Exam pattern at a glance
CSE 2026 (Exam Notice No. 05/2026-CSE) has two successive stages: the Preliminary exam, an objective screening test, and the Main exam — a written exam followed by an Interview/Personality Test. Prelims only screens; Mains written and interview marks build the final merit list.
Prelims exam pattern
Two compulsory objective papers of 200 marks and two hours each, held in a forenoon and an afternoon session on the same day. UPSC draws the Mains list using a 33% minimum in GS Paper II and a qualifying total in GS Paper I that the Commission sets, and admits about 12 to 13 times the year’s vacancies to Mains.
| Paper | Questions | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper I | 100 | 2 hours | Hindi & English |
| General Studies Paper II (CSAT) — qualifying | 80 | 2 hours | Hindi & English |
| Total | 180 · 400 marks | 4 hours | −⅓ of marks per wrong answer |
The notification fixes the marks and duration; the question counts are printed on the covers of the 2026 question papers. Both papers are compulsory — a candidate who misses either is disqualified — and calculators are not allowed in objective papers.
Mains exam pattern
Mains is where marks start to count. The written part has nine conventional essay-type papers. Candidates who reach the minimum written marks the Commission fixes are called for the Personality Test — about twice the number of vacancies.
| Part | Taken by | Papers | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying papers (A & B) | All Mains candidates (Paper A has exemptions) | 2 | 300 each | 3 hours each |
| Merit papers (I–VII) | All Mains candidates | 7 | 1,750 | 3 hours each |
| Interview/Personality Test | Shortlisted after Mains written | — | 275 | — |
Mains — paper-wise breakdown
Each paper runs for three hours. In 2026 the forenoon session was 9:00 AM–12:00 noon and the afternoon session 2:30–5:30 PM. Your Essay, General Studies and optional papers are counted only if you score 25% in both Paper A and Paper B.
| Paper | Counts for | Marks | 2026 date | Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I · Essay | Merit | 250 | 21 Aug | Forenoon |
| II · General Studies I | Merit | 250 | 22 Aug | Forenoon |
| III · General Studies II | Merit | 250 | 22 Aug | Afternoon |
| IV · General Studies III | Merit | 250 | 23 Aug | Forenoon |
| V · General Studies IV | Merit | 250 | 23 Aug | Afternoon |
| A · Indian Language | Qualifying (25%) | 300 | 29 Aug | Forenoon |
| B · English | Qualifying (25%) | 300 | 29 Aug | Afternoon |
| VI · Optional Subject Paper 1 | Merit | 250 | 30 Aug | Forenoon |
| VII · Optional Subject Paper 2 | Merit | 250 | 30 Aug | Afternoon |
| Written total for merit | Papers I–VII | 1,750 | + Personality Test 275 = 2,025 | |
Qualifying language papers & the interview
Two Mains papers must be cleared but don’t add to your rank, and the written exam leads to a 275-mark Personality Test before the final merit list.
Papers A & B · Indian language & English
Matriculation-standard papers on comprehension, précis writing, usage and vocabulary and short essays, plus translation in Paper A. Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, or for hearing-impaired PwBD candidates exempted from second/third-language courses.
Interview/Personality Test
A board with your record in front of it talks to you about matters of general interest to judge your suitability for public service — qualities such as mental alertness, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, depth of interest, leadership and integrity. UPSC describes it as a purposeful conversation, not a cross-examination.
Negative marking in prelims
UPSC’s penalty applies to the objective prelims papers. Each question has four options, and every wrong answer costs one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question. Leave a question blank and there’s no penalty.
| Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Wrong answer (GS Paper I or II) | ⅓ (0.33) of that question’s marks |
| More than one option marked | Treated as wrong — same penalty, even if one option is right |
| Question left blank | No penalty |
| Mains written papers | Essay-type, so the negative-marking rule doesn’t apply; marks can be deducted for illegible handwriting or for marks that could reveal your identity |
Prelims marks are used only to shortlist for Mains. The final rank uses Mains Papers I–VII (1,750) plus the Personality Test (275), out of 2,025. On a tie, UPSC ranks higher the candidate with more marks in the compulsory papers (Essay and GS I–IV) plus the Personality Test, then in the compulsory papers alone, then the older candidate.
Crack UPSC Prelims with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed practice mocks for UPSC Prelims.
Practise against the clock
Knowing the pattern is step one. JobSafal lets you practise in timed tests, so working accurately under time pressure — and deciding when to leave a question blank — feels familiar by exam day.
Practice mocks
Six timed mock slots for UPSC Prelims, from 50 to 100 questions and 40 to 60 minutes each — shorter than the real two-hour papers.
Attempt analysis
See how your accuracy and number of attempts affect your score after every test.
Topic-wise practice
Drill one syllabus area at a time to fix the weak links each test exposes.
PYQ practice sets
Six timed sets generated from JobSafal’s question bank to check your speed and accuracy.
