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Exam Updates
Answer Keys
After most computer-based examinations, the conducting body releases a provisional answer key along with your recorded responses, and opens a window during which candidates may challenge specific answers. The final key is published afterwards, and results are computed from it.
That window is a genuine opportunity and it is under-used. Answer keys do contain errors, objections are sometimes accepted, and a question dropped or a key corrected changes every candidate’s score. But an objection has to be substantiated, and speculative challenges achieve nothing.
Exam updates · checked 19 September 2026
Application forms closing soon, from the official notices
Every deadline below was read on the conducting body’s own portal. Apply days before the close — the last day is when portals slow down and no commission grants an extension for it.
Answer keys — checked 19 September 2026
Answer keys and objection windows now open or recently closed
An objection is worth filing only with a source that proves the key wrong, and every body charges per question — ₹50 at SSC, ₹200 at NTA, refundable at NTA if accepted. The final key is the one the result is computed from; accepted challenges apply to every candidate.
| Date | Exam | What was published | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September | NDA II and CDS II 2026 | NDA II and CDS II 2026 provisional answer keys posted for representations. The written examinations were held on 13 September 2026; the Commission has posted the provisional answer keys of both on upsc.gov.in, with the representation window open for the period stated in the notice. Written results are due about eight weeks after the examination. | upsc.gov.in what’s new |
| 10 September | UGC NET June 2026 re-examination | UGC NET re-examination keys (English, Commerce, Sociology) challenged 10–13 September. The three papers re-conducted on 9 and 10 September 2026 after errors were found in the June papers had their provisional keys open to challenge from 10 to 13 September at ₹200 a question; their result follows. The June result for the other 84 subjects was declared on 28 August with subject-wise cut-offs. | ugcnet.nta.nic.in |
| 7 September | RRB Group D CEN 09/2025 | RRB Group D answer key and response sheets displayed; objections closed 15 September. The provisional answer keys and response sheets for the 3–25 August CBT were displayed through the candidate login from 7 September 2026, with objections to 15 September (5 p.m.), as reported from the RRB login; the result and the PET schedule are expected in October. | RRB candidate login, as reported |
| 15 June | SSC GD 2026 | SSC GD 2026 tentative answer key of 15 June; result awaited. The tentative answer key for the 27 April – 31 May CBE was released on 15 June 2026 with challenges to 20 June at ₹50 a question. The CBE result and the PET/PST schedule are the next notices. | ssc.gov.in notice board |
Exam guides for the updates above
NDA II and CDS II 2026 — exam guide UGC NET June 2026 re-examination — exam guide RRB Group D CEN 09/2025 — exam guide SSC GD 2026 — exam guide
The process
How the answer key stage works
- Provisional key and response sheet
- Released together, usually within days or weeks of the examination. The response sheet shows what you actually marked, which lets you compute an estimated score against the provisional key.
- Objection window
- A short period, generally a few days, during which a candidate may challenge a specific answer. Most bodies charge a fee per question challenged, refunded where the objection is upheld.
- Final answer key
- Published after objections are considered. Questions may be dropped, keys may be revised, and results are computed from this version rather than the provisional one.
- Result
- Computed from the final key, with normalisation applied where the examination ran across multiple shifts.
Objections
When a challenge is worth making
- When you can cite a source — a standard textbook, an official document or an authoritative reference supporting a different answer. Objections are assessed on evidence, not on disagreement.
- When a question is genuinely ambiguous — where two options are defensible under the wording given. These are the challenges most often upheld.
- When the question contains an error — a factual mistake, a missing option or an inconsistency between the language versions of the paper.
- Not simply because you answered differently — a fee is charged per challenge and speculative objections cost money without changing anything.
Estimating
Reading your estimated score sensibly
Compute your score against the provisional key using the correct marking scheme, including the deduction for wrong answers. Then treat the number cautiously: the final key may differ, normalisation may adjust it where the examination ran across shifts, and a cutoff is set relative to the whole field rather than to any absolute figure. An estimated score tells you roughly where you stand; it does not tell you whether you have cleared.
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Questions
Answer Keys — FAQs
How does the answer key objection window work?
The conducting body releases a provisional answer key alongside your recorded responses, and opens a window of a few days during which candidates may challenge specific answers. Most bodies charge a fee per question challenged, refunded where the objection is upheld. Objections are then considered, questions may be dropped or keys revised, and a final answer key is published from which results are computed.
When is it worth raising an objection?
When you can substantiate it. The challenges most often upheld are those citing a standard textbook, official document or authoritative reference supporting a different answer, and those pointing to genuine ambiguity where two options are defensible under the wording used. Objecting simply because you answered differently costs a fee and achieves nothing — these are assessed on evidence rather than on disagreement.
Can I rely on my estimated score from the provisional key?
Only as a rough indication. The final key may differ after objections are considered, questions are sometimes dropped, and where an examination runs across multiple shifts, normalisation adjusts raw scores. Beyond that, a cutoff is set relative to the whole field rather than to any absolute figure, so knowing your score does not tell you whether you have cleared. Treat the estimate as useful information about where you roughly stand and not as a result.
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