UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist 2026: Notification, Vacancy, Syllabus, Cut Off, Result

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist (Combined Geo-Scientist Examination) is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to recruit for Geologist, Geophysicist and Chemist (Group A) and, from the 2027 examination, Assistant Geologist, Assistant Geophysicist and Assistant Chemist (Group B) in the Geological Survey of India under the Ministry of Mines, and Scientist B and Assistant grade posts in the Central Ground Water Board under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Combined Geo-Scientist 2027 notification declares 127 — Category-I (Geological Survey of India) 111: Geologist 29, Chemist 7, Geophysicist 0, Assistant Geologist 34, Assistant Geophysicist 35 and Assistant Chemist 6. Category-II (Central Ground Water Board) 16: Assistant Hydrogeologist 7, Scientist B (Hydrogeology) 5, Scientist B (Chemical) 1, Scientist B (Geophysics) 1, Assistant Chemist 1 and Assistant Geophysicist 1. The 2026 notification declared 85.

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist selection process

1. Stage-I — Preliminary Examination (objective)
2. Stage-II — Main Examination (descriptive)
3. Stage-III — Personality Test

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist selection runs through the stages below, each of which must be cleared in sequence.

1. Stage-I — Preliminary Examination (objective)
2. Stage-II — Main Examination (descriptive)
3. Stage-III — Personality Test

Exam pattern by stage

Document verification

UPSC verifies eligibility against original documents only after a candidate has qualified for the Interview or Personality Test. Until that point, admission to every stage is purely provisional — the issue of an e-Admit Card does not mean your candidature has been cleared. A candidate can therefore sit and clear a paper and still be found ineligible later.

Final merit

Merit is prepared from the marks that count for this examination, and posts are allotted by merit-cum-preference against the confirmed vacancies. Ties are broken by rules published by the Commission — typically the marks in the compulsory papers, and where those are equal, seniority in age.

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist exam pattern

Total marks

Stage-I 400 + Stage-II 600 + Personality Test 200.

Negative marking

Yes — one third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer in the Stage-I objective papers.

UPSC does not normalise marks

This is the single most common misconception carried over from SSC. UPSC conducts each paper in one sitting with one question paper, so there are no shifts to equate and no normalisation formula. A published UPSC cut off is a raw mark you could actually have scored on the paper — which is why the figures are clean numbers rather than five-decimal scores.

What is next for UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist

The Combined Geo-Scientist 2026 Main Examination was held on 20 and 21 June 2026, its result was declared on 20 July 2026 the Personality Tests were held from 15 to 18 September 2026, and the final result was declared on 16 October 2026 (cut-off marks followed on 21 October 2026). The 2027 notification was released on 2 September 2026 (applications closed 22 September 2026), and the 2027 Preliminary Examination is on 10 January 2027.

Combined Geo-Scientist Eligibility

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist eligibility requires the following. A Master's degree in the relevant science — Geological Science or Geology for Geologist and Hydrogeology posts, Physics or Geophysics for Geophysicist posts, and Chemistry, Applied Chemistry or Analytical Chemistry for Chemist posts — from a recognised university. The age limit is 21 to 32 years as on 1 January 2027 for the 2027 examination — born between 2 January 1995 and 1 January 2006 — relaxable by up to 5 years for Government servants of the Geological Survey of India and the Central Ground Water Board applying for the corresponding posts.

Educational qualification

A Master's degree in the relevant science — Geological Science or Geology for Geologist and Hydrogeology posts, Physics or Geophysics for Geophysicist posts, and Chemistry, Applied Chemistry or Analytical Chemistry for Chemist posts — from a recognised university.

Age limit

21 to 32 years as on 1 January 2027 for the 2027 examination — born between 2 January 1995 and 1 January 2006 — relaxable by up to 5 years for Government servants of the Geological Survey of India and the Central Ground Water Board applying for the corresponding posts. (The 2026 examination counted age on 1 January 2026 and allowed up to 7 years for such Government servants.)

Age relaxation

A candidate who belongs to SC, ST or OBC and is also an Ex-serviceman or PwBD candidate is eligible for cumulative relaxation under both heads.

Number of attempts

No limit on attempts within the age window.

Nationality

A candidate must be a citizen of India, or fall within the other categories of nationality set out in the Examination Notice — which for most services include subjects of Nepal and Bhutan, Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1 January 1962, and persons of Indian origin who have migrated from certain countries with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Combined Geo-Scientist Application Form

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist applications are submitted online at upsconline.nic.in. Since 2025 UPSC uses a four-module portal, and three of those modules can be completed before the notification is even published.

Important dates — Combined Geo-Scientist 2026

Application fee

₹200. Female, SC, ST and PwBD candidates are exempted.

The URN and the Common Application Form

UPSC issues every candidate a Universal Registration Number (URN), which is registered once in a lifetime and is common to every UPSC examination. The Application Number, by contrast, is generated per examination and changes each time. Keep both — UPSC asks for them in any future correspondence.

How to apply

1. Create an account on upsconline.nic.in.
2. Complete Universal Registration to generate your URN. This can be done at any time — you do not need to wait for a notification.
3. Fill the Common Application Form (CAF) with your personal details, qualification and category, and upload the supporting documents. A live photograph must be captured at this stage in addition to the uploaded photo.
4. Open the examination-specific module during the application window, choose your centre and options, pay the fee and submit.

UPSC advises using an Aadhaar card as the identity document, because it verifies automatically and avoids manual checks later.

Correcting your application

UPSC provides a one-time facility to update the URN profile. Changes made to the profile do not flow back into applications already submitted — they apply only to applications made after the profile is re-locked. This catches people out every cycle.

Combined Geo-Scientist Vacancy

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist vacancies for Combined Geo-Scientist 2027: 127 — Category-I (Geological Survey of India) 111: Geologist 29, Chemist 7, Geophysicist 0, Assistant Geologist 34, Assistant Geophysicist 35 and Assistant Chemist 6. Category-II (Central Ground Water Board) 16: Assistant Hydrogeologist 7, Scientist B (Hydrogeology) 5, Scientist B (Chemical) 1, Scientist B (Geophysics) 1, Assistant Chemist 1 and Assistant Geophysicist 1 (2026: 85).

Posts covered

Geologist, Geophysicist and Chemist (Group A) and, from 2027, Assistant Geologist, Assistant Geophysicist and Assistant Chemist (Group B) in the Geological Survey of India under the Ministry of Mines, and Scientist B and Assistant grade posts in the Central Ground Water Board under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Pay

Pay Level 10 of the 7th CPC Pay Matrix for Group A posts; Pay Level 7 for the Group B Assistant grade posts in the Central Ground Water Board.

How UPSC announces vacancies

UPSC publishes an approximate vacancy figure in the Examination Notice and states in the same paragraph that the number is liable to alteration. The final figure is settled once the cadre controlling authorities confirm their requirements, which is usually after the Main Examination. The number in the notice is therefore an indication, not a commitment.

Reservation

Vacancies are reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability as fixed by the Government. The notice sets out the category-wise break-up, including the sub-categories of disability against which each PwBD vacancy is identified.

Combined Geo-Scientist Salary & Job Profile

UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist posts carry Pay Level 10 of the 7th CPC Pay Matrix for Group A posts; Pay Level 7 for the Group B Assistant grade posts in the Central Ground Water Board, plus Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance and Transport Allowance.

Posts and pay

Geologist, Geophysicist and Chemist (Group A) in the Geological Survey of India under the Ministry of Mines, and Scientist B and Assistant grade posts in the Central Ground Water Board under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Allowances

Because HRA and Transport Allowance are city-linked, two officers on identical basic pay take home noticeably different amounts — a metro posting pays more in allowances than a district posting, though the district posting usually comes with official accommodation and a vehicle.

Career progression

Promotion follows time scales fixed for the service, moving through Junior Time Scale, Senior Time Scale, Junior Administrative Grade, Selection Grade and above. The pay matrix levels rather than the entry salary are what make these posts competitive over a career.