Question 1

What is the educational qualification required to appear for the UPSC Civil Services Examination?

Accepted Answer

A candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized University incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or an educational institution established by an Act of Parliament. Candidates appearing in the final year or final semester of their graduation degree are also eligible to apply for the Preliminary examination.

Question 2

What is the UPSC One Time Registration (OTR) and is it mandatory?

Accepted Answer

Yes, One Time Registration (OTR) on upsconline.nic.in is mandatory for all aspirants wishing to apply for any exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It serves as a permanent profile containing your verified personal details, education records, and photograph, saving you from re-entering basic data each time you submit an application.

Question 3

What constitutes an "attempt" in the UPSC Civil Services Examination?

Accepted Answer

An attempt is counted only if a candidate actually appears in at least one paper of the Preliminary examination (i.e., signs the attendance sheet for GS Paper 1 or CSAT Paper 2). Mere application submission or downloading the admit card without physically appearing at the exam hall does NOT count as an attempt.

Question 4

What is the qualifying mark criteria for CSAT (Paper II) in the UPSC Prelims?

Accepted Answer

CSAT (General Studies Paper-II) is strictly qualifying in nature. Candidates need to secure a minimum of 33% marks (which equals 66 marks out of 200) to qualify. The final shortlisting for the Mains examination is based purely on the score obtained in General Studies Paper-I.

Question 5

What is the negative marking scheme in UPSC examinations?

Accepted Answer

For every question answered incorrectly in UPSC objective-type preliminary examinations (such as CSE Prelims, CDS, NDA, CAPF Paper 1, CMS), one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question are deducted as negative marking penalty. Unanswered questions attract zero penalty.

Question 6

Can candidates choose any Optional Subject for the UPSC CSE Mains Exam?

Accepted Answer

Yes, candidates can freely select one Optional Subject from the comprehensive list of 25+ academic disciplines and 20+ literature subjects prescribed in the official UPSC notification. The chosen subject does not necessarily have to match your graduation degree specialization.

Question 7

How many times are UPSC NDA and CDS examinations conducted each year?

Accepted Answer

Both the National Defence Academy (NDA & NA) and Combined Defence Services (CDS) examinations are conducted twice a year by UPSC: Phase I in April and Phase II in September, with notifications usually published in December and May respectively.

Question 8

Where can I find verified, instant alerts for upcoming UPSC job notifications?

Accepted Answer

GovtJobsOnly (govtjobsonly.net) tracks every official notification, corrigendum, admit card, and result released by UPSC at Dholpur House in real-time. Bookmark this dedicated UPSC page or subscribe to our official Telegram channel for instantaneous mobile updates.

Category	Upper Age Limit	Attempts	Application Fee
General Category	32 Years	6 Attempts	₹100 (Women Exempt)
EWS	32 Years	6 Attempts	₹100 (Women Exempt)
OBC	35 Years (3 yrs relaxation)	9 Attempts	₹100 (Women Exempt)
SC / ST	37 Years (5 yrs relaxation)	Unlimited (up to age limit)	Exempted
PwBD – General / EWS	42 Years (10 yrs relaxation)	9 Attempts	Exempted
PwBD – OBC	45 Years (13 yrs cumulative relaxation)	9 Attempts	Exempted
PwBD – SC / ST	47 Years (15 yrs cumulative relaxation)	Unlimited (up to age limit)	Exempted
Defence Personnel Disabled in Operations	35 Years (3 yrs relaxation)	As per applicable category	Exempted

UPSC Govt Jobs 2026

Civil Services Preliminary Examination

Civil Services Main Examination

Personality Test / Interview

All India Services (AIS)

Group A Central Civil Services

Group B Central Services

Defence & Technical Cadres