from several news and education-portal reports: UPSC declared the final result of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 on 2 November 2026, recommending 243 candidates for the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy. Still pending: individual marks and cut-off marks, which UPSC has said will follow the final result for the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) course, and the OTA result itself. We could not open the UPSC result PDF, so every figure below is as reported by outlets that cite it.
What UPSC has released
The Union Public Service Commission has declared the final result of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026, advertised under Advt. No. 04/2026. The result was declared on 2 November 2026 and is published as a PDF on upsc.gov.in. It is based on the written examination and the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview.
According to the Commission, as reported by Indian Masterminds, the recommended candidates will be considered for admission to three courses:
- Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun: 162nd DE Course
- Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala: Executive Branch General Service/Hydro Course
- Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad: 221st Pre-Flying Training Course
This is a result for those three academies only. The OTA course, which is filled through the same examination, is handled separately, and its final result has not been announced.
Key facts
| Detail | As reported |
|---|---|
| Examination | Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 |
| Advertisement | 04/2026 |
| Written exam | 12 April 2026, three shifts (English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics) |
| Written result | 8 May 2026 |
| Final result | 2 November 2026 |
| Candidates recommended | 243 |
| Basis | Written examination and SSB interview |
| Result format | PDF on upsc.gov.in |
| Marks and cut-offs | After the OTA final result |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in |
From the written result to the final result took about six months, 178 days by our count. The SSB interviews fall inside that gap. The sources we found don’t give the SSB dates, so we don’t state them.
Academy-wise numbers
Indian Masterminds reports these academy-wise figures from the result:
| Academy | Qualified in written exam | Recommended | Share of recommended | Roughly 1 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMA | 2,601 | 155 | 63.8% | 17 |
| INA | 770 | 63 | 25.9% | 12 |
| AFA | 640 | 25 | 10.3% | 26 |
| Total | 4,011 | 243 | 100% | 16.5 |
The qualified column sums to 4,011 and the recommended column to 243, so the table is internally consistent. DU Updates independently gives the same 4,011 and 243 totals. The share and ratio columns are our arithmetic.
Two things stand out. First, the Air Force Academy is the hardest of the three on this measure: about 3.9 percent of its written-qualified candidates were recommended, against 6.0 percent for IMA and 8.2 percent for INA. Second, IMA supplies nearly two thirds of all recommendations simply because it is the biggest intake.
The sources do not give the number of vacancies per academy, and we haven’t seen the notification’s vacancy table. So we can’t say how the 155, 63 and 25 compare with the seats advertised. Treat the ratios above as selection rates among written-qualified candidates, not as competition per seat.
243, 4,011 and 8,826: three numbers that get mixed up
One portal’s written-result report says 8,826 candidates qualified for the SSB on 8 May. Reports on the final result say 4,011 qualified in the written exam across IMA, INA and AFA. Those are different figures for what looks like the same stage.
The gap is 4,815. One possible explanation is that the 8,826 includes candidates qualified for the OTA course, whose result is still pending. But no source we saw says so, and we are not stating it as fact. The Commission’s PDF and its written-result notice would settle it.
For now, use the figures as follows. 243 is the number recommended for the three academies. 4,011 is the number of written-qualified candidates for those three academies, per Indian Masterminds and DU Updates. 8,826 is the number reported for the whole written result. Against the larger base, 243 is about 2.7 percent. Against the 4,011 base it is about 6.1 percent. Both are our arithmetic.
Toppers and merit lists
Lohitaksh Mahajan is reported as the topper, ranked first in the merit lists of all three academies. Indian Masterminds, DU Updates and the Daily Jagran all report this.
| Rank | IMA | INA | AFA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lohitaksh Mahajan | Lohitaksh Mahajan | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
| 2 | Lakshya Verma | Naman Singh | Aditya Sharma |
| 3 | Shubham Parmar | Ayush Raghav | Ashwani Pawar |
The full top-10 lists, with roll numbers, are in Indian Masterminds’ report and in the UPSC PDF.
The three top-10 lists contain 30 entries but only 22 distinct roll numbers. The topper appears in all three. Four candidates appear in both the IMA and INA lists, and four in both the INA and AFA lists. That is our count from the published roll numbers.
That raises a question the sources don’t answer. The academy-wise recommendations add up to exactly 243. If the same candidate can be recommended for more than one academy, then 243 may count list entries and not individuals, and the number of distinct candidates would be lower. Whether UPSC counts them that way, and how a candidate recommended for more than one academy is allotted, is not stated in the reports. If you are in more than one list, wait for the official communication before assuming anything about your allotment.
How to check the result
- Open upsc.gov.in.
- Go to the What’s New section or the examination results section.
- Find the notice titled Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 – Final Result.
- Open the PDF.
- Search for your roll number with Ctrl + F.
The PDF is a list by roll number. The summaries describe it as a list of recommended candidates, with merit lists for each academy. No login is needed, according to the reports. Save the PDF and a screenshot of your page.
If your roll number appears, note which academy list it is in. If it is missing from all three, it does not mean the end of the process for everyone: the OTA result is still to come, and you may have been considered for that course.
Marks and cut-off: what UPSC has said
The Commission has said individual marks have not been released. They will be published on the website after the OTA course’s final result is declared. Two other portals repeat that marks sheets and cut-off marks come after the OTA result.
That has practical effects:
- No official cut-off exists yet. Any site quoting a CDS-I 2026 cut-off today is guessing.
- A candidate’s written score, SSB score and final merit position cannot be checked against the PDF alone until the marks are out.
- No date has been announced for the OTA result, so no date can be given for the marks.
We did not find previous-year cut-offs in the sources and won’t estimate one. A CDS cut-off in any case depends on the academy and on how the written and SSB marks are combined, which the reports don’t describe.
Timeline
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Written examination | 12 April 2026 |
| Written result | 8 May 2026 |
| SSB interviews | Between the written result and the final result; dates not in our sources |
| Final result (IMA, INA, AFA) | 2 November 2026 |
| OTA final result | To be announced |
| Marks and cut-offs | After the OTA final result |
| Course start | January, as reported by one portal; confirm in official communication |
If your roll number is in the list
A recommendation is a recommendation for admission, and the next steps come from the authorities, not from UPSC’s website alone. The reports we found give only one forward-looking date: one portal says the IMA, INA and AFA courses commence in January. Nothing we saw lists the documents you will need, the medical requirements or the reporting dates.
What you can usefully do now:
- Keep your educational certificates, date-of-birth proof and identity documents together and readily available.
- Make sure the mobile number and email address in your application are working, because communication will go there.
- Wait for the official communication before you resign from a job, give up another admission or travel.
- Don’t pay anyone for a seat, a rank or an “update” to your position. Selection is through the Commission and the SSB.
If your roll number is not in the list
Two things are still open. The OTA final result is pending, so candidates considered for that course should wait for it. And the marks will be published, which will show how you performed in the written stage and the SSB. Once those are out, they are the most useful record you will have for the next attempt.
The selection rates above also give a sense of scale. Roughly 1 in 16.5 written-qualified candidates was recommended for the three academies. The written stage is a hurdle, but the SSB decides most of the outcome. A candidate who qualified in writing and was not recommended is in the large majority, not an exception.
Verification and safety
Download the result only from upsc.gov.in. Many third-party sites republish the merit list within hours, and some reorder it, mis-type roll numbers or add “cut-off” tables that don’t exist. If a site shows your name but not your roll number, or a roll number you don’t recognise, go back to the UPSC PDF.
Telegram and WhatsApp groups sometimes circulate “recommended candidate lists” with fake PDFs. Never share your OTP, password or documents with anyone offering to confirm your selection, and never pay for it.
important links |
|
| Download CDS-I 2026 Final Result PDF (IMA, INA, AFA) | click here |
| UPSC What’s New Section | click here |
| Official Website | click here |
FAQs
Is the UPSC CDS-I 2026 final result out? Yes. UPSC declared it on 2 November 2026 for IMA, INA and AFA, recommending 243 candidates. The OTA result is separate and has not been announced.
Where can I see my marks? Not yet. UPSC has said individual marks and cut-offs will be released after the OTA course’s final result.
Why do the reports show both 4,011 and 8,826 qualified candidates? 4,011 is reported as the written-qualified count for the three academies. 8,826 is reported for the whole written result in May. The reports don’t explain the difference, and the OTA course may be part of it. Check UPSC’s own notices.
Can a candidate be recommended for more than one academy? The published top-10 lists show the same roll numbers in more than one academy list. How such candidates are allotted is not stated in the reports we found.
When do the courses start? One portal says January. The reports don’t give exact reporting dates, so wait for official communication.