SSC CGL 2026 syllabus: Tier 1 and Tier 2 pattern, prep

SSC CGL 2026 syllabus at a glance

The Staff Selection Commission notified SSC CGL 2026 on 21 May 2026 with 12,256 vacancies, and the exam introduces a sectional timing rule that Tier 1 candidates have not seen in earlier cycles (SSC official notification, 21 May 2026 on ssc.gov.in). Each of the four Tier 1 sections now runs on its own 15 minute timer that locks the moment the timer expires, so a candidate who plans a two hour flex allocation across the paper will lose access to unattempted questions in the earlier sections. That single change reshapes preparation strategy for every SSC CGL 2026 aspirant.

Vacancy count is down sharply from the last cycle. SSC CGL 2024 was notified for 17,727 vacancies (SSC notification, 24 June 2024), and 2026 sits 30.8 percent lower at 12,256 posts spread across Grade B, Grade C, and equivalent Group B and Group C positions. Application ran 21 May 2026 to 22 June 2026, fee payment closed 23 June 2026, and the correction window opened 29 June 2026 and closed 1 July 2026. Tier 1 is scheduled in the August to September 2026 window, with Tier 2 tentatively in December 2026.

The paper structure now runs Tier 1 (computer-based, all candidates) and Tier 2 (computer-based, shortlisted candidates only), and Paper 3 for the Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer posts has been removed from the 2026 cycle. Tier 2 in 2026 has only Paper 1 for every shortlisted candidate and Paper 2 (Statistics) for those applying for the Junior Statistical Officer post. Descriptive writing is not part of any current SSC CGL tier, a point competitor pages keep confusing.

This guide reads the 2026 notification top to bottom, marks every change against 2024, and gives you a section-by-section syllabus, a sectional timing plan, and a salary projection under the 8th Pay Commission that the Cabinet approved terms of reference for on 16 October 2025 (PIB, PRID 2179245).

Vacancies 2026 vs 2024: what changed and why

SSC CGL 2026 offers 12,256 vacancies against 17,727 in 2024, a 5,471 seat reduction. The drop is not uniform across posts. Auditor and Accountant slots under the Comptroller and Auditor General took the largest cut, while Inspector posts in CBIC, CBDT, and the Central Excise wing held roughly steady. The Statistical Investigator Grade 2 count moved up modestly, in line with the widened eligibility list discussed later.

Two things explain the smaller pie. The Union Ministry of Finance has paused fresh recruitment against a 2025 hiring ceiling in the audit and accounts services, and several state cadres that share the SSC CGL merit list have shifted a portion of their intake to state-level exams. The Directorate of Recruitment made this rebalancing public on 19 May 2026 when SSC published the vacancy indent tables for CGL 2026.

Category-wise reservation stays as per the 2019 Union roster: 15 percent SC, 7.5 percent ST, 27 percent OBC (non-creamy layer), 10 percent EWS, and horizontal reservation of 4 percent for persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) and 10 percent for ex-servicemen (ExSM). Unreserved seats work out to roughly 4,850, which is the smallest UR bucket SSC CGL has offered since 2018.

A smaller vacancy pool with the same or higher application volume pushes cutoffs up. In 2024, SSC received 30.99 lakh registrations, and if 2026 stays in that band the effective competition per seat moves from 175:1 (2024) to about 253:1 in 2026. Aspirants should plan for a cutoff 8 to 12 marks above the 2024 line unless the paper is meaningfully harder.

Application timeline: apply, correction, admit card, exam windows

The 2026-27 application flow ran on ssc.gov.in through the One Time Registration portal, and every date below is confirmed by the SSC official notification dated 21 May 2026.

Fee is Rs 100 for UR and OBC male candidates and zero for women, SC, ST, PwBD, and ExSM. Payment runs through SBI Challan, BHIM UPI, credit and debit cards, and net banking. Do not submit multiple applications, since SSC will treat the latest submission as valid and cancel earlier ones without a fee refund.

Two admit cards drop before Tier 1: a Status Slip roughly three weeks out that lists exam city, and the Admit Card two weeks out that lists exam date, shift, and reporting time. Both live on the regional SSC office portal, not on the central ssc.gov.in dashboard. Bookmark the correct regional site (SSCNR, SSCER, SSCWR, SSCSR, SSCCR, SSCNWR, SSCMPR, SSCKKR, SSCNER) for your home state.

Tier 1 exam pattern: sections, marks, sectional timing (NEW), negative marking

Tier 1 is a computer-based test with four sections, 25 questions each, 2 marks each, for a total of 100 questions and 200 marks in 60 minutes. Negative marking is 0.5 mark per wrong answer, and unattempted questions carry no penalty.

The sectional lock rule is the single biggest change for 2026. Under the old pattern, a candidate could park questions in one section, move ahead, and return in the last 10 minutes for a final sweep. From SSC CGL 2026, that flexibility is gone. If you open Reasoning at minute 0 and hit minute 15, the section closes, and you cannot go back even if you skipped 5 questions.

The maths of it is stark. English gets 36 seconds per question, and so do Reasoning, Maths, and General Awareness. For Quant, where a typical DI set or a mensuration problem takes 90 to 120 seconds, this forces a hard triage: solve the shortest 18 questions in the first 12 minutes, guess 4 to 5 in the last 3 minutes, and never open the two longest questions. Coaching institutes are already rebuilding their Tier 1 mock papers around this timing.

Compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour applies for PwBD candidates with scribes, extending Tier 1 to 80 minutes and each section to 20 minutes.

Tier 2 exam pattern: Paper 1 (all) + Paper 2 (JSO only); no more Paper 3

Tier 2 in 2026 has two papers, not three. Paper 1 is compulsory for every candidate who clears Tier 1. Paper 2 is only for those who applied for the Junior Statistical Officer post. Paper 3, which used to cover Finance and Economics for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer, has been withdrawn from the 2026 cycle.

Paper 1 Session 1 has 150 questions divided across four modules: Module 1 Quant (30 Q, 90 marks), Module 2 Reasoning + General Intelligence (30 Q, 90 marks), Module 3 English + Comprehension (45 Q, 135 marks), Module 4 General Awareness (25 Q, 75 marks). Module 5 (Computer Knowledge, 20 Q, 60 marks) is compulsory but qualifying only, so its score does not count toward the merit list.

Paper 1 Session 2 is the Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) for Tax Assistant applicants or the Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) for Assistant Section Officer of CSS, Inspector (CBIC), and Assistant of SFIO and GSI. Both are qualifying only and do not add to the ranking merit.

Paper 2 (Statistics) for JSO covers Collection of Data, Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Correlation and Regression, Probability, Random Variables, Sampling Theory, Analysis of Variance, and Index Numbers. Class 11 and 12 NCERT statistics chapters cover roughly 60 percent of this paper.

Detailed syllabus, Tier 1

The Tier 1 syllabus is the same across all posts, so every candidate prepares the same four modules regardless of whether they are applying for Inspector, Auditor, ASO, or Tax Assistant.

General Intelligence and Reasoning covers analogies (verbal, non-verbal, semantic), classification, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking and arrangement, syllogism, statement and conclusions, statement and assumptions, cube and dice, mirror image and water image, paper folding and cutting, non-verbal series, embedded figures, and Venn diagrams. About 8 of the 25 questions come from non-verbal reasoning in a typical paper.

Quantitative Aptitude covers number system, HCF and LCM, percentage, profit and loss, discount, simple and compound interest, ratio and proportion, partnership, average, time and work, pipes and cisterns, time speed distance, boats and streams, mensuration (2D and 3D), geometry (lines, angles, triangles, circles, quadrilaterals), trigonometry (heights and distances, identities), data interpretation (bar graph, pie chart, table, line graph), and algebra (linear and quadratic equations). Data interpretation carries 4 to 5 marks in most papers.

General Awareness has three legs: Static GK (history, geography, polity, economy, general science), Current Affairs from the last 6 to 8 months, and India-specific facts (schemes, budgets, awards, sports events). Books like Lucent's General Knowledge and monthly current affairs digests from PIB and PRS India cover roughly 70 percent of the questions.

English Comprehension covers reading comprehension, fill in the blanks, sentence correction, error spotting, cloze test, para jumbles, one-word substitutions, synonyms and antonyms, idioms and phrases, active-passive voice, and direct-indirect speech. Two RC passages of 5 questions each are standard, followed by grammar and vocabulary sets.

Detailed syllabus, Tier 2 Paper 1 and Paper 2

Tier 2 Paper 1 Module 1 (Quant) goes deeper than Tier 1. It adds trigonometry (advanced identities), coordinate geometry, complex mensuration involving 3D bodies (cone, sphere, hemisphere, frustum), permutation and combination, probability (basic), and higher-order DI (mixed graphs, multi-table sets). Around 8 to 10 of the 30 questions come from advanced arithmetic.

Module 2 (Reasoning) adds symbolic and letter series with two conditions, tough seating arrangement (linear and circular, dual-direction), input-output, and puzzle sets on floors, positions, and family trees. The Class 11 aptitude books at the JEE Foundation level cover this range.

Module 3 (English) is the highest-weighted module at 135 marks. It has two RC passages (10 questions), cloze test (10 questions), sentence rearrangement (5 questions), para jumbles (5 questions), one-word substitution (3), synonym-antonym (4), idiom (3), and spelling and error spotting (5). A strong English score can pull a Tier 2 rank up by 200 to 300 positions in a typical cycle.

Module 4 (General Awareness) is Tier 1 General Awareness at a slightly higher difficulty, with roughly 40 percent current affairs and 60 percent static. Module 5 (Computer Knowledge) tests basic hardware, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), internet and email, database concepts, and cybersecurity basics.

Paper 2 (Statistics) is graduate-level statistics and is not shared with Paper 1 candidates. Beyond the topics listed above, it covers moments and skewness, kurtosis, time series analysis, and hypothesis testing (t-test, chi-square, F-test). Aspirants without a Stats or Maths honours background typically need 3 to 4 months of dedicated preparation for this paper.

Post-wise qualification and eligibility

SSC CGL fills posts across the Grade B and Grade C tiers of the Government of India, and each post has its own qualifying degree and pay level. The table below covers the main posts by pay level.

Age limits vary by post: 18 to 30 years for Auditor and Tax Assistant, 20 to 30 for JSO and Sub Inspector, 21 to 30 for most Inspectors and ASO, and 21 to 32 for AAO. Reserved categories get the standard relaxation (5 years SC/ST, 3 years OBC, 10 years PwBD-UR, 13 years PwBD-OBC, 15 years PwBD-SC/ST).

Statistical Investigator eligibility expansion (new for 2026)

The Junior Statistical Officer post historically required a Bachelor's degree with Statistics as a core subject at Class 12 (60 percent aggregate) plus Statistics in graduation, or a Maths degree with 60 percent in Class 12 Maths. From the 2026 cycle, SSC has expanded this list.

The 2026 notification adds four qualifying degree streams for JSO: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Data Science, Computer Science with a Statistics elective, and Information Technology with a Statistics or Applied Maths elective. Candidates from these streams now compete on the same merit list as traditional Statistics and Maths graduates for the JSO post.

The reasoning behind the expansion is direct. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation flagged in its 2025 annual report that survey data collection under NSSO and PLFS has moved to CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) and near-real-time dashboards, and the ministry needs field officers who can handle both statistical methods and the data pipelines that carry the survey to dashboards. That skill mix sits with modern CS and Data Science graduates.

For 2026 aspirants, this widens the applicant pool for the roughly 400 JSO seats but also opens the post to candidates who previously assumed JSO was out of reach. A CS graduate who took a Statistics elective in the sixth semester now clears the eligibility gate.

DEST and CPT: which posts, format, qualifying nature

The Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) and Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) run inside Tier 2 Paper 1 Session 2. Both are qualifying only. Neither adds marks to the final merit list, but a fail in either disqualifies the candidate from the post that requires it.

DEST is for Tax Assistant applicants. The test asks the candidate to enter 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes on a passage in English (roughly 8,000 key depressions per hour standard). SSC uses a formal typing engine that counts every keystroke including spaces and shift keys, so a real typing speed of about 30 to 35 words per minute is the practical threshold.

CPT is for ASO in CSS, Inspector in CBIC, and Assistant in SFIO and GSI. It has three modules: Word Processing (a paragraph in MS Word), Spreadsheet (a data table in MS Excel with basic formulas like SUM, AVERAGE, and IF), and Generation of Slides (a two slide MS PowerPoint file). Each module is roughly 15 minutes.

The most common myth here is that DEST or CPT scores get added to the Tier 2 merit list. They do not. A candidate who scores 400 out of 450 in Paper 1 Session 1 and just clears DEST will out-rank a candidate who scores 350 with a perfect DEST run.

Category-wise SSC CGL 2024 final cutoffs

SSC declared the 2024 final result on 22 April 2025, and the all-India final cutoffs (Tier 1 + Tier 2 combined, out of 700 marks) give the best current benchmark for 2026 targets.

The rough Tier 1 and Paper 1 marks split assumes a 40:60 weight (Tier 1 : Tier 2 Paper 1) since Session 2 (DEST/CPT) is qualifying only. Actual cutoffs vary by post and zone, and post-preference cutoffs (Inspector CBIC UR, AAO UR, ASO UR) run 25 to 45 marks above the general final cutoff.

For 2026 with a smaller vacancy pool, aspirants targeting an Inspector or AAO post in UR should plan for a combined score of 355 to 380, which translates to roughly 170 in Tier 1 (out of 200) and 280 in Paper 1 (out of 450). That is a stretch target but a realistic one for a well-prepared aspirant with 4 to 6 months of dedicated study.

Sectional timing strategy: 36 seconds per question and how to plan

At 25 questions and 15 minutes, every Tier 1 section gives you 36 seconds per question on paper. In practice, no candidate solves at that flat rate. The plan below is what most Tier 1 toppers use in mock series and it maps well to the new sectional lock rule.

Reasoning and English are the fastest sections. Reasoning has 6 to 8 quick coding-decoding and analogy questions that you can clear in 15 to 20 seconds each, giving you a 3 to 4 minute buffer for the tough puzzle sets. English RC needs 4 to 5 minutes for one passage, but the grammar and vocabulary set clears in 20 to 25 seconds per question. Both sections should finish with 1 to 2 minutes to spare.

General Awareness is either a 30 second question or a skip. If you do not know the answer in 30 seconds, mark it and move. The section takes 8 to 10 minutes flat if you have covered current affairs for the last 8 months. Use the leftover 5 to 7 minutes for a second read on the marked questions.

Quantitative Aptitude is the section that breaks candidates under the new timing. A typical Quant paper has 5 arithmetic word problems (60 to 90 seconds each), 5 to 6 geometry and mensuration (75 to 120 seconds each), 5 to 6 algebra and number system (30 to 60 seconds each), and 5 DI questions (40 to 60 seconds each). The plan: attempt the 15 fastest questions first, spend 10 minutes on them, then hit the DI set (3 minutes), and use the remaining 2 minutes on 2 to 3 harder attempts. Skip the two longest questions upfront.

Order matters. Attempt Reasoning first (build confidence), General Awareness second (bank time), English third (steady scoring), and Quant last (use the maximum sharpness for the section you have flexed on). Do not open Quant with 60 seconds to go on Reasoning as a mental warm-up; the lock will steal your Reasoning score.

Salary of SSC CGL posts today vs after 8th Pay Commission

The 8th Pay Commission received Cabinet approval of terms of reference on 16 October 2025 (PIB PRID 2179245), and the commission is expected to submit its report by mid-2027 with implementation from 1 January 2027. Based on the historical fitment factor pattern (6th CPC 1.86, 7th CPC 2.57), industry analysts and the JCM staff side proposal converge on a fitment factor of 2.28 for the 8th CPC, giving a roughly 30 to 40 percent uplift in basic pay across levels.

Worked example for an SSC CGL Inspector (Level 6), whose current basic pay is Rs 35,400 (7th CPC):

New basic = 35,400 x 2.28 = Rs 80,712 per month.

Add revised DA (assumed 5 percent at commission start), House Rent Allowance (revised city-tier X at 27 percent), Transport Allowance (revised, roughly Rs 5,400 for Level 6 in X-tier), and gross monthly pay works out near Rs 1,15,000 to Rs 1,22,000 in an X-tier city (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai). In-hand after standard deductions (NPS 10 percent, group insurance, professional tax) lands near Rs 92,000 to Rs 98,000, up from the current in-hand of about Rs 72,000 to Rs 76,000 for the same post.

The final fitment factor could land between 2.15 and 2.86 based on the JCM staff side (2.86) versus government side (2.15) opening positions. The 2.28 figure sits at the historical midpoint and is the number used for most published projections in 2026.

Common myths and confusion

The most common Tier 1 myth is that SSC CGL has a descriptive paper. It does not. The exam has run as fully computer-based, multiple choice, since 2016, and neither Tier 1 nor Tier 2 nor Paper 2 (JSO Statistics) has a descriptive component. Candidates who prepare essay writing for CGL are wasting time.

The second myth is that MTS and LDC posts are part of SSC CGL. MTS (Multi Tasking Staff) has its own exam, SSC MTS, which runs separately with a Class 10 pass eligibility. LDC and UDC (Lower and Upper Division Clerk) fall under SSC CHSL, which needs Class 12. SSC CGL covers only graduate-level Grade B and Grade C posts.

The third myth is that negative marking is the same across Tier 1 and Tier 2. It is not. Tier 1 has 0.5 mark negative per wrong answer, Tier 2 Paper 1 has 1.0 mark negative, and Tier 2 Paper 2 (JSO) has 0.5 mark negative. The Tier 2 Paper 1 penalty is the harshest in the entire exam, and it changes attempt strategy: guess only when you can eliminate two of the four options confidently.

The fourth myth is that regional cutoffs are separate. They are not for CGL. SSC prepares a single all-India merit list, and post-wise cutoffs come out of that list based on candidate preference and vacancy pool. State cadre allocation for Inspector CBIC or Auditor CAG happens after the merit list is fixed, based on candidate zone preference.

Preparation strategy in the last 60 days before Tier 1

The final 60 days before Tier 1 are for mock series and revision, not for new topic learning. If you are still learning a new Quant chapter in the last 4 weeks, you have mis-planned the timeline and the sectional lock rule will hurt you hard on exam day.

Weeks 1 to 4 of the final 60 days: full-length mocks under exam conditions, three per week, followed by a next-day analysis of every wrong answer and every timing overshoot. Track your Reasoning, GA, English, and Quant scores as four separate lines on a spreadsheet. The section where you drop below 32 out of 50 across three consecutive mocks is the section to fix first.

Weeks 5 to 6: sectional practice at 15-minute exam-condition drills, four sections a day, five days a week. Buy or download at least 25 sectional papers per section (available free on TestBook, Adda247, and Career Power). Time discipline builds only under real 15 minute countdowns, not paper practice.

Weeks 7 to 8: mock revision, error log review, and formula sheet consolidation. Cut all new material intake by day 45. In the last 14 days, stop consuming YouTube lectures and stick to your own notes, the SSC previous year papers of 2019 to 2024, and a final Current Affairs compilation for the last 8 months.

Sleep and eating discipline matter more than they sound. A candidate who studies for 12 hours a day on 5 hours of sleep will underperform a candidate who studies 8 hours on 7 hours of sleep, every single time, on a paper this timed.

Primary sources

• SSC official notification for CGL 2026 (21 May 2026): ssc.gov.in
• SSC CGL 2026 notification PDF (Annexure I, vacancy table): ssc.gov.in
• DoPT pay matrix circulars for pay levels 4 to 8: dopt.gov.in
• 8th Pay Commission Cabinet ToR approval (16 October 2025): PIB PRID 2179245, pib.gov.in
• SSC CGL 2024 final result (22 April 2025) with cutoffs: ssc.gov.in
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Annual Report 2025 (JSO qualification expansion basis): mospi.gov.in

Frequently asked questions

What is the SSC CGL 2026 exam pattern for Tier 1 and Tier 2? SSC CGL 2026 has two computer-based tiers. Tier 1 is 100 questions across four sections (Reasoning, GA, Quant, English), 200 marks, 60 minutes total, with a new 15 minute sectional lock per section and 0.5 mark negative marking. Tier 2 has Paper 1 (all candidates, 450 marks, 1.0 mark negative) and Paper 2 (JSO only, 200 marks, 0.5 mark negative). Paper 3 has been removed for the 2026 cycle.

How many vacancies in SSC CGL 2026? SSC CGL 2026 has 12,256 vacancies as notified on 21 May 2026 on ssc.gov.in. This is down 30.8 percent from 17,727 vacancies in SSC CGL 2024. Reservation follows the standard Union roster (15 percent SC, 7.5 percent ST, 27 percent OBC, 10 percent EWS) plus horizontal reservation for PwBD (4 percent) and ex-servicemen (10 percent).

When is SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 exam? Tier 1 is scheduled in the August to September 2026 window, and Tier 2 is tentatively planned for December 2026. Admit cards drop 2 weeks before the exam date on the regional SSC office portal (SSCNR, SSCER, SSCWR, SSCSR, SSCCR, SSCNWR, SSCMPR, SSCKKR, SSCNER), not on the central ssc.gov.in dashboard. The status slip with exam city releases about 3 weeks out.

Is there negative marking in SSC CGL Tier 2? Yes, Tier 2 Paper 1 has 1.0 mark negative per wrong answer and Paper 2 (JSO Statistics) has 0.5 mark negative. Paper 1 has the harshest penalty in the entire SSC CGL exam. Tier 1 uses 0.5 mark negative, and DEST and CPT under Tier 2 Session 2 are qualifying only with no marks added to the merit list.

Is there a descriptive paper in SSC CGL 2026? No, SSC CGL 2026 has no descriptive paper and has not had one since the exam moved fully computer-based in 2016. Both tiers and both papers are objective multiple choice. Candidates who see essay-writing preparation advice for SSC CGL are looking at outdated content, likely mixing CGL with UPSC or state PSC exams that do have descriptive components.

What is the salary of an SSC CGL post after 8th Pay Commission? Basic pay uplift under the 8th Pay Commission is projected at 2.28x fitment, giving Inspector (Level 6) a new basic of Rs 80,712 (up from Rs 35,400) and AAO (Level 8) a new basic of Rs 1,08,528 (up from Rs 47,600). In-hand pay in an X-tier city jumps to Rs 92,000 to Rs 98,000 for Inspector and Rs 1,20,000 to Rs 1,28,000 for AAO. Cabinet approved terms of reference on 16 October 2025 (PIB PRID 2179245); implementation is targeted from 1 January 2027.

What is the difference between DEST and CPT in SSC CGL? DEST (Data Entry Speed Test) is for Tax Assistant applicants and needs 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes (about 8,000 KDPH, roughly 30 to 35 wpm typing speed). CPT (Computer Proficiency Test) is for ASO in CSS, Inspector in CBIC, and Assistant in SFIO and GSI, and it tests Word, Excel, and PowerPoint across three 15 minute modules. Both are qualifying only and do not add marks to the Tier 2 merit list.

Which is the highest-paying post in SSC CGL? Assistant Audit Officer (AAO) at pay Level 8 is the highest-paying SSC CGL post, with a current basic pay of Rs 47,600 (7th CPC) and a projected new basic of Rs 1,08,528 after the 8th Pay Commission. In-hand pay in an X-tier city (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai) is roughly Rs 92,000 today and projects to Rs 1,20,000 to Rs 1,28,000 post-8th CPC. AAO also carries the shortest promotion cycle to Senior Audit Officer among CGL posts.

What is sectional timing in SSC CGL 2026 and how do I plan for it? Sectional timing in SSC CGL 2026 is a new rule where each of the four Tier 1 sections runs on its own 15 minute timer and locks the moment the timer expires, giving 36 seconds per question on average. Plan the fastest sections first (Reasoning, then GA, then English) to bank time and mental sharpness, and take Quant last where the section demands the maximum focus. Skip the two longest Quant questions upfront and never plan to return to a locked section.

What is the SSC CGL 2024 final cutoff? SSC CGL 2024 all-India final cutoffs (out of 700) declared on 22 April 2025 were: UR 322.77, OBC 306.28, EWS 300.04, SC 285.46, ST 266.50, and ex-servicemen 202.28. Post-preference cutoffs for premium posts like Inspector CBIC UR and AAO UR run 25 to 45 marks above the general final cutoff. For 2026, aspirants targeting Inspector or AAO in UR should plan for a combined score of 355 to 380 given the smaller vacancy pool.