UPSC CGGE (Combined Geo-Scientist) Exam Pattern 2026
The full UPSC CGGE (Combined Geo-Scientist) exam pattern for 2026 — 3 stages, with the sections, question count, marks, duration and negative marking for each, as set by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Then take a free UPSC CGGE (Combined Geo-Scientist) mock in the real pattern below.
Stage 1 — Preliminary Examination (objective, single day)
- Mode
- Offline OMR-based objective test, conducted in a single day across two sessions
- Sections
- Paper I: General Studies (common to all four streams) · Paper II: Discipline-specific objective paper in the chosen stream (Geology / Geophysics / Chemistry; Stream IV writes the Geology paper)
- Questions
- Paper I: 100 multiple-choice questions · Paper II: 100 multiple-choice questions
- Marks
- Paper I: 100 marks (1 mark per question) · Paper II: 300 marks (3 marks per question) · Prelims total: 400 marks
- Duration
- Paper I: 2 hours · Paper II: 2 hours
- Negative marking
- 1/3 of the marks for that question is deducted for every wrong answer. Unattempted questions carry no penalty.
Qualifying minimum is 1/3 of the total marks in each paper (set by UPSC each cycle; the commission may revise the cut-off). Prelims marks are NOT counted in the final merit list — Stage 1 is used only to shortlist candidates for the Mains (typically 6-8× the vacancies, stream- and category-wise).
Stage 2 — Main Examination (conventional/subjective, written)
- Mode
- Offline pen-and-paper, conventional (descriptive) format, written in English only
- Sections
- Three discipline-specific papers in the chosen stream — Stream I and IV: Geology Paper I, II, III · Stream II: Geophysics Paper I, II, III · Stream III: Chemistry Paper I, II, III
- Questions
- Each paper is part conventional / part long-answer with internal choice; structured questions, derivations, labelled diagrams and short essays. No General Studies paper at the Mains stage.
- Marks
- 200 marks per paper × 3 papers = 600 marks total (Mains)
- Duration
- 3 hours per paper (typically two papers in one day across the schedule)
- Negative marking
- Not applicable — conventional papers are evaluated by stream specialists, and partial credit is awarded for steps, diagrams and labelled figures.
Mains is the merit-deciding written stage. Answers in Geology and Geophysics must be diagram-heavy — sketches of folds, faults, stratigraphic columns, gravity/magnetic anomaly profiles and well-log signatures fetch substantial marks. UPSC's stream-specific examiners are domain specialists, not generalists, so technical accuracy matters more than rhetorical flourish.
Stage 3 — Personality Test (interview)
- Mode
- In-person interview before a UPSC board at Dholpur House, New Delhi
- Sections
- Panel-based viva — academic background, MSc thesis/dissertation, field-work exposure, awareness of GSI/CGWB mandates, India's mineral and groundwater scenario, current affairs around mining, environment, geo-hazards and water policy.
- Questions
- Not applicable — open-ended discussion
- Marks
- 200 marks
- Duration
- Typically 25-35 minutes
- Negative marking
- Not applicable
Final merit = Mains (600) + Personality Test (200) = 800 marks. Prelims scores are discarded once shortlisting is done. Stream-wise and category-wise merit lists are prepared separately; allocation between GSI (Streams I-III) and CGWB (Stream IV) follows the candidate's chosen stream — there is no cross-stream switching.
You know the pattern — now practise in it.
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