UPSC holds Civil Services Prelims 2026 at 2,072 venues; real-time face authentication used for the first time
On 24 May 2026 UPSC conducted the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, including the IFS (Preliminary), at 2,072 venues in 83 cities, using real-time face authentication of candidates for the first time.
Summary
The Union Public Service Commission conducted the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, including the Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2026, on 24 May 2026 at 2,072 venues in 83 centres (cities). Of 8,19,732 applicants, nearly 5.49 lakh (about 67%) appeared, as per provisional data, compared with about 61% (around 5.8 lakh of nearly 9.5 lakh) in 2025. For the first time, UPSC used real-time face authentication of candidates at venues to prevent impersonation; the indigenous system developed through NeGD of MeitY worked across all 2,072 venues. UPSC Chairman Dr Ajay Kumar expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the exam.
Key facts
- Date
- 24 May 2026
- Exams
- Civil Services (Prelims) 2026 + Indian Forest Service (Prelims) 2026
- Venues / cities
- 2,072 venues in 83 cities
- Applicants
- 8,19,732
- Appeared
- About 5.49 lakh (~67%), provisional
- 2025 comparison
- ~9.5 lakh applied; ~61% (~5.8 lakh) appeared
- New measure
- Real-time face authentication (first time), system developed through NeGD, MeitY
- UPSC Chairman
- Dr Ajay Kumar
Practice MCQs 4 questions
The UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026, was conducted at:
Show answer
Correct answer: A — 2,072 venues in 83 cities
UPSC conducted the examination at 2,072 examination venues in 83 examination centres (cities).
As per UPSC's provisional data, roughly what share of applicants appeared in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026?
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Correct answer: C — About 67%
Nearly 5.49 lakh of 8,19,732 applicants, about 67%, appeared; about 61% had appeared in 2025.
The real-time face authentication system used by UPSC for the first time in the Civil Services Prelims 2026 was developed through:
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Correct answer: B — National e-Governance Division (NeGD), MeitY
UPSC said the indigenously developed system through NeGD of MeitY worked across all 2,072 venues.
Consider the following statements about the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026: 1. The Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2026 was held along with it. 2. More candidates applied for it than for the 2025 examination. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
The IFS (Prelims) 2026 was held along with it. 8,19,732 applied in 2026 against nearly 9.5 lakh in 2025, so statement 2 is wrong.