Key Dates for 2026
The official UPSC Calendar for 2026 has established the following timeline:
- Notification Release: January 14, 2026.
- Application Period: January 14, 2026, to February 3, 2026.
- Prelims Exam: May 24, 2026 (Sunday).
- Mains Exam: Starts from August 21, 2026.
1. Exam Overview
Exam Name: Civil Services Examination (CSE)
Conducting Authority: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Exam Level: National
Recruitment Year: 2025
Mode of Examination: Pen and Paper (Offline)
Total Stages: 3
Total Papers: 9 (2 in Prelims, 7 in Mains)
Total Marks: 2025 (1750 Mains + 275 Interview)
Negative Marking (if applicable): Yes, in Preliminary Examination.
2. Stage-wise Examination Structure (Summary Only)
Stage I: Preliminary Examination
Paper I: General Studies, Type: Objective, Marks: 200, Duration: 2 Hours.
Paper II: CSAT, Type: Objective, Marks: 200, Duration: 2 Hours.
Stage II: Main Examination
Paper A: Indian Language (Qualifying), Type: Descriptive, Marks: 300, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper B: English (Qualifying), Type: Descriptive, Marks: 300, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper I: Essay, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper II: General Studies I, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper III: General Studies II, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper IV: General Studies III, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper V: General Studies IV, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper VI: Optional Paper I, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Paper VII: Optional Paper II, Type: Descriptive, Marks: 250, Duration: 3 Hours.
Stage III: Personality Test / Interview
Type: Interview / Personality Assessment.
Marks: 275.
3. List of Optional Subjects (Main Examination)
Group 1: Academic Disciplines
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology.
Group 2: Literature of Languages
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English.
4. Exam Summary (Auto-Generated)
Total Stages: 3
Total Written Papers: 9
Objective Papers: 2
Descriptive Papers: 7
Interview Marks: 275
Grand Total Marks: 2025
For inquiries and support
A. A. Khatana
Founder—GenAI Prompt Engineering Academy
📱 WhatsApp: 9810563299
🌐 Website: nextgenaicoach.com
✉️ Email: [email protected]
UPSC CSE Mastery Series
Test & Score
Your Blueprint for Success
Previous Year Question Papers
Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2025
- General Studies Paper – I (27.8 MB)
- General Studies Paper – II (30.58 MB)
Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2025
General
Essay (977.44 KB)
General Studies
- General Studies Paper – I (1.75 MB)
- General Studies Paper – II (2.36 MB)
- General Studies Paper – III (2.72 MB)
- General Studies Paper – IV (6.84 MB)
Compulsory (English & One language)
- Assamese (Compulsory) (3.22 MB)
- Bengali (Compulsory) (3.15 MB)
- Bodo (Compulsory) (2.91 MB)
- English (Compulsory) (5.67 MB)
- Gujarati (Compulsory) (2.93 MB)
- Hindi (Compulsory) (4.81 MB)
- Kannada (Compulsory) (3.89 MB)
- Kashimiri (Compulsory) (3.92 MB)
- Maithili (Compulsory) (2.81 MB)
- Malayalam (Compulsory) (4.98 MB)
- Marathi (Compulsory) (4.75 MB)
- Nepali (Compulsory) (2.92 MB)
- Odia Compulsory) (3.54 MB)
- Punjabi (Compulsory) (3.23 MB)
- Sanskrit (Compulsory) (2.56 MB)
- Sindhi (Devanagari) (Compulsory) (2.66 MB)
- Tamil (Compulsory) (5.94 MB)
- Telugu (Compulsory) (3.36 MB)
- Urdu (Compulsory) (2.52 MB)
Optional
- Agriculture Paper- I (2.32 MB)
- Agriculture Paper- II (2.17 MB)
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Paper- I (2.57 MB)
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Paper- I (2.1 MB)
- Anthropology Paper – I (1.77 MB)
- Anthropology Paper – II (1.9 MB)
- Botany Paper – I (2.55 MB)
- Botany Paper – II (1.79 MB)
- Chemistry Paper – I (6.34 MB)
- Chemistry Paper – II (4.8 MB)
- Civil Engineering Paper – I (8.32 MB)
- Civil Engineering Paper – II (4.96 MB)
- Commerce and Accountancy Paper – I (4.6 MB)
- Commerce and Accountancy Paper – II (1.96 MB)
- Economics Paper – I (2.78 MB)
- Economics Paper – II (1.96 MB)
- Electrical Engineering Paper – I (6.6 MB)
- Electrical Engineering Paper – II (5.12 MB)
- Geography Paper – I (1.77 MB)
- Geography Paper – II (3.05 MB)
- Geology Paper – I (2.04 MB)
- Geology Paper – II (2.26 MB)
- History Paper – I (2.83 MB)
- History Paper – II (2.37 MB)
- Law Paper – I (2.99 MB)
- Law Paper – II (2.53 MB)
- Management Paper – I (3.99 MB)
- Management Paper – II (7.32 MB)
- Mathematics Paper – I (4.23 MB)
- Mathematics Paper – II (3.72 MB)
- Mechanical Engineering Paper – I (7.61 MB)
- Mechanical Engineering Paper – II (8.25 MB)
- Medical Science Paper – I (4.41 MB)
- Medical Science Paper – II (2.67 MB)
- Philosophy Paper – I (2.19 MB)
- Philosophy Paper – II (1.93 MB)
- Physics Paper – I (3.78 MB)
- Physics Paper – II (2.52 MB)
- Political Science and International Relation Paper – I (2.03 MB)
- Political Science and International Relation Paper – II (2.3 MB)
- Psychology Paper – I (2.32 MB)
- Psychology Paper – II (1.72 MB)
- Public Administration Paper – I (2.02 MB)
- Public Administration Paper – II (1.8 MB)
- Sociology Paper – I (2.21 MB)
- Sociology Paper – II (1.95 MB)
- Statistics Paper – I (4.65 MB)
- Statistics Paper – II (4.38 MB)
- Zoology Paper – I (1.54 MB)
- Zoology Paper – II (1.64 MB)
Optional Literature
- Assamese Literature Paper – I (1.08 MB)
- Assamese Literature Paper – II (1.05 MB)
- Bodo Literature Paper – I (1.06 MB)
- Bodo Literature Paper – II (1022.7 KB)
- English Literature Paper – I (1.52 MB)
- English Literature Paper – II (1.27 MB)
- Gujarati Literature Paper – I (1.21 MB)
- Gujarati Literature Paper – II (1.09 MB)
- Hindi Literature Paper – I (1.42 MB)
- Hindi Literature Paper – II (1.94 MB)
- Kannada Literature Paper – I (1.31 MB)
- Kannada Literature Paper – II (1.4 MB)
- Kashmiri Literature Paper – I (2.02 MB)
- Kashmiri Literature Paper – II (2.63 MB)
- Maithili Literature Paper – I (1.08 MB)
- Maithili Literature Paper – II (1.17 MB)
- Malayalam Literature Paper – I (1.88 MB)
- Malayalam Literature Paper – II (2.38 MB)
- Manipuri Literature Paper – I (1.12 MB)
- Manipuri Literature Paper – II (1.12 MB)
- Marathi Literature Paper – I (1.2 MB)
- Marathi Literature Paper – II (1.02 MB)
- Punjabi Literature Paper- I (1.67 MB)
- Punjabi Literature Paper- II (2.64 MB)
- Sanskrit Literature Paper – I (2 MB)
- Sanskrit Literature Paper – II (1.2 MB)
- Sindhi (Devnagari) Literature Paper – I (1.07 MB)
- Sindhi (Devnagari) Literature Paper – II (1.18 MB)
- Tamil Literature Paper – I (1.44 MB)
- Tamil Literature Paper – II (1.61 MB)
- Telugu Literature Paper – I (1.25 MB)
- Telugu Literature Paper – II (2 MB)
- Urdu Literature Paper – I (1.15 MB)
- Urdu Literature Paper – II (1.74 MB)