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Home / Insights / CDS I 2026 vs CDS I 2025

CDS I 2026 vs CDS I 2025 — what changed

120 vs 120 questions · answer-keyed 119/120 vs 120/120 · CDS

Executive summary

  • Question style: 52% of CDS I 2026 was analytical (multi-statement) vs 24% in 2025 — a marked shift toward multi-statement reasoning.
  • Biggest subject change: Art & Culture fell 10→2 questions (8.3%→1.7%).
  • 12 concepts recurred from 2025; 12 appeared that were absent in 2025.

Conceptual vs factual

Analytical (multi-statement) questions: 24% in 2025 → 52% in 2026 — a marked shift toward multi-statement reasoning.
Show evidence — how this is measured
Analytical = statement-based, assertion-reason, match-the-following, pairs, how-many-correct and sequence questions; factual = single-fact recall. CDS I 2026: 62 analytical / 58 factual. CDS I 2025: 29 analytical / 91 factual.

Subject distribution

Subject20252026Δ
Science & Technology3735-2stable
Geography2021+1stable
History1518+3stable
Polity & Governance1314+1stable
Economy96-3stable
Art & Culture102-8declined
Current Affairs & Static GK57+2stable
Social Issues & Welfare34+1stable
International Relations34+1stable
Defence & Military Studies25+3stable
Agriculture14+3stable
Environment & Ecology20-2stable
"Gained/declined" is flagged only where the change is ≥3 questions and ≥3 percentage points; smaller moves are normal year-to-year variation (shown as stable).
Show evidence — Art & Culture in CDS I 2026 (2 Qs)
Q52 · CDS 2026 With reference to the Ranigumpha Cave (Odisha), consider the following statement…
Q64 · CDS 2026 Basohli, a bold and intense style of miniature painting, is associated with whic…
Show evidence — Art & Culture in CDS I 2025 (10 Qs)
Q31 · CDS 2025 Which of the following is one of the 'three gems' (triratna) of Jainism ?…
Q44 · CDS 2025 Which one of the following statements about Rig Vedic goddesses is correct ?…
Q45 · CDS 2025 Which one of the following statements about the Buddhist Goddess Hariti is corre…
Q46 · CDS 2025 Consider the following statements about the literary language Apabhramsha : 1. I…
Q47 · CDS 2025 Who composed Zainavilas, a history of the rulers of Kashmir, in the time of Zain…
Q48 · CDS 2025 In which one of the following works has Amir Khusrau praised the climate of Indi…
Q49 · CDS 2025 Which one of the following works was written in early eighteenth century by the …
Q106 · CDS 2025 Which organisation/institute has recently started the new initiatives such as Bh…
Q107 · CDS 2025 Which one among the following educational institutions established under the Uni…
Q119 · CDS 2025 Which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. Moidam-The Mound-Burial sy…

Concept-level changes

Recurring — in both papers

OpticsAshokaPeriodic tableWeatheringEnzymesMinistry of DefenceRiversFundamental RightsAcids and basesArticle 368Temperature inversionKinematics

New this year

Cell biologyMahatma GandhiNeolithic cultureNew DelhiJayaprakash NarayanDigestionAntibioticsPhotosynthesisHeredityInheritanceCirculatory systemCrop rotation

Not tested this year

GravitationBuoyancyPaniniMaurya EmpireMilitary technology historyTradeInflationUN agenciesSeismic wavesEarthquakes
★ = first appearance in the corpus. Not tested this year ≠ dropped — concepts often return. Click any concept for its full cross-exam history (your evidence). Tagging is provisional, so this layer is directional.

Cross-exam connections

Recurring concepts here that also travel across other UPSC exams — the same idea, reframed. Click any for its full timeline.
Ashokaallied → CSE
CDS 2014 → CSE 2016 → NDA 2021 → CAPF 2022 → CBI 2023 → GEO 2026
Fundamental Rights
CSE 1979 → CDS 2014 → EPFO 2016 → CAPF 2017 → NDA 2021 → GEO 2022 → LDCE 2023 → CISF 2025
Article 368
CSE 1981 → CDS 2014 → CAPF 2015 → LDCE 2023 → NDA 2023 → CISF 2026 → GEO 2026
Optics
CSE 1979 → CDS 2014 → CAPF 2018 → GEO 2021 → NDA 2021 → CISF 2022
Weathering
CSE 1979 → CDS 2014 → CAPF 2015 → NDA 2021 → GEO 2025
Acids and bases
CSE 1984 → CDS 2014 → EPFO 2020 → NDA 2023 → CISF 2024

Preparation takeaways

  • If this style shift persists, prioritise multi-statement reasoning practice over single-fact recall — but confirm against a third year before treating it as a trend.
  • Art & Culture was lighter this year (10→2); do not drop it — single-year dips frequently reverse.
Methodology & caveats
All figures are computed from CrispUPSC's verified PYQ corpus — no opinions, no predictions, no AI-written analysis. A single paper per year is a small, noisy sample, so a two-year difference is a change, not a trend; a subject is flagged as moved only when it shifts ≥3 questions and ≥3 percentage points. Concept tagging is provisional, so concept lists are directional. "Not tested this year" never means a concept was dropped. This page explains how UPSC has changed; it does not predict future papers.
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