Explore: CDS hub · Syllabus & pattern · CDS 2026
Answer first
We tagged all 7480 questions in 66 official CDS papers (2016–2026) by topic. In English, Synonyms, Antonyms and Idioms leads with 701 questions. In General Knowledge, History and Culture leads with 463 questions. In Elementary Mathematics, Algebra leads with 428 questions. Use the tables to see how often each topic appears each year, then open a topic for every question it has had with the official answer.
English
All English topics on one page: CDS English PYQs. English topics by questions in each year. The last column is the total across all 66 papers.
| Topic | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotting Errors and Grammar | 25 | 45 | 55 | 60 | 50 | 40 | 50 | 45 | 41 | 51 | 35 | 497 |
| Synonyms, Antonyms and Idioms | 140 | 95 | 65 | 60 | 45 | 60 | 80 | 72 | 61 | 14 | 9 | 701 |
| Comprehension | 35 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 37 | 38 | 43 | 41 | 324 |
| Sentence Arrangement and Improvement | 20 | 40 | 50 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 42 | 50 | 102 | 95 | 569 |
| Fill in the Blanks and Cloze | 20 | 40 | 45 | 60 | 80 | 80 | 40 | 44 | 50 | 30 | 60 | 549 |
Most-asked English topics: Synonyms, Antonyms and Idioms (701), Sentence Arrangement and Improvement (569), Fill in the Blanks and Cloze (549), Spotting Errors and Grammar (497), Comprehension (324).
General Knowledge
All General Knowledge topics on one page: CDS General Knowledge PYQs. General Knowledge topics by questions in each year. The last column is the total across all 66 papers.
| Topic | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History and Culture | 41 | 50 | 40 | 45 | 40 | 42 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 40 | 463 |
| Geography | 32 | 43 | 41 | 36 | 44 | 40 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 433 |
| Polity | 28 | 20 | 26 | 18 | 31 | 40 | 32 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 41 | 333 |
| Economy | 28 | 23 | 27 | 33 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 26 | 282 |
| Physics | 30 | 20 | 12 | 21 | 24 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 235 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 212 |
| Biology | 26 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 16 | 21 | 225 |
| Current Affairs, Defence and Sports | 35 | 44 | 52 | 48 | 43 | 36 | 40 | 43 | 41 | 39 | 36 | 457 |
Most-asked General Knowledge topics: History and Culture (463), Current Affairs, Defence and Sports (457), Geography (433), Polity (333), Economy (282).
Elementary Mathematics
All Elementary Mathematics topics on one page: CDS Elementary Mathematics PYQs. Elementary Mathematics topics by questions in each year. The last column is the total across all 66 papers.
| Topic | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number System and Simplification | 21 | 34 | 44 | 28 | 17 | 22 | 29 | 34 | 22 | 23 | 32 | 306 |
| Percentage, Ratio, Profit and Interest | 16 | 13 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 13 | 168 |
| Time, Speed and Work | 10 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 133 |
| Algebra | 39 | 34 | 24 | 54 | 48 | 45 | 31 | 37 | 42 | 37 | 37 | 428 |
| Trigonometry | 30 | 32 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 284 |
| Geometry | 48 | 31 | 28 | 23 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 35 | 32 | 336 |
| Mensuration | 23 | 27 | 34 | 32 | 38 | 36 | 40 | 37 | 37 | 25 | 31 | 360 |
| Statistics | 13 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 22 | 16 | 185 |
Most-asked Elementary Mathematics topics: Algebra (428), Mensuration (360), Geometry (336), Number System and Simplification (306), Trigonometry (284).
How we tagged the papers
- Source: only official CDS papers published by the conducting body and hosted on our year pages. 2026: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2025: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2024: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2023: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2022: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2021: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2020: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2019: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2018: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2017: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2016: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths.
- Topics: one topic per question, following the UPSC CDS syllabus for English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics.
- Answers: Answers come from the official UPSC answer keys where they are hosted; other papers show no answer.
- Summaries are ours, so you can scan a topic quickly. Open the official PDF for the full question.
FAQ
Which CDS topics have the most questions?
English: Synonyms, Antonyms and Idioms (701), Sentence Arrangement and Improvement (569), Fill in the Blanks and Cloze (549). General Knowledge: History and Culture (463), Current Affairs, Defence and Sports (457), Geography (433). Elementary Mathematics: Algebra (428), Mensuration (360), Geometry (336). Counts are totals across the 66 official CDS papers tagged here.
Which CDS papers are included?
Only official papers that the conducting body published and that we host: 2026: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2025: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2024: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2023: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2022: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2021: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2020: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2019: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2018: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2017: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths · 2016: CDS (I) English; CDS (I) GK; CDS (I) Maths; CDS (II) English; CDS (II) GK; CDS (II) Maths.
Are the answers official?
Answers come from the official UPSC answer keys where they are hosted; other papers show no answer.