The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will soon release the answer key for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) 2026 exam, which took place on April 12, 2026. Candidates eagerly awaiting the answer key can download it from the official UPSC website, upsc.gov.in. The answer key will help candidates assess their performance and estimate their scores prior to the official results. Historically, the UPSC releases the CDS answer key within a week after the exam, making it likely that the key will be available shortly. Candidates can follow a simple process to download the PDF file once it is released. The marking scheme for the CDS 2026 exam awards 0.833 marks for each correct answer in English and General Knowledge, and 1 mark for correct answers in Mathematics. A penalty of one-third mark is deducted for each incorrect answer, while unanswered questions do not incur penalties. Candidates can also challenge the answer key if they find discrepancies by submitting objections through their login on the UPSC website.