BharatNotes Each PT board has 5 people — one Chairman (a sitting UPSC Member) plus four expert panelists drawn from retired bureaucrats, defence officers, scientists, doctors and academics. UPSC runs 4–6 parallel boards daily during the interview window. Dr. Ajay Kumar (IAS, former Defence Secretary) took charge as UPSC Chairperson on 15 May 2025, succeeding Smt. Preeti Sudan (who served 1 August 2024 – 29 April 2025).
The bottom line
The interview is conducted by a board of five members chaired by a UPSC Member. The Chairman is permanent; the other four are mostly empanelled experts who serve for a few years. Their job is not to trap you — it is to triangulate a 360-degree view of your personality in 25 minutes.
The seating, simplified
When you walk in, you face a horseshoe / U-shaped table.
- Centre: Chairman (sets the tone, opens & closes the interview, controls time).
- Two on the Chairman's right and two on the Chairman's left — these four members take turns, each typically getting 4–6 minutes with you.
Members usually correspond to broad backgrounds:
- Bureaucratic member — retired IAS/IPS/IFS or sitting UPSC Member (administration, governance, civil services ethos).
- Defence/strategic member — retired Service Chief, Lt Gen / Vice Admiral / Air Marshal (national security, internal security, leadership).
- Academic/scientific member — Vice-Chancellor, scientist, doctor, economist (your education, optional, work experience).
- Domain expert — could be a former diplomat, judge, or sectoral expert depending on your DAF profile.
Current UPSC leadership (verified, as of May 2026)
| Position | Officer | Background | In office since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Dr. Ajay Kumar | IAS (Kerala cadre, 1985 batch); former Defence Secretary (2019–2022); IIT Kanpur alumnus | 15 May 2025 |
| Predecessor | Smt. Preeti Sudan | 1983 batch IAS (AP cadre); former Union Health Secretary; led India's COVID-19 response | 1 Aug 2024 – 29 Apr 2025 |
| Earlier Predecessor | Dr Manoj Soni | Academic, former VC of three universities; resigned for 'personal reasons' | May 2023 – July 2024 |
Dr. Ajay Kumar was inducted as a UPSC Member and subsequently elevated to Chairperson on 15 May 2025 following Preeti Sudan's retirement on 29 April 2025. His appointment was approved by President Droupadi Murmu.
Illustrative recent Members (varies year to year): Shri Rajiv Nayan Choubey (IAS), Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd), Smt Suman Sharma, Shri Bidyut B. Swain, Dr Dinesh Dasa, Smt Lt Gen (Retd) Madhuri Kanitkar, and others. UPSC has up to 10 Members in addition to the Chairperson (Article 316 of the Constitution sets the structure; actual strength varies).
CSE 2026 interview-specific updates
- e-Summon Letter is mandatory and digital-only. Download from
upsconline.gov.in/esummon/. No paper letter is dispatched. - Printed copy is compulsory at the UPSC gate — they will not let you in with the PDF on your phone.
- Two-phase schedule introduced from CSE 2024 onwards (December batch + January–February batch) to handle the volume; expect the same pattern for CSE 2026.
- Reporting times unchanged: 9:00 AM forenoon, 1:00 PM afternoon.
- No date-change requests are entertained except on documented medical emergency.
How boards are allocated
- You will see your board number and time slot only when you download your e-Summon Letter.
- Allocation is largely random; there is no 'lucky' or 'strict' board for a specific candidate.
- Folklore about 'easy boards' and 'difficult boards' is exaggerated — final marks across boards are statistically normalised through internal review.
What this means for you
- Greet the Chairman first, then nod gently to the members on both sides before sitting.
- When a member asks a question, face that member while answering — but break eye contact every few seconds to include the whole board.
- Address everyone as 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'. Do not use names even if you know them.
- Treat every member as equally important. Members talk to each other after you leave.
- Members of the same board score independently and the four scores are averaged with the Chairman's score; one member alone cannot 'sink' you.
Board composition under Dr. Ajay Kumar — what to expect in tone
Multiple coaching institutes (Vajiram, Vision, Forum) report — based on candidate debriefs from CSE 2023 and CSE 2024 interview cycles — that boards under recent chairpersonships have leaned towards:
- National security & defence-governance questions (relevant to Dr. Ajay Kumar's domain as former Defence Secretary)
- Implementation realism ('How would you actually deliver this on the ground in your home district?')
- Empathy & ethics scenarios drawn from real administrative dilemmas
- Less reliance on rote current affairs trivia
This is anecdotal — boards are independent and member-driven — but worth knowing as a directional cue.
A mentor's note
It does not matter which board you get. It matters that you walk in believing you are meeting five seniors who are genuinely curious about you — because they are. Dr. Ajay Kumar spent decades in civil and defence administration — he knows what 'service under pressure' looks like, and he's watching for the same quality in you.
