The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)’s decision to release the provisional answer key for the Civil Services (Preliminary) examination 2026 soon after the test, has been hailed by the exam body’s chairman as “a new beginning”
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NEW DELHI — The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)’s decision to release the provisional answer key for the Civil Services (Preliminary) examination 2026 soon after the test, has been hailed by the exam body’s chairman as “a new beginning”, a move that will go a long way in addressing candidates’ grievances and also making the entire procedure transparent.
Undertaking a major change in the evaluation process, the UPSC on Monday announced that the Commission will share the provisional answer keys of the preliminary examinations with the candidates, soon after the exams.
According to the UPSC, the key body for conducting Civil Services Examinations, has introduced the ‘reforms’ to enhance transparency and uphold the highest standards of conduct of the examination.
“This initiative reflects the Commission's ongoing endeavour to bring greater transparency, responsiveness, and timely communication with candidates," UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar said.
“It will also make the examination process more participative while upholding its sanctity, integrity, and merit-based framework,” he added.
Notably, the UPSC conducts Civil Services examinations annually in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interview -- to select first-grade officers for various services, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and more.
This year, the civil services (preliminary) exam is scheduled on May 24.
According to the new guidelines, candidates can raise their objections and submit their representations till May 31 through a dedicated online portal, i.e., 'Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep)'.
They can submit their representations by indicating the correct key as per their understanding, along with a brief description and supporting documents from three authentic sources.
“The objections will be reviewed by subject experts with domain knowledge in the concerned subjects. The expert panels will evaluate each representation, verify the supporting documents, and decide on the correctness of the answers before the final answer key is published,” the UPSC further said.