6Oct 2026
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UPSC: what is live
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Government Exams
UPSC & Civil Services
The Union Public Service Commission conducts examinations for the All India Services, the central services, the officer cadre of the armed forces, the central armed police forces and the government engineering services. They are grouped here because one body conducts them, not because they resemble each other — they differ more than any other family on this site.
What they do share is a structure: a written stage that is only part of the assessment, followed by a personality test, Services Selection Board or interview that carries substantial weight. Candidates who prepare only for the written half consistently underperform their paper ability.
UPSC · checked 19 September 2026
UPSC exams this month, from the official portals
Notifications, application windows, exam dates, answer keys and results as the conducting bodies published them, each with its source and a link to the exam guide.
The examinations
What the Commission conducts
| Examination | Leads to | Level | The stage that decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Services | IAS, IPS, IFS and allied services | Graduate | Nine mains papers plus a 275-mark personality test |
| Indian Forest Service | The Indian Forest Service | Science or engineering graduate | Two optional subjects across four papers |
| NDA | Army, Navy and Air Force academies | Class 12 | A five-day SSB worth as much as the written papers |
| CDS | IMA, INA, AFA and OTA | Graduate | The SSB, after two or three written papers |
| CAPF (AC) | Assistant Commandant in the armed police forces | Graduate | A 200-mark descriptive paper of essay and comprehension |
| Engineering Services | Class I technical posts | Engineering degree | Two conventional papers written by hand |
2026 cycle
UPSC notifications 2026: where each examination stands
Checked 15 September 2026 against the notices, press notes and the annual programme on upsc.gov.in.
| Examination | Notification | Vacancies | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Services (CSE) | 14 January 2026 (revised 6 February); applications to 27 February | About 933 | Prelims held 24 May, result 15 June; mains from 21 August 2026 for five days; CSE 2025 recommended 958 on 6 March 2026 |
| Indian Forest Service | 14 January 2026, alongside the CSE | About 80 | Screened through the CSE prelims of 24 May; IFoS main examination from 22 November 2026 for seven days |
| NDA and NA | NDA I 10 December 2025; NDA II 20 May 2026 | 394 per examination | NDA I held 12 April, result 8 May; NDA II held 13 September 2026, written result about eight weeks later |
| CDS | CDS I 10 December 2025; CDS II 20 May 2026 | 451 for CDS II | CDS I held 12 April, 8,826 qualified on 8 May; CDS II held 13 September 2026 |
| CAPF (Assistant Commandant) | 18 February 2026; applications to 12 March | 349 | Written examination held 19 July; written result 25 August 2026; PST/PET and interviews follow |
| Engineering Services (ESE) | ESE 2026 on 17 September 2025; ESE 2027 on 16 September 2026 | 480 for ESE 2027 (474 for ESE 2026) | ESE 2027 applications to 6 October 2026, prelims 31 January 2027, mains 18 June 2027; ESE 2026 interviews under way |
| Examination | First written stage | What builds the merit |
|---|---|---|
| CSE / IFoS | Two objective papers of 200 marks — GS Paper I (100 questions) and the CSAT (80 questions, qualifying at 33 per cent) — 2 hours each | CSE: mains 1,750 plus interview 275 = 2,025. IFoS: mains 1,400 plus interview 300 = 1,700. Prelims marks do not carry |
| NDA | Mathematics 120 questions / 300 marks and GAT 150 questions / 600 marks, 2½ hours each | Written 900 plus SSB 900 = 1,800 |
| CDS | English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics, 100 marks and 2 hours each (OTA skips Mathematics) | Written 300 (OTA 200) plus the SSB |
| CAPF | Paper I, 125 questions / 250 marks in 2 hours; Paper II descriptive, 200 marks in 3 hours | Written 450 plus interview 150 = 600, after a qualifying PST/PET |
| ESE | Prelims: GS and Engineering Aptitude 200 marks and the branch paper 300 marks, objective | Prelims 500 plus two conventional mains papers 600 plus interview 200 = 1,300 — the prelims counts |
Every UPSC examination is applied for through one account and Universal Registration Number profile on upsconline.nic.in; the fee is ₹100 for the Civil Services and IFoS prelims and ₹200 for the rest, with no fee for women, SC, ST and PwBD candidates; a withdrawal window of about a week follows each closing date; e-admit cards appear about ten days before the paper; and marks and cut-offs are published only after the final result. The exam guides below carry the full tables, vacancies by service, eligibility and attempts, the procedure from registration to recommendation and free mock tests on the current patterns.
What they share
Three things true across UPSC examinations
- The later stage carries real weight — a personality test, an SSB or an interview accounts for a substantial share of the final marks, and it rewards months of reading and reflection rather than weeks of rehearsal.
- Writing matters — Civil Services mains, CAPF Paper 2 and the Engineering Services conventional papers all require producing structured written work under time — a skill that objective practice does not build at all.
- Attempts and age are limited — more tightly than in most examinations, which means most candidates have few genuine opportunities and a first attempt is worth taking seriously.
Choosing
Which one suits you
Qualification narrows the field: NDA is a school-level entry, ESE and IFoS require specific degrees, and the rest need a bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Beyond that the choice is about the working life. Civil Services leads to administrative and policy roles; the defence entries to a commission; CAPF to command in the armed police forces; ESE to senior technical positions; IFoS to forest and wildlife management in the field.
Exams in this category
UPSC exams
Each exam carries its syllabus, pattern, previous papers, mock tests, preparation guide and study material.
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Questions
UPSC & Civil Services — FAQs
What are the UPSC exam dates for the rest of 2026?
The Civil Services main examination begins on 21 August 2026 and the IFoS main examination on 22 November 2026; NDA II and CDS II were held on 13 September 2026; the CAPF physical tests and interviews follow the written result of 25 August; and ESE 2026 interviews are under way. Ahead: ESE 2027 applications close on 6 October 2026 with the prelims on 31 January 2027, and the NDA I and CDS I 2027 notifications are due on 2 December 2026 for examinations on 11 April 2027.
Is there negative marking in UPSC exams?
Yes, in every objective paper — one third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer, a blank costs nothing, and a question with more than one option marked counts as wrong. That applies to the CSE and IFoS prelims, both NDA papers, the CDS papers, CAPF Paper I and both ESE prelims papers. The conventional and descriptive papers — CSE and IFoS mains, CAPF Paper II and ESE mains — carry no deduction but are marked for quality of answer.
Can I prepare for several UPSC exams together?
To a limited extent. The Civil Services and Indian Forest Service share a preliminary examination, so those two genuinely overlap at that stage, though their mains papers diverge completely. NDA and CDS share the Services Selection Board process and much of their general knowledge ground. Beyond those pairings the examinations are too different to prepare for jointly — Engineering Services is a technical examination and CAPF requires descriptive writing that no other UPSC paper asks for in the same form.
Do UPSC prelims marks count in the final result?
In the Civil Services and Indian Forest Service examinations, no — the preliminary stage is purely a screen and the merit is built from the mains and the personality test. The Engineering Services Examination is the exception among these: its preliminary marks do carry into the final total, which changes the calculus and means performing well there is worth real marks rather than merely a seat in the next stage.
How much does the interview or SSB count?
Substantially, and more than most candidates plan for. The Civil Services personality test carries 275 marks against 1750 from the mains; the NDA and CDS Services Selection Board carries as much as the entire written examination; CAPF adds a 150-mark interview; and the Engineering Services personality test is 200 of 1300. All of them reward sustained reading, formed views and, for the defence entries, genuine physical fitness and group experience — none of which can be assembled in a fortnight.
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