Difference between salary of NDA & CDS Officers

The officers selected through the NDA Exam and the CDS Exam are eligible for top-level positions in the tri-services of India – Army, Navy and Air Force. Though both the exams are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the pay and allowances offered to the officers selected through the NDA & CDS Exams differ significantly. For the benefit of NDA & CDS aspirants, Jagran Josh is providing a comparative analysis of pay and allowances of officers selected through NDA & CDS Exams.

Comparative pay scales of NDA & CDS Army Officers and equivalent ranks in Air Force and Navy are as given below. It should be noted that the total pay of NDA Officers is the sum of rank pay and grade pay.

NDA Officer Pay vs CDS Officer Pay

S.No.	Rank	NDA Officer Pay (in Rupees)			CDS Officer (Total Pay in Rupees)
		Rank Pay	Grade Pay
1.	Lieutenant	15,600—39,100/-		5,400/-	56,100 – 1,77,500
2.	Captain	15,600—39,100/-		6,100/-	6,13,00-1,93,900
3.	Major	15,600—39,100/-		6,600/-	6,94,00 – 2,07,200
4.	Lieutenant Colonel	37,400—67,000/-		8,000/-	1,21,200 – 2,12400
5.	Colonel	37,400—67,000/-		8,700/-	1,30,600-2, 15,900
6.	Brigadier	37,400—67,000/-		8,900/-	1,39,600-2,17,600
7.	Major General	37,400—67,000/-		10,000/-	1,44,200-2,18,200
8.	Lieutenant General HAG Scale	67,000/--79,000/-		-	1, 82, 200-2,24,100
9.	HAG+Scale	75,500/- 80,000/-		-	2,05,400 – 2,24,400
10.	VCOAS/Army Cdr/ Lieutenant General (NFSG)	80,000/-		-	2,25,000/-(fixed)
11.	COAS	90,000/- (fixed)		-	2,25,000/-(fixed)

In addition to the above mentioned pay, the officers in the rank starting from Lieutenant up to Brigadier are eligible for the Military Service Pay (MSP). While a fixed sum of Rs. 6,000/- p.m in lieu of MSP for NDA Officers, the CDS Officers get Rs. 15,500 per month.

Besides the Pay and the MSP, the officers are eligible for various allowances. In fact, the allowances offered by the Army, Navy and Air Force to the officers are considered as the major pull factors  for the CDS & NDA Exam aspirants.

Comparison between allowances offered to Army officers selected through  NDA & CDS and equivalent ranks in Air Force and Navy are as given below.

NDA Officer Allowance vs CDS Officer Allowance

S.No.	Type	NDA Officer (in Rupees pm)			CDS Officer (in Rupees pm)
1.	Dearness Allowance	Equal to Civilian Gazetted Officers			Equal to Civilian Gazetted Officers
2.	Kit Maintenance Allowance	400/-			Subsumed into DA
3.	High Altitude Allowance	1,060/-			3,400 – 25,000/-
4.	Siachen Allowance	Not Applicable			42,500/-
5.	Uniform allowance	14,000/- (initial) and 3,000/- (every 3 years)			Subsumed into proposed DA
6.	Transport allowance	1,600 – 3,200 /- + DA			3,600 – 7,200 /- + DA
7.	Children Education Allowance		Not Applicable	Rs. 2,250/pm/per child for two children from Nursery – XII

The aspirants should note that for the CDS Officers, the newly proposed Daily Allowance (DA) is Rs. 20,000 per month.

Besides the pay and allowance, Qualification Pay and Flying Allowances are provided for Indian Air Force Officers. While the final order on the Qualificaiton Pay for the CDS Officers is awaited, the details related to NDA Officers is as given below.

Qualification Pay of NDA Officers

S.No.	Rank/Position	Qualification Pay (in Rupees)
1.	Master Aviation Instructor	500/- p.m.
2.	Senior Aviation Instructor Class I	400/- p.m.
3.	Senior Aviation Instructor Class II	280/- p.m.
4.	Aviators holding Master Green Card	400/- p.m.
5.	Aviators holding Green Card	280/- p.m.

The Army Aviators (Pilots) serving in the Army Aviation Corps are entitled to flying allowance as under —

Flying Allowance: NDA Officer vs CDS Officer

S.No.	Rank/Position	NDA Officers (in Rupees/pm)	CDS Officers (in Rupees/pm)
1.	Lieutenant	9,000/-	25,000/- (fixed)
2.	Captain	11,000/-
3.	Major to Colonel	14,000/-
4.	Brigadier & above	10,500/-

Best Wishes from Jagran Josh!!!!

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