UPSC Civil Services Mains 2025 Timetable Released: Exams to Begin on August 22

New Delhi, 15th July 2025: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has officially released the timetable for the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2025. The detailed schedule is now available on the commission’s website, upsc.gov.in, with the exams scheduled to be held between August 22 and August 31, 2025.

According to the released schedule, the Mains exam will commence on Friday, August 22, with the Essay paper in the forenoon session. The final paper will be held on Sunday, August 31, featuring the second paper of the chosen Optional Subject.

Exam Schedule and Format:
The examination will be conducted in two sessions each day:

Forenoon Session: 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon

Afternoon Session: 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM

The subject-wise schedule includes:

August 22 (Friday): Paper-I (Essay)

August 23 (Saturday): Paper-II (General Studies-I), Paper-III (General Studies-II)

August 24 (Sunday): Paper-IV (General Studies-III), Paper-V (General Studies-IV)

August 30 (Saturday): Paper-A (Indian Language), Paper-B (English)

August 31 (Sunday): Paper-VI (Optional Subject-Paper 1), Paper-VII (Optional Subject-Paper 2)

Candidates can choose from a wide range of Indian languages for Paper-A, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and others. The optional subjects for Papers VI and VII span diverse fields such as Agriculture, History, Psychology, Law, Engineering disciplines, and Literature in various languages.

This year, the UPSC will recruit candidates for 979 posts through the Civil Services Examination, including:
38 positions for Benchmark Disability candidates, which are subdivided as follows:

12 for those with low vision or blindness

7 for the deaf and hard of hearing

10 for those with locomotor disabilities

9 for individuals with multiple disabilities, including deaf-blindness

The selection process for the Civil Services Examination 2025 began with the Preliminary Examination held on May 25, comprising two multiple-choice papers of 200 marks each. Results of the prelims were declared in June.

Candidates qualifying the Mains will be called for the Personality Test/Interview round, which will be followed by the final merit list based on cumulative performance.