New Delhi : The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) successfully conducted the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, along with the Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2026, across the country on May 24, 2026. The examination was held at 2,072 venues spread across 83 cities nationwide.
According to provisional data, nearly 5.49 lakh candidates appeared for the examination out of the total 8,19,732 applicants, recording an attendance of around 67 per cent. In comparison, approximately 61 per cent of candidates had appeared in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025.
For the first time, UPSC introduced real-time face authentication technology at all examination venues to prevent impersonation and strengthen examination integrity. The indigenously developed system, implemented through the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, functioned successfully across all centres. The Commission described it as one of the largest real-time face authentication exercises undertaken in the country.
Expressing satisfaction over the smooth conduct of the examination, UPSC Chairman Dr. Ajay Kumar commended the efforts of UPSC officials, NeGD, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in implementing the technology-driven examination process.
The examination was conducted in two sessions, with General Studies Paper-I held in the morning session and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) conducted in the afternoon session, following all prescribed institutional guidelines and examination protocols.
Among all centres, Delhi recorded the highest number of applicants with 70,885 candidates appearing across 144 venues, followed by Hyderabad with 44,209 candidates and Patna with 39,147 candidates. Kargil recorded the lowest number of applications with 98 candidates, followed by Port Blair and Leh.
UPSC stated that all examination centres were equipped with essential facilities, including drinking water, medical assistance, sanitation arrangements, shaded waiting areas, accessibility support for PwBD candidates, and power backup arrangements. Mobile signal jammers and trained security personnel were also deployed to ensure fair and secure conduct of the examination.
To ease congestion at major centres, UPSC introduced three new examination centres this year at Bhubaneswar, Kanpur, and Meerut. The Commission also introduced a new system allowing candidates to indicate nearby city preferences, which will help identify potential locations for future examination centres.
In another significant step towards transparency, UPSC announced that it will release the provisional answer key shortly after the examination for the first time. Candidates will be allowed to submit representations and objections until May 31, 2026, following which the Commission will examine all submissions before finalising the answer key. The final answer key will be published after the declaration of the final results, as per existing practice.
The Commission also highlighted special arrangements made for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD), including compensatory time and accessibility support, in accordance with prescribed norms.
UPSC noted that the successful conduct of the examination reflects the coordinated efforts of multiple stakeholders and the continued strengthening of institutional mechanisms to ensure fairness, efficiency, transparency, and credibility in the examination process.