UPSC alters stance, agrees to publish answer key after exam

The Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) has decided to publish the UPSC civil services (preliminary) exam provisional answer key after the exam, ending its earlier practice of waiting till the entire exam process is completed.

In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on September 20, the commission has agreed to publish a provisional answer, marking a notable policy shift in response to long-standing demands from candidates.

Furthermore, objections will be accepted from candidates who appeared for the exam, supported by three reliable sources, and a panel of experts will assess these objections before publishing the final answer keys.

The final answer keys will be published after the declaration of final results, the new affidavit reads.

The development followed an earlier petition filed on August 11, when 28 CS aspirants approached the SC against the UPSC’s ‘opaque’ answer key policy for the 2025 civil services prelims.

According to The Print reports, the petition was filed by advocate Rajeev Dubey, with the court appointing senior advocate Jaidee Gupta as amicus curiae to assist in the matter. A bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha will likely hear the case on October 14.

"The decision taken by the UPSC is considered to be an effective and adequate redressal of the grievances raised in the petition and to enhance the level of transparency in the functioning of the UPSC and also to further the cause of public interest," the affidavit said.

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UPSC CSE prelims answer key

A UPSC teacher on X handle said: “A big win..UPSC prelims answer key will be published right after prelims exam.. No need to wait for 1 year.”

However, some students responded to his posts and said: “I would rather say it's SMALL win. So many were already affected by this year's result of prelims 2025. Also apart from answer key they also need to release cut off and individual score card for prelims,”

While another user posted on X and said: “More important is to publish marks obtained in prelim with declaration of result. Also, to ensure transparency and candidates confidence, corban copy of the OMR must be provided to candidates, as it is most common practice in almost all other exams by state bodies,”

Several students are also demanding UPSC should also provide marks and cutoffs for the prelims exam to ensure more transparency for candidates.

A user posted on X said: “No use if UPSC isn't providing cutoff. Students will calculate marks based on provisional keys,if their name don't comes to the list they have to wait whole year for updated answer key & cut off. While other agencies are prompt but UPSC lags after 100 yrs too.”