UPSC Mains 2026: GS III, IV papers held today, break till Aug 29

Candidates appeared for General Studies Papers III and IV today, with the UPSC Civil Services Main Examination 2026 now in its third day.

General Studies Paper III, covering economy, environment, security and disaster management, was held in the morning session, and Paper IV on ethics, integrity and aptitude in the afternoon.

The exam began on August 21 with the Essay paper, followed by General Studies Papers I and II on August 22.

After today, the exam will take a break before resuming on August 29 with the qualifying Indian Language and English papers, and finishing with the Optional Subject papers on August 30.

The nine-paper exam runs in morning sessions from 9 AM to 12 noon and afternoon sessions from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

A total of 13,343 candidates qualified for the Mains stage after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination result was declared on June 15 this year.

Morning sessions for the Mains examination run from 9 AM to 12 noon, with afternoon sessions from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

A total of 13,343 candidates qualified for the Mains stage after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination result was declared on June 15, with the Mains application window open from June 19 to June 28.

The UPSC Civil Services Main Examination 2026 runs across five days in total, August 21, 22, 23, 29 and 30, with papers held in morning and afternoon sessions.

The Essay paper alone was held on the opening day, August 21, with no afternoon paper scheduled that day.

General Studies Papers I and II were conducted the previous day, August 22, ahead of today’s General Studies III and IV papers.

After today’s papers, candidates get a break before returning on August 29 for the qualifying Indian Language and English papers, followed by the Optional Subject papers on August 30, the exam’s final day.

Photo by Ramesh Lalwani, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0