More than 60% attendance was recorded in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2026 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) across 17 centres in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (May 24, 2026).
A total of 7,763 candidates had registered for the examination, which was conducted in two sessions, Paper I from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and Paper II from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
According to official attendance figures, 4,755 candidates attended the forenoon session while 3,008 remained absent, taking the attendance percentage to 61.25%. In the afternoon session, 4,696 candidates appeared and 3,067 were absent, with attendance recorded at 60.49%.
District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore and Joint Collector G. Vidyadhari visited examination centres at Dr. V.S. Krishna Government Degree College and Gayatri Vidya Parishad colleges and reviewed the conduct of the examination and arrangements made for candidates.
Ram Babu, an orthopedically challenged civil services aspirant, leaves the examination centre after writing the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2026, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: V. Raju
District Revenue Officer M. Visweswara Naidu functioned as coordinating supervisor and custodian of confidential material for the examination. Commissioner of Police Shankabrata Bagchi supervised security arrangements across the centres, while Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner Ketan Garg coordinated civic and sanitation arrangements.
Mudavatu M. Nayak, Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department, served as the State government observer, while Joint Collector G. Vidyadhari functioned as observer from Visakhapatnam. Sourabh Singh, Section Officer, UPSC, New Delhi, was deputed as the inspecting officer to oversee the conduct of the examination.
Among the centres, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering at Kommadi recorded one of the highest attendances, with 381 candidates appearing in the morning session and 378 in the afternoon session out of 576 registered candidates.
Officials said the examination concluded peacefully without any untoward incident being reported from any of the centres.
Published - May 24, 2026 06:52 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
