Who Takes UPSC Interview, Panel Details, Location, and Significance

UPSC interview, also known as the Personality Test: The UPSC Interview, also called the Personality Test, is the final and most important stage of the Civil Services Examination. For the 2025 cycle, the interviews are expected to be held from January 7 to April 17, 2025. This stage assesses a candidate’s overall personality, decision-making skills, and suitability for top government services like IAS, IPS, and IFS. The interview panel usually consists of senior civil servants and experts who evaluate candidates on various factors beyond academics, including leadership qualities and current affairs awareness. In this article, we explore who takes the UPSC interview, details about the panel, the interview location, and its significance in the final selection.

Who Takes UPSC Interview?

The UPSC interview , also known as the Personality Test, is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission . The interview panel comprises experienced members of the commission and subject matter experts. The interview is conducted by a panel consisting of four experts from diverse fields and a senior UPSC member as the chairperson. Held at Dholpur House, New Delhi, this stage holds significant weightage—275 marks out of the total 2025 marks—and can greatly influence the candidate’s final rank and cadre allocation.

The interview focuses on assessing a candidate's personality, decision-making skills, and clarity of thought rather than just academic knowledge. This stage is the final and highly critical phase of the Civil Services Examination process.

UPSC Interview Panel

The UPSC interview panel is made up of experienced members from different fields, including retired or serving civil servants, teachers, and well-known public figures. A psychologist is also part of the team to understand the candidate’s true personality and values beyond prepared answers. This group works together to test not just the knowledge of candidates but also their character and decision-making skills. The panel’s diversity helps ensure that each candidate is judged from different perspectives, making the interview an important step in the selection process.

Also Read: Interview Guidance Program 2024-25

Where are UPSC Interviews Conducted?

The UPSC interviews for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2024 will be held at Dholpur House, the commission’s headquarters in New Delhi. The UPSC interview 2024 will take place from January 7 to April 17, 2025, with the schedule for 2,845 candidates now available on the official UPSC website. The schedule includes details of roll numbers, dates, and sessions. Reporting times are 9:00 AM for the forenoon session and 1:00 PM for the afternoon session. Aspirants from across the country travel to New Delhi for this significant step in their journey.

Types of Questions Asked in UPSC Interview

The UPSC interview evaluates the candidate's personality, attitude, and overall suitability for a career in public service. Here are the types of questions commonly asked in the UPSC interview:

• Tell us about your hometown and its cultural significance.
• Questions on recent national and international events.
• Topics related to government policies, economics, environment, or technology.
• Questions to assess your analytical thinking and balanced approach.
• Your perspective on social, political, or ethical issues.
• Questions to test your problem-solving skills and decision-making abilities.
• How you would handle challenging administrative scenarios.
• Questions related to your chosen optional subject in the mains examination.
• Queries about your graduation or post-graduation subject.
• Questions about hobbies or activities you have mentioned in your Detailed Application Form (DAF).
• Questions designed to test your presence of mind and ability to think on your feet.

UPSC Interview 2025 Important Dates

The UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 is one of the most important and competitive exams in India. It has a detailed schedule starting from the notification release to the final interview results. The official notification was released on January 22, 2025, with the application process running until February 11, 2025. The Preliminary exam is scheduled for May 25, 2025, followed by the Mains exam starting from August 22 to 31, 2025. The interview or personality test is set to take place between January to April 2026. Below is a table showing all the important UPSC 2025 dates for easy reference.

Significance of Civil Services Interview

The interview carries 275 marks out of the total 2025 marks, making it a decisive factor in the final merit list. To put this into perspective, the weightage of the interview alone is higher than an individual Mains paper, which is of 250 marks each. This means that in the span of just 30–35 minutes, candidates have the opportunity to score marks equivalent to or higher than a Mains paper, for which months of rigorous preparation are required.

For Example, if two candidates have a similar Mains score, even a slight difference in their interview performance could lead to a significant gap in their final ranking. Moreover, the subjectivity in the evaluation of interviews adds to its unpredictability, as marks depend on how well a candidate presents their personality and responds to the board's questions.

The marks obtained in the Interview stage can create a substantial difference in the ranks and overall outcome of the examination. For example, consider the following scenarios from the 2016 UPSC CSE results:

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