UPSC CS Prelims: New centres for UPSC CS Prelims 2026 opened in 3 cities including Kanpur-Meerut..

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has introduced three new examination centers across the country for the Civil Services (CS) Preliminary Examination; specifically, the UPSC has established these new centers in Bhubaneswar, Kanpur, and Meerut. Consequently, the total number of examination centers for the UPSC CS Prelims nationwide has risen from 80 to 83. The UPSC has launched these three centers with the objective of enhancing convenience for candidates appearing for the CS Prelims and alleviating the pressure on existing examination venues.

For the UPSC CS Prelims 2026, 23,000 candidates have opted to take the examination at these three new centers. Let us examine the details of this development in depth.

**An Endeavor to Enhance Candidate Convenience**
Speaking on the rationale behind introducing the three new examination centers, UPSC Chairman Dr. Ajay Kumar stated that the Commission's objective is to make the examination process more seamless, accessible, and effective for candidates. The aim of adding these three new centers is to reduce overcrowding and provide greater convenience to the candidates. Furthermore, by allocating their preferred examination centers to candidates with disabilities, the Commission is actively striving to overcome geographical and physical barriers, thereby ensuring that the UPSC journey becomes truly accessible and inclusive for everyone.

**Over 10,000 Applications Received for the Bhubaneswar Center**
Until now, the UPSC had been conducting the CS Prelims across 80 examination centers nationwide. In line with this initiative, three new examination centers have been introduced for the UPSC CS Prelims 2026. A total of 23,000 candidates have applied for these three new centers, indicating their preference to take the examination from these specific locations. Among these, the highest number of applications—10,656—were received for the Bhubaneswar center. This was followed by 6,938 applications for the new center in Kanpur, while the Meerut center received 5,902 applications. This development has effectively reduced the reliance on Ghaziabad as an examination hub.

 819,372 Applications Received for UPSC CS Prelims 2026
A total of 819,372 candidates have applied for the UPSC CS Prelims 2026 examination. Meanwhile, the UPSC has also introduced several changes starting this year; specifically, to further strengthen the examination-related infrastructure, the Union Public Service Commission has added a dropdown option to the CSP-2026 application form. This feature allows candidates to select their preferred nearby cities. The data obtained through this process will serve as a survey of candidates' preferences and will be instrumental in identifying suitable locations for establishing additional examination centers in the future.

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