Kamal Ghorui
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced a rescheduling of the Personality Test (Interview) for the Civil Services Main Examination (CSME) 2025. The interview that was earlier planned for the afternoon of January 22, 2026, has been postponed due to early closure of offices for the full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade 2026.According to the official UPSC notification, the postponed interview will now be conducted on Friday, February 27, 2026, during the forenoon session.“The Personality Test of the candidates of CSME-2025 which was scheduled on 22.01.2026 (Afternoon Session) has now been rescheduled on Friday, 27.02.2026 (Forenoon Session) due to early closure of office on 22.01.2026 on account of full dress rehearsal for Republic Day Parade, 2026,” the official notification stated.
UPSC phase-wise personality test schedule
UPSC had earlier released the Phase 1 schedule on December 2, 2025, covering 649 candidates whose interviews were conducted between December 8 and December 19, 2025. The remaining 2,107 candidates are being interviewed in Phase 2, scheduled between January 5 and February 27, 2026.
Reporting time and travelling allowance
Candidates appearing for the Personality Test must note the reporting times:
- Forenoon session: 9 AM
- Afternoon session: 1 PM
UPSC will reimburse travelling expenses for candidates attending the interview. Reimbursement applies only to second-class and sleeper-class train fares. Candidates are required to submit hard copies of onward and return tickets, fare details, and the Travelling Allowance (TA) claim form in duplicate. The TA forms are available on the official UPSC website.
UPSC Civil Services examination 2026 notification
Meanwhile, the UPSC is likely to release the notification for the Civil Services Examination-2026. Once declared, the process of online registration will begin at upsc.gov.in.According to the UPSC calendar, the Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2026 will be held on May 24, 2026. The notification to be issued on January 14 was postponed due to administrative reasons. It will carry details related to the number of attempts allowed for General, OBC, SC, ST, and PwBD candidates.
