Indian Government Exam Calendar 2026–27: All Key Dates in One Place

Why a consolidated exam calendar changes your preparation strategy

Most aspirants discover the notification date of an exam they wanted to appear for — after the application window has closed. A consolidated calendar solves this. More importantly, it lets you plan your preparation across multiple exams simultaneously, identifying which exams overlap and which months are your highest-stake periods.

This calendar covers the major central government exams in 2026–27. **Always confirm dates on the official notification** — SSC, UPSC, IBPS, and RRB all release final schedules that can shift from the tentative calendar.

Tier 1 central government exams: expected date windows

> **Important:** The dates above are derived from historical exam cycles. SSC, IBPS, and UPSC publish official exam calendars at the start of each year. Always cross-check with the official notification before applying.

Critical overlap periods to plan around

Month-by-month preparation priorities

January–February 2026

**Priority:** SBI PO and Clerk exams, RBI Grade B and Assistant.

This is the Banking exam season. If you are targeting SBI or RBI, January is your peak preparation and mock-test month. UPSC Prelims notification arrives in February — note the application deadline immediately.

March–April 2026

**Priority:** UPSC Prelims preparation, SSC CHSL, SBI Clerk exam.

Submit UPSC CSE application before the deadline. If UPSC is your primary target, reduce Banking exam preparation to maintenance mode (30-minute daily mock reviews only).

May–June 2026

**Priority:** UPSC Prelims + SSC CGL Tier 1.

The most demanding period of the year. Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning preparation transfers between SSC CGL and IBPS exams but UPSC GA (Polity, History, Geography, Environment) is its own domain. Do not try to cover UPSC and SSC GA preparation simultaneously in the final 2 weeks — prioritise your primary exam.

July–September 2026

**Priority:** IBPS RRB PO and Clerk, NDA 2, SSC CGL Tier 1 result, UPSC Mains.

UPSC Mains is the most writing-intensive period. If UPSC Mains is your target, this is not the time to simultaneously prepare for IBPS. Budget 3–4 hours daily for answer writing practice.

October–December 2026

**Priority:** IBPS PO Mains + Interviews, SSC CGL Tier 2, IBPS Clerk.

Final quarter is the result and Tier 2/Mains month. Aspirants who cleared SSC CGL Tier 1 should be in Tier 2-specific preparation (Maths Paper 2, English Language and Comprehension) from September.

The 3-exam targeting strategy

> **Recommended approach for multi-exam aspirants:** > > 1. **Primary exam**: One exam gets 60% of your preparation time. All other preparation choices serve this exam (e.g., UPSC as primary means your GA preparation is UPSC-depth). > 2. **Parallel exam**: One exam where your primary preparation transfers well (e.g., SSC CGL alongside Banking — both share Quant, Reasoning, and English). > 3. **Opportunistic exam**: An exam you write without specific preparation — using your existing depth — to gain exam-taking experience and a potential result. > > Targeting more than 3 exams simultaneously means none of them get enough preparation depth to produce a result.

State PSC dates

State Public Service Commissions (UPPSC, MPSC, BPSC, RPSC, etc.) run independent calendars. UPPSC PCS Prelims typically falls in Q1 (January–March), BPSC 70th+ cycle runs independently. Check the respective State PSC website for the current recruitment year calendar.

Next step: build your personal exam calendar

Choose your primary exam and one parallel exam from the table above. Mark their notification, application, and exam dates in your calendar now — before you discover them too late. Then take a [free practice test on YourMockTest](/exams/government/ssc-cgl) to establish a baseline score for your primary exam before month-specific preparation begins.