UPSC Mains CSE 2025 Exam From August 22nd

Only those candidates who successfully cleared the preliminary examination held in May 2025 are eligible to appear for the main examination. The preliminary examination results were declared in June.

UPSC Mains CSE 2025: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the timetable for the Civil Services Main Examination 2025 on its official website, upsc.gov.in. The examination will commence on 22 August 2025 and conclude on 31 August. The examination will be held in two shifts. The first shift will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and the second shift from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Detailed Examination Schedule

According to the schedule released by UPSC, the main examination will be conducted on 22, 23, 24, 30 and 31 August. The Essay paper will be held on the first day, 22 August, and Paper 2 of the optional subject will be held on the last day. Candidates appearing at the examination centres must be prepared for both the morning and afternoon shifts.

Selection Process

• The UPSC Civil Services Examination is conducted in three stages: Preliminary Examination (Preliminary), Main Examination (Mains), and Interview (Interview).
• The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers: General Studies and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
• Both papers are of 200 marks each. Candidates must obtain a minimum of 33 percent marks in CSAT.
• The Preliminary Examination is qualifying only; its marks are not added to the merit list.
• The Main Examination consists of a total of nine papers. Of these, two papers are Indian Language and English, each of 300 marks. These qualifying papers are not included in the final merit list. The remaining seven papers are crucial for merit calculation.Essay: 250 marksGeneral Studies I, II, III, IV: 250 marks eachTwo papers of Optional Subject: 250 marks each

Thus, the maximum total marks for merit in the Main Examination are 1750. After the Main Examination, candidates are called for an interview or personality test, which is of 275 marks. There is no minimum passing number set for this. The final selection is based on the total marks obtained in the Main Examination and the interview.

Who Can Participate?

Only those candidates who have successfully passed the Preliminary Examination held in May 2025 can participate in the Main Examination. The result of the Preliminary Examination was declared in June. Subsequently, eligible candidates had to fill and submit the Detailed Application Form (DAF-I).