CHENNAI: The UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2026 concluded on Sunday, with 642 of 651 registered candidates appearing across three centres in Chennai, according to the Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE). Nine candidates were absent.
Among those registered in Chennai, 13 were persons with disabilities (PwD) and were given an additional hour to complete the papers. The examination was held on August 21, 23, 29 and 30, in two sessions from 9 am to noon and 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm.
The DGE said attendance was verified through a face-authentication app, and no complaints were received regarding the conduct of the examination.
Aspirants had mixed reactions to this year’s mains, with many describing the Ethics paper, General Studies Paper IV, as the toughest. Candidates noted a significant change in its pattern. Unlike last year, when the paper had 13 direct questions and six case studies, all 19 questions this year were case-study based, requiring practical application.
“The questions were much more application-oriented and included scenarios involving medical ethics and real-life decision-making,” an aspirant said.
T Sankara Saravanan, Additional Director, All India Civil Services Coaching Centre, said the changed pattern could pose a greater challenge to first-time aspirants.
The state-run centre had 320 candidates appear, including 220 full-time and 100 part-time aspirants.
