New Delhi: In a fresh step to make the civil services examination process more inclusive, the Union Public Service Commission has announced that from CSE and IFoS 2026 onwards, candidates with benchmark disabilities will be assured their preferred examination centres, even if those centres have reached full capacity.
Under the revised arrangement, once a centre fills up, it will remain available exclusively for PwBD candidates, with UPSC creating additional capacity wherever required. The move addresses a long-standing concern where aspirants with disabilities were often forced to shift centres due to early saturation in high-demand cities.
The Commission has also expanded its examination footprint. Three new centres — Meerut, Kanpur and Bhubaneswar — have been added for the Preliminary Examination, taking the total to 83, while Bhubaneswar, Srinagar and Imphal have been included for the Mains, increasing the number of centres to 27.
Alongside these changes, UPSC has rolled out a revamped online application portal with enhanced security features such as photo validation and face recognition. Candidates are also being asked to indicate nearby city preferences, a step aimed at helping the Commission plan future examination centres more effectively.
The 2026 recruitment cycle will offer 933 vacancies in the Civil Services and 80 in the Indian Forest Service. The latest reforms are part of UPSC’s broader effort to modernise its processes while improving accessibility, transparency and candidate convenience.
BI Bureau
