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UPSC CSE 2026: Drop in number of vacancies

UPSC CSE: Aspirants who wish to appear in the CSE examination can check and download the full notification from the official website: upsc.gov.in.

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 6, 2026 09:35 AM IST

Aspirants who wish to appear in the CSE examination can check and download the full notification from the official website: upsc.gov.in. (Image: AI Generated)

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on February 5 released the notification for the recruitment cycle 2026-2027. This year, the total vacancies is 933 which is less than previous year. Aspirants who wish to appear in the civil services examination can check and download the full notification from the official website: upsc.gov.in. The last date to apply for the exam is February 24.

This nationwide recruitment aims to select candidates for positions such as IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, and other Group A and Group B services.

Read | What’s new in UPSC CSE 2026

Here is a look at the past few years’ vacancies released by the Commission.

Year	Number of Vacancies
2012	1091
2013	1228
2014	1363
2015	1164
2016	1209
2017	1056
2018	812
2019	922
2020	836
2021	748
2022	1022
2023	1105
2024	1056
2025	1087
2026	933

The UPSC vacancies remained consistently above 1,100, reaching an all-time high of 1,363 in 2014. On the other hand, between 2018 and 2021, there was a significant dip during this period, with numbers falling below 1,000 for four consecutive years. The year 2021 saw the lowest vacancy at 749. Since 2022, there has been a steady return to normal, with vacancies stabilising back around the 1,000–1,100 range.

Also Read | Unseen Barrier: Less than 40% of UPSC CSE candidates were women in over 20 years

Meanwhile, the interview process for UPSC CSE 2025 is ongoing in two phases at the Union Public Service Commission headquarters in Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi. The interview and personality test will carry 275 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks). The last round will end on February 27, 2026.