New Delhi:
In a first-of-its-kind move, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is using an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based system to detect and reject ineligible applications for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, at the application stage itself. The exercise led to the rejection of around 600 applications before candidates could appear for the exam, UPSC sources told NDTV.
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar told NDTV, “UPSC undertook a de-duplication exercise at the Prelims Examination application stage to ensure that every genuine candidate is correctly identified and that fraudulent or multiple applications are detected and eliminated.”
The rejected applications included multiple submissions by the same candidate as well as applicants who had already exhausted the maximum number of attempts or crossed the prescribed age limit for their category.
Kumar added that, “the exercise relies on secure comparison with the Commission’s existing database while ensuring that candidates’ information remains fully protected. UPSC strives to create a level playing field for every candidate, and technology is an important enabler in achieving that objective.”
The move marks a significant shift in the Commission’s screening process. “Until last year, the UPSC would carry out these checks at the interview stage, after the candidate had cleared the preliminary and main examination,” a UPSC
According to officials, the AI system used for the exercise was developed internally by the UPSC with support from the Ministry of Information and Technology.
“Now we have the technology available to screen and filter out applications in the prelims stage itself. The Artificial Intelligence is an internally developed software by the UPSC with support from the Ministry of Information and Technology,” the
The initiative comes two years after former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar was dismissed from service in 2024. Khedkar was found to have appeared for the Civil Services Examination in 2022 despite exhausting the permitted number of attempts by allegedly changing her name and her parents’ names. The UPSC subsequently cancelled her candidature.
The Commission had introduced several technology-driven measures for the 2026 examination cycle, including Aadhaar-based authentication, live photographs, face matching and AI-powered de-duplication of applications.
Of the 8.18 lakh candidates who registered for the examination held on May 24, around 5.49 lakh eventually appeared. The number of applicants declined from 9.5 lakh in 2025. According to UPSC sources, the newly introduced verification measures could be one of the reasons behind the drop in applications.
Officials said nearly 94 per cent of applicants opted for Aadhaar authentication through the new application portal introduced last year, effectively establishing them as unique applicants with no scope for duplication.
For the remaining nearly 49,000 applicants, the AI system searched for duplicate entries by analysing names, parents’ names, dates of birth and photographs. It then cross-checked these applications against the Commission’s database spanning the past 15 years to determine whether candidates had exhausted their permissible attempts or crossed the upper age limit.
“Around 600 candidates in the Civil Services Examination were found to have exhausted their permissible attempts or exceeded the age limit applicable to their category. Their applications were therefore rejected,” a UPSC official said.
The Commission also added another verification exercise to the preliminary application stage this year, checking whether candidates had changed their social category from their previous attempts.
“The AI system was used to compare the category declared by an applicant with the category mentioned in earlier attempts. It flagged cases where the category had changed, such as from General to EWS or from SC to OBC,” an official said.
The exercise flagged 43,497 such cases. Sources said emails were sent to all of them seeking clarification. “It emerged that many had applied under the General category in earlier attempts as they were unable to obtain the necessary certificate in time. Following this exercise, 133 applications (out of the total 569) were cancelled as the candidates had already exhausted the number of attempts permitted for their respective categories,” sources said.
Under UPSC rules, General category candidates can appear for the examination six times up to the age of 32 years. OBC candidates are allowed nine attempts up to 35 years of age, while SC and ST candidates can take the examination an unlimited number of times up to the age of 37 years.
