The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has announced major changes for the upcoming Combined Graduate Level (CGL) exam in September 2025. In an exclusive interview with Navbharat Times (NBT), SSC Chairman S. Gopalakrishnan said that candidates faced many problems in earlier exams, such as computer glitches, non-working devices, Aadhaar verification delays, and far-off exam centres. To solve these issues and make the process smoother, SSC has introduced new measures. These include conducting the exam in a single shift, improving centre allocation, introducing a fair scoring system, and making Aadhaar verification mandatory. The reforms aim to make the exam more transparent, convenient, and fair for all candidates across India.

Exam to be conducted in a single shift

SSC has decided to hold the CGL exam in one single shift instead of multiple shifts. This ensures that all candidates get the same exam experience and reduces problems caused by different question papers in different shifts.

Candidates to get exam centres within 100 km of their location

Many candidates in previous exams had to travel long distances to reach their centres. Now, SSC will allot exam centres within a 100 km radius of the candidate’s address. Currently, 80% of candidates get nearby centres, and SSC plans to increase this to over 90% in future exams.SSC CGL 2025 exam dates released: Tier 1 to be held from 12 to 26 SeptemberMoreover, SSC has also introduced a shift-wise normalisation system to ensure fair scoring. This method adjusts marks if question papers in different shifts have varying difficulty levels, so no candidate is at a disadvantage.

Vendor restructuring for better exam management

SSC has divided responsibilities among four vendors:

SSC itself will directly supervise question paper creation to maintain quality and consistency.