Prayagraj: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has introduced sectional timing in the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination 2026, one of its biggest recruitment examinations conducted for appointments to Group ‘B’ and Group ‘C’ posts in various ministries, departments, constitutional bodies, tribunals and organisations under the Central govt. The commission has implemented sectional timing in the examination pattern for the first time, making the test more structured and challenging for aspirants.The recruitment drive is being conducted for 12,256 vacancies across different departments. Under the revised pattern, candidates appearing in the Tier-I computer-based examination will now have to answer 25 questions within a fixed time limit of 15 minutes for each section. Earlier, although the one-hour examination consisted of four sections — General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension — candidates had the flexibility to manage time according to their strengths and weaknesses. They could spend more time on difficult sections and compensate in easier ones.However, with the introduction of sectional timing, each segment will now automatically close after 15 minutes and the next section will appear on the computer screen. Each section will contain 25 questions carrying two marks each, taking the total to 100 questions and 200 marks. Officials believe the move will help assess candidates’ subject-wise proficiency more accurately and reduce the advantage of selective time management.Significant changes have also been introduced in the second stage of the examination. Earlier, candidates were given a combined duration of one hour for Mathematical Abilities and Reasoning & General Intelligence. Now, both subjects will have separate sectional timings of 30 minutes each for solving 30 questions per section. Similarly, in Section B, candidates will get 40 minutes for 45 questions of English Language and Comprehension and 20 minutes for 25 questions related to General Awareness and General Knowledge. Previously, there was no such subject-wise restriction in the Tier-II examination.Meanwhile,SSC has cancelled the second and third shifts of the Constable GD Examination-2026 at five centres in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Monday due to technical issues. Examination centres in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Muzaffarpur were affected. Candidates faced inconvenience, while some aspirants created a ruckus at the I-Tech Zone centre in Jhunsi, Prayagraj. The SSC Central Region office in Prayagraj issued an official notification confirming the cancellation. The commission said fresh dates for the affected examinations would be announced later and revised admit cards would be uploaded on the SSC website. Candidates have been advised to regularly check the official website for updates regarding the rescheduled examination and new admit cards.
