OTA selection process comprises a written exam followed by SSB Interview. The exam pattern for CDS OTA comprises two papers, i.e. English & General Awareness.

Where is Officers Training Academy OTA situated?

The Officers Training Academy OTA is situated in two places: Officers Training Academy Chennai, which was established in the year 1963 in Chennai. Officers Training Academy Gaya, which was established in the year 2011 at Gaya.

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What is OTA in CDS? – Eligibility, Salary, Cut Off

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: September 25th, 2023

‘What is OTA in CDS?‘ is one of the fundamental questions that might arise in every defence aspirant’s mind. UPSC conducts the UPSC CDS exam, and a year lakhs of aspirants appear in this exam. The exam is conducted for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Indian Air Force Academy and Officers Training Academy. So Officers Training Academy (OTA) is one of the training academies of the Indian Army.

This article will provide you with all the details regarding OTA in CDS exam. In this exam, every aspirant has to attempt the OTA to get shortlisted in the merit list. Also, check the eligibility criteria and previous cutoff trends for OTA in CDS.

Table of content

1. What is OTA in CDS?
2. How to Join CDS OTA?
3. CDS OTA Exam Pattern
4. CDS OTA Cut Off
5. CDS OTA Salary & Promotion
6. IMA VS OTA

What is OTA in CDS?

OTA stands for Officers Training Academy. It is one of the premier training institutes of the Indian Army, where candidates are trained only for short service commissions. As we all know, CDS Exam is conducted for the induction of officers in tri-services, i.e. Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. Still, some aspirants have personal commitments and goals for themselves and their families.

In this case, the Indian Army provides an opportunity for young officers to serve the nation for a short duration or short service. Through short service, an aspirant is allowed to stay in service for only up to 10-14 years. These aspirants attempt the exam and fill in their choice of CDS OTA as their priority.

How to Join CDS OTA?

Since they are only permitted to serve for 10–14 years, the OTA service is known as a short service commission. The candidate must submit an application for a permanent commission if they intend to serve on a commission for more than 14 years. You can join CDS OTA through these two entries:

Technical Entry
Non-Technical Entry

You can join OTA through CDS entry. This entry is through a written exam, followed by an SSB interview. Candidates who have done NCC are directly called for the SSB interview.

CDS OTA Exam Pattern

The CDS OTA exam pattern comprises of written exam followed by an SSB Interview. CDS OTA exam pattern comprises only two papers, i.e. English and General Awareness and English.

Candidates appearing for OTA do not have to appear for the Elementary Mathematics exam. Here we are sharing the CDS OTA exam pattern for the upcoming exam:

CDS OTA Exam Pattern
Subject	No of Questions	Time Duration	Marks
English	120	2hrs	100
General Knowledge	120	2hrs	100

CDS OTA Cut Off

CDS OTA exam comprises only two subjects, i.e. English & General Knowledge, for 100 marks each. The CDS OTA cut off is decided from 200 marks only as compared to 300 in the case of IMA, INA and AFA.

Below is the CDS OTA Previous cut off trend. Before appearing for the upcoming exam, you must check the CDS OTA cut off:

Exam	CDS OTA Cut Off
CDS 1 2021	107
CDS 2 2020	97
CDS 1 2020	93
CDS 2 2019	95
CDS 1 2019	78
CDS 2 2018	80
CDS 1 2018	69
CDS 2 2017	86
CDS 1 2017	82

CDS OTA Salary & Promotion

Candidates who serve the Indian Armed Forces under CDS OTA entry receive the same salary as IMA, INA and AFA candidates.

There is no official difference in the basic pay for candidates. However, the pay may vary as per the allowances given by Indian Armed Forces concerning their posting and job profile. Below are the CDS OTA salary details per their rank structure.

CDS OTA Salary
Lieutenant	₹56,100 – ₹1,77,500
Captain	₹61,300 – ₹1,93,900
Major	₹69,400 – ₹2,07,200
Lieutenant Colonel	₹1,21,200 – ₹2,12,400

IMA VS OTA

As both Indian Military Academy and Officers Training Academy are the training in candidates gets often confused about the difference between IMA and OTA. Here we are sharing the basic difference between Indian Military and Officers Training Academy. This IMA Vs OTA includes the age limit, basic eligibility, entries etc.

Criteria	IMA	OTA
Age Limit	19-24 years	19-25 years
Marital Status	The Candidate Should be Unmarried and Single	Male Candidate Should be Unmarried and Single Female Candidate: Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees (in possession of divorce documents) who have not remarried are eligible.
Who can Apply?	Male Candidates are admitted in the IMA.	Male and Female candidates are trained here.
Academies	Indian Military Academy (IMA)	Officers Training Academy Gaya and Officers Training Academy Chennai
Entries	National Defence Academy (NDA) Combined Defence Academy (CDS) Technical Graduate Course (TGC) University Entry Scheme (UES) Army Educational Corps (AEC)	CDSE SSC Technical NCC Special Entry Judge Advocate Entry
Service	30 Years- Permanent Commission	Maximum 14 years (In some cases officers is given permanent commission) – Short Service Commission
Training Interval	One and a half years	49 Weeks

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