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Home / Insights / ESE 2026 vs ESE 2025

ESE 2026 vs ESE 2025 — what changed

100 vs 100 questions · answer-keyed 0/100 vs 0/100 · ESE

Executive summary

  • Question style: 23% of ESE 2026 was analytical (multi-statement) vs 12% in 2025 — a marked shift toward multi-statement reasoning.
  • Biggest subject change: Engineering rose 46→70 questions (46.0%→70.0%).
  • 9 concepts recurred from 2025; 12 appeared that were absent in 2025.

Conceptual vs factual

Analytical (multi-statement) questions: 12% in 2025 → 23% 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. ESE 2026: 23 analytical / 77 factual. ESE 2025: 12 analytical / 88 factual.

Subject distribution

Subject20252026Δ
Engineering4670+24gained
Science & Technology115-6declined
Quantitative Aptitude132-11declined
Logical Reasoning & DI113+12gained
Environment & Ecology102-8declined
Management & Industrial Relations70-7declined
Economy52-3declined
Current Affairs & Static GK03+3gained
Agriculture21-1stable
Labour & Social Security Law20-2stable
International Relations11+0stable
Polity & Governance10-1stable
Geography10-1stable
Defence & Military Studies01+1stable
"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 — Engineering in ESE 2026 (70 Qs)
Q1 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding the projection of a point : 1. The l…
Q2 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding the traces of a line : 1. When a lin…
Q3 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding the projections of planes : 1. When …
Q4 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding the projections of solids : 1. When …
Q5 · ESE 2026 Match the following lists : List I (Name of the curve) P. Hyperbola Q. Ellipse R…
Q6 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following statements comes under robust design in process desig…
Q7 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following is used to show whether or not a characteristic or a …
Q8 · ESE 2026 Action taken after maintenance actions to verify that the item is able to perfor…
Q9 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding maintenance of machineries : 1. Corr…
Q10 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following technologies is used to monitor the condition of an o…
Q11 · ESE 2026 How much estimated amount of power can be derived from solid energy mineral of 1…
Q12 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following types of coal has high calorific value and lowest vol…
Q13 · ESE 2026 A fuel cell in electric car generates electrical energy by combining…
Q14 · ESE 2026 Electrical power generation usually links to the load demand by a common regiona…
Q15 · ESE 2026 1 kg of Hydrogen fuel burns with 8 kg of oxygen to give the product as…
Q16 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding project : 1. Temporary project has a…
Q17 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following usually provides the resources, particularly the peop…
Q18 · ESE 2026 PERT calls for the following estimates to be provided for each activity : 1. Pes…
Q19 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following means closing down a company and selling its assets ?…
Q20 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following is NOT a step comprised in the completion of a projec…
Q21 · ESE 2026 How many total number of lattice parameters are required to fully specify Rhombo…
Q22 · ESE 2026 If a and c represent, respectively, the short and long unit cell dimensions for …
Q23 · ESE 2026 In characteristics of cubic crystal, the planes and directions having the same i…
Q24 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding Face Centered Cubic Crystal Structur…
Q25 · ESE 2026 In crystal materials, the equilibrium number of vacancies in crystalline solid i…
Q26 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding quantum dots : 1. A photon's polariz…
Q27 · ESE 2026 Five routers are to be connected in a point-to-point subnet. Between each pair o…
Q28 · ESE 2026 A group of N stations share a 56-kbps pure ALOHA channel. Each station outputs a…
Q29 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following protocols is suitable for IoT communication that thou…
Q30 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following statements is related to key feature of ThreatRadar r…
Q31 · ESE 2026 In an RSA system, the public key of a given user is e = 65, n = 2881. What is th…
Q32 · ESE 2026 What happens if a k value used in creating a Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) s…
Q33 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following is the time complexity of Iterative Deepening in Unin…
Q34 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following algorithms is used in logic programming systems, whic…
Q35 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following is a disadvantage of call-by-reference technique of p…
Q36 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following types of programming languages is NOT used to develop…
Q37 · ESE 2026 In which one of the following layers, the firewalls can be installed to keep goo…
Q38 · ESE 2026 In cryptography, to construct an unbreakable cipher text, which one of the follo…
Q39 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following digital certificate standards is used for certificate…
Q40 · ESE 2026 Which one of the following IEEE standard protocols prescribes a data link-level …
Q41 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding ethics : 1. Ethics is to provide us …
Q42 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding Risk-Benefit Analysis : The major re…
Q43 · ESE 2026 Consider the following regarding intellectual property rights : The agreements w…
Q44 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding value education : 1. Value education…
Q45 · ESE 2026 Consider the following elements regarding quality characteristics : 1. Physical …
Q46 · ESE 2026 Consider the following methods regarding quality improvements in TQM : 1. Robust…
Q47 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding variations in quality control tools …
Q48 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding reverence : 1. Reverence is the feel…
Q49 · ESE 2026 Consider the following statements regarding fulfilment of relationship in human …
Q50 · ESE 2026 Consider the following characteristics regarding Harmony in the society-understa…
Show evidence — Engineering in ESE 2025 (46 Qs)
Q22 · ESE 2025 In an area of an ellipse, if one percent error is made in measuring the major an…
Q23 · ESE 2025 Consider the following equation: R = a(1 – cosθ) The volume of the solid generat…
Q25 · ESE 2025 Consider the following equation: (x + y + 1) dx + (2x + 2y + 3) dy = 0 Solving t…
Q27 · ESE 2025 Consider the following matrix: A = [[-2, 2, -3], [2, 1, -6], [-1, -2, 0]] The Ei…
Q29 · ESE 2025 If V = (xyz)î + (3x²y)ĵ + (xz² – y²z)k̂, the value of divergence of V at point (…
Q30 · ESE 2025 The square root of the complex number 5 + 12i will be…
Q31 · ESE 2025 About 80% of the failures of mechanical components are due to which one of the f…
Q32 · ESE 2025 Consider the following steps regarding basic procedure of design of machine elem…
Q33 · ESE 2025 A plane oblique to axis and making same angle with axis as elements do is called…
Q34 · ESE 2025 Which of the following projections is not a type of parallel projection?…
Q35 · ESE 2025 When the receding lines are drawn to full size scale and the projectors inclined…
Q36 · ESE 2025 When an observer looks towards an object from infinity, the lines of sights (pro…
Q37 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following systems is recommended in general rules for dimension…
Q38 · ESE 2025 Any safety programme will be ineffective if any attempt is made to control accid…
Q39 · ESE 2025 The Mechanical Engineering designer's problem is to attempt to minimize the fact…
Q40 · ESE 2025 Which of the following statements are correct with respect to mechanical design …
Q48 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following is the correct UCL for central limits of non-conformi…
Q49 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following relation is correct for np regarding quality control?…
Q60 · ESE 2025 A layout which is designed in such a way that the entire process of receiving ra…
Q61 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following phases is predominantly a testing and final standardi…
Q62 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following float of an activity is the spare time available for …
Q63 · ESE 2025 If the nominal rate of interest is 12% and is compounded quarterly, the effectiv…
Q64 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following approaches is available to estimate the rate of retur…
Q65 · ESE 2025 An assessment of comparative strength and weaknesses of a business firm in relat…
Q66 · ESE 2025 Which of the following is not considered as fundamental dimension of project pla…
Q67 · ESE 2025 The shadow price of a unit of foreign exchange is…
Q68 · ESE 2025 An Income Elasticity of Demand eᵧ is…
Q69 · ESE 2025 Consider the following data: Atomic radius of copper = 1·278 Å, A_w = 63·54, N_e…
Q70 · ESE 2025 The Knoop's Hardness Number (KHN) is…
Q71 · ESE 2025 Ceramic raw materials are joined using a binder that does not require firing or …
Q72 · ESE 2025 For many alloy systems at specific temperature, a maximum concentration of solut…
Q73 · ESE 2025 The long chain molecules are randomly oriented in…
Q74 · ESE 2025 In which one of the following dislocations, an extra portion of a plane of atoms…
Q75 · ESE 2025 The bond that is formed between water molecules due to attraction between the po…
Q76 · ESE 2025 The capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and …
Q77 · ESE 2025 A specimen of steel having an original diameter of 12·8 mm is tensile tested to …
Q89 · ESE 2025 An engineering ethics is the study of…
Q90 · ESE 2025 Manufacturing, selling or transporting products (liquor and narcotics) that are …
Q91 · ESE 2025 Moral statements are merely used to express emotions and to try to influence oth…
Q92 · ESE 2025 In order to ensure the confluence of good engineering, good business, and good e…
Q93 · ESE 2025 What is Teleological Approach?…
Q94 · ESE 2025 Self-respect, family happiness, comfortable life, professional growth and recogn…
Q95 · ESE 2025 Yawning, sneezing, relaxing the body by bending backwards, snoring, spitting, su…
Q96 · ESE 2025 A balance between good and bad consequences of an action, taking into account th…
Q97 · ESE 2025 Ethics that guides human conduct and sets out certain moral standard is called…
Q99 · ESE 2025 Statement (I): A country which doubles its capital in ten years will have a high…
Show evidence — Science & Technology in ESE 2026 (5 Qs)
Q90 · ESE 2026 Which state is home to India's first Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductor manufac…
Q92 · ESE 2026 Which Ministry released the India AI Governance Guidelines in 2025 ?…
Q93 · ESE 2026 Which organization developed the Online National Drugs Licensing System (ONDLS) …
Q95 · ESE 2026 The NE-SPARKS programme has been launched to promote awareness about which field…
Q96 · ESE 2026 Which space organization launched the PUNCH Space Mission ?…
Show evidence — Science & Technology in ESE 2025 (11 Qs)
Q53 · ESE 2025 The available wind power Pₐ in an aero-turbine is…
Q78 · ESE 2025 External companies are enabled to view some of a particular company's informatio…
Q79 · ESE 2025 A system or group of systems that enforces an access control policy between a tr…
Q81 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following attack methods is originally developed as a rapid met…
Q82 · ESE 2025 A special server-side programs that acts between the Hyper Text Transfer Protoco…
Q83 · ESE 2025 Which of the following log files records failed logins in UNIX Operating System?…
Q84 · ESE 2025 What is the time to perform search, insert, and delete operations in the average…
Q85 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following digital investigation models is based on the 'Zachman…
Q86 · ESE 2025 An equivocal forensic analysis is one in which the conclusions regarding the phy…
Q87 · ESE 2025 Cross-site scripting is a general set of techniques whereby an attacker is able …
Q88 · ESE 2025 An idea, a design, a manuscript, an invention, or a concept which will give rise…
Show evidence — Quantitative Aptitude in ESE 2026 (2 Qs)
Q72 · ESE 2026 Consider a square of side 6 cm, a circle is inscribed inside the square. Another…
Q76 · ESE 2026 A rectangular area of side 9 and 6 units is to be covered by square tiles of sid…
Show evidence — Quantitative Aptitude in ESE 2025 (13 Qs)
Q11 · ESE 2025 Three pipes A, B and C can fill a tank in 6 hours. When the tank was empty, all …
Q13 · ESE 2025 The weight of 3 mangoes and 2 apples is 255 grams. The weight of 2 mangoes and 3…
Q14 · ESE 2025 A builder decided to build a farmhouse in 40 days. He employed 100 men in the be…
Q15 · ESE 2025 Two trains 120 m and 80 m length are running in opposite direction with velociti…
Q16 · ESE 2025 One student gets 20% of marks in an examination and fails by 30 marks. Another s…
Q17 · ESE 2025 A concrete post, planted vertically in a lake is seen with its top 7 m projectin…
Q18 · ESE 2025 The value of a machine depreciates every year by 5%. If the present value of the…
Q19 · ESE 2025 A construction work is to be completed in 46 days by 117 men at work, 8 hours be…
Q20 · ESE 2025 A man spends 2/3 of his salary on groceries and 1/10 of the remaining on his clo…
Q21 · ESE 2025 In a triangle ABC, if the values of a = 3, b = 4 and sin A = 3/4, then the angle…
Q24 · ESE 2025 In how many ways can 5 prizes be distributed among 4 candidates when every candi…
Q26 · ESE 2025 If 8 children and 8 men complete certain job in 6 days and if each child takes t…
Q28 · ESE 2025 If at a get-together 22 people shake their hands with each other, how many hands…
Show evidence — Logical Reasoning & DI in ESE 2026 (13 Qs)
Q71 · ESE 2026 What is the missing (?) value ?…
Q73 · ESE 2026 What does this diagram demonstrate ?…
Q74 · ESE 2026 What is the missing (?) letter ? Grid: A EGK C ; ? P ; U R ; Q V ; B OJF D…
Q75 · ESE 2026 Following figure represents a circle inside a square. What does the diagram esta…
Q77 · ESE 2026 Nandini walks a distance of 1 km towards North. She then turns left and walks 1 …
Q78 · ESE 2026 Read the following information and answer the question that follows : 1. Six sci…
Q79 · ESE 2026 The following question is based on the alphabet series : ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVW…
Q80 · ESE 2026 The question below has some statement / argument / report / passage, followed by…
Q81 · ESE 2026 A statement is given followed by three courses of action numbered 1, 2 and 3. An…
Q82 · ESE 2026 Ramesh starts walking from point 'A'. He walks 12 km towards North from there he…
Q83 · ESE 2026 Indicate what will be the letter/numerical in the missing portion : (figure with…
Q84 · ESE 2026 The question below you will find, instead of two pairs of words with more or les…
Q85 · ESE 2026 A solid figure is given followed by a problem. Each surface of the solid figure …
Show evidence — Logical Reasoning & DI in ESE 2025 (1 Qs)
Q12 · ESE 2025 The given number of letters skipped increase in the order of 2, 4, 6, 8, .... . …
Show evidence — Environment & Ecology in ESE 2026 (2 Qs)
Q89 · ESE 2026 Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary is located in which state ?…
Q97 · ESE 2026 According to Environmental Accounting on forest 2025 report, which state showed …
Show evidence — Environment & Ecology in ESE 2025 (10 Qs)
Q50 · ESE 2025 Nitrate when present in excess in drinking water causes…
Q51 · ESE 2025 Microorganisms which can produce organic matter to some extent through oxidation…
Q52 · ESE 2025 The downstream concentration CI in a mathematical model of simple water quality …
Q54 · ESE 2025 'Algal Bloom' is, when unusually large concentrations of…
Q55 · ESE 2025 The correct sequence of the components of biological diversity or biodiversity i…
Q56 · ESE 2025 The geometrical shape or form of the smoke coming out of a chimney is called…
Q57 · ESE 2025 A situation when there is a prolonged period of inadequate rain fall, marked wit…
Q58 · ESE 2025 The process of converting the solid wastes-sewage sludge, domestic and agricultu…
Q98 · ESE 2025 Each of the next Three (03) items consists of two statements, one labelled as th…
Q100 · ESE 2025 Statement (I): An evaluation and identification of sources, types and qualities …
Show evidence — Management & Industrial Relations in ESE 2025 (7 Qs)
Q41 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following management functions is correct during the preproduct…
Q42 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following charts is used in the control charts for monitoring s…
Q43 · ESE 2025 The reliability number in sampling process is…
Q44 · ESE 2025 Which of the following are the noise factors for the experiment on the 'Elastome…
Q45 · ESE 2025 Which of the following are the internal factors that influence customer percepti…
Q46 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following statements is correct regarding TQM?…
Q47 · ESE 2025 Which of the following are the core steps of 'Six Sigma' methodology?…
Show evidence — Economy in ESE 2026 (2 Qs)
Q87 · ESE 2026 According to the Reserve Bank of India's report, which two countries together ac…
Q94 · ESE 2026 Which institution released the report titled "India's Blue Economy : Strategy fo…
Show evidence — Economy in ESE 2025 (5 Qs)
Q1 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following is the advantage of an 'equity capital'?…
Q2 · ESE 2025 Which one of the following branch of economics is focusing on improving fiscal, …
Q4 · ESE 2025 What is PPP in sustainable agricultural sector?…
Q8 · ESE 2025 Government's strategy in respect of public expenditure and revenue can have sign…
Q9 · ESE 2025 Which of the following arguments advanced in favour of labour-intensive techniqu…
Show evidence — Current Affairs & Static GK in ESE 2026 (3 Qs)
Q86 · ESE 2026 What is the name of the national digital framework launched at India Maritime We…
Q99 · ESE 2026 What is the theme of Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week 2025 ?…
Q100 · ESE 2026 The Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot Project was recently launched by which…

Concept-level changes

Recurring — in both papers

Human ValuesProject ManagementStatistical Quality ControlLinear AlgebraDifferential EquationsComputer NetworksTotal Quality ManagementCrystal DefectsNetwork Security

New this year

ProbabilityOrthographic Projection ★Crystallography ★Maintenance Engineering ★CryptographyMultiple IntegralsPattern Recognition ★Numerical MethodsVisual Proof ★Direction SenseConic SectionsFuel Cells

Not tested this year

Material ScienceTime and WorkEngineering EconomicsEnvironmental Impact AssessmentMoral PhilosophyFractionsCompound InterestPermutations and CombinationsFatigue FailureMachine Design
★ = 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.

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.
  • Engineering carried more weight this year (46→70); ensure it is not under-prepared. A single year is a noisy signal, so weigh it against earlier papers.
  • Science & Technology was lighter this year (11→5); 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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