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UKPSC Combined State Civil Services

Evidence status: 🟢 official. Every number below is from the Uttarakhand Combined State Civil/Upper Subordinate Services Examination 2026 notification (Advt A-1/E-1/2026-27, published 09-09-2026, 81 pages), fetched from psc.uk.gov.in on 2026-09-28.

UKPSC's Combined State Civil/Upper Subordinate Services exam recruits Uttarakhand's officers (for example Deputy Collector, police, finance, education and other Group B posts). The 2026 cycle advertises 67 posts (the count may rise or fall; see the notification).

At a glance
Conducted by Uttarakhand Public Service Commission
Stages Preliminary (objective, screening) → Main (written) → interview
2026 cycle (per notice) Published 09-09-2026; online applications close 29-09-2026 (11:59 pm, fee included); application edit window 07–16 Oct 2026
Qualification Bachelor's degree from a recognised university for most posts; some posts need specific subjects (see notice)
Age 21–42 years as on 01-07-2026 (born 02-07-1984 to 01-07-2005); 5-year relaxation for Uttarakhand SC/ST/OBC, Divyangjan and freedom-fighter dependents
Fee UR/OBC/EWS ₹166.36 total; Uttarakhand SC/ST ₹76.36; Divyangjan ₹76.36; orphan children of Uttarakhand nil

Official sources

Exam pattern

Preliminary (objective, screening only): two papers. Its marks are not counted in the final merit; it only shortlists candidates for the Main exam. No calculator.

Paper Questions Marks Time
Paper 1: General Studies (1 mark each) 150 150 2 hours
Paper 2: General Aptitude Test (1.5 marks each) 100 150 2 hours
  • Negative marking: one-fourth (1/4) of the marks for every wrong answer (including multiple answers to one question).
  • Merit is on Paper 1 (General Studies) only. Paper 2 is qualifying: minimum 33% for every category.
  • At least one-third of the 150 GS questions are on Uttarakhand.

Main (written): all eight papers compulsory, no calculator. Minimum 35% in General Hindi is mandatory.

Paper Time Marks
General Hindi 3 hours 150
Essay 3 hours 150
General Studies I (heritage and culture, world history and geography, society) 3 hours 200
General Studies II (governance, constitution, polity, social justice, international relations) 3 hours 200
General Studies III (technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security, disaster management) 3 hours 200
General Studies IV (ethics, integrity, aptitude) 3 hours 200
General Studies V (knowledge of Uttarakhand) 3 hours 200
General Studies VI (knowledge of Uttarakhand) 3 hours 200
Written total 1500

Interview/personality test: 150 marks. Grand total (written + interview): 1650 marks. Main-exam centres are Haldwani and Haridwar.

Syllabus

  • Prelims GS: Indian history, culture and national movement; polity and governance; geography; economy; science and technology; environment; current affairs — with at least one-third of questions on Uttarakhand. The notification lists the full unit-wise syllabus.
  • Prelims GAT (qualifying, 33%): general aptitude as in the notification.
  • Mains: General Hindi, essay, four general GS papers (I–IV as above) and two full papers on Uttarakhand (GS V and VI: state history, geography, economy, polity, schemes, culture). The commission's notification has the exact unit-wise syllabus.
  • State-specific Uttarakhand content decides much of this exam: roughly a third of prelims GS plus 400 of 1500 mains marks.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Prepare the shared UPSC GS modules once. They cover most of prelims GS and mains GS I–IV.
  2. Add Uttarakhand's own history, geography, economy, polity and schemes from official state sources — this is the highest-weight state-specific block (two mains papers plus a third of prelims GS).
  3. Practise Hindi writing and essays weekly; General Hindi needs 35% or the mains fails.
  4. Solve the commission's own previous papers if available (the commission does not publish a dedicated archive on its official website). The −1/4 penalty rewards accuracy.

Free resources