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SSC CGL Exam Analysis 16 October 2026 — Shift 3

SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 · 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM IST · Updated 17 Oct, 12:40 am IST

Reported4 linked sources · unofficial candidate reports
Overall difficulty
Easy to Moderate
Reported attempts
Not reported
Shift timing
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM IST

Shift 3 was reported as easy to moderate overall. Candidates said the pattern matched previous years, except for sectional timing. Students who practiced previous years' papers were expected to perform well. No technical issues were reported; everything ran smoothly.

Section overview

General Intelligence & Reasoning

25 questions · 50 marks

Difficulty
Moderate
Reported attempts
Not reported

General Awareness

25 questions · 50 marks

Difficulty
Moderate
Reported attempts
Not reported

Quantitative Aptitude

25 questions · 50 marks

Difficulty
Moderate
Reported attempts
Not reported

English Comprehension

25 questions · 50 marks

Difficulty
Moderate
Reported attempts
Not reported

Topics asked, section by section

General Intelligence & Reasoning

Moderate

Reported as time-consuming but easy; candidates said well-prepared students could score 50-60.

  • Verbal Reasoning · 25
  • Spelling correction · 1

General Awareness

Moderate

Covered current affairs from the last six months, polity focused on articles, and included questions on the Charter Act of 1791.

  • Current Affairs · 2
  • History · 2
  • Polity · 2
  • Constitution · 2
  • Kabaddi · 1
  • Quad (Indo-Pacific) · 1
  • Delhi Sultanate - Balban · 1
  • Pangong Lake, Sikkim · 1

Quantitative Aptitude

Moderate

Reported as normal difficulty but calculative and lengthy; candidates said good practice was needed to attempt 23+ questions.

English Comprehension

Moderate

Some errors and slightly lengthy questions were reported.

  • Direct and Indirect Speech
  • Antonyms
  • Synonyms
  • Paragraph-based questions
  • PQR S
  • Cloze Test

Topics with an arrow link to our free notes and practice questions for that topic.

Questions asked (memory-based)

What candidates recalled after the shift, reworded. Exact wording and options may differ from the real paper.

General Awareness

  1. 1

    Two current affairs questions, one from 2025 and one from last year.

  2. 2

    Two questions on Polity from the Constitution, including Article 124 related to the Supreme Court.

  3. 3

    One question on the Charter Act of 1791.

  4. 4

    Two questions on Articles.

  5. 5

    In Kabaddi, the player who faces the direction of his own court to defend against the opposing team is called (Answer: Defender)

  6. 6

    The defensive players in Kabaddi are collectively called (Answer: Antis)

  7. 7

    The attacking lone player in Kabaddi is called (Answer: Raider)

  8. 8

    Quad - the main focus of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Dialogue is on which area (Answer: Maritime security, domain awareness and supply chain of minerals in the Indian Ocean region)

  9. 9

    Under Sultan Balban, the main administrative and legal achievement was (Answer: Suppression of Mevati robbers and securing trade routes)

  10. 10

    Pangong Lake, also called the wish-fulfilling lake, is located in which Indian state (Answer: Sikkim)

  11. 11

    The gas known as laughing gas or happy gas is (Answer: Nitrous oxide, discovered by Joseph Priestley in 1772)

  12. 12

    The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners is done by (Answer: President of India)

  13. 13

    As per census reports, the region with the highest dependency ratio of elderly people is (Answer: South)

  14. 14

    The continent bordered by the Arctic Ocean in the north, Atlantic Ocean in the east, and Pacific Ocean in the west and south is (Answer: North America)

What candidates noticed

  • Overall difficulty was easy to moderate, with reasoning and GA rated moderate.
  • Quant was reported as easy but time-consuming and calculative.
  • English had some errors and slightly lengthy questions.
  • No technical issues were reported; the paper ran smoothly.

Where reviews disagree

  • Reports differed on reasoning difficulty: one called it moderate, another easy to moderate.

Other shifts on 16 October

Shift 1
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM IST
Easy to Moderate
Shift 2
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM IST
Moderate to Difficult

Sources

Automatically compiled from the linked reviews. Source agreement does not guarantee accuracy; this is not a manually verified paper. Difficulty and attempt figures are unofficial.

How we use sources and correct errors

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FAQs

How was the SSC CGL 16 October 2026 Shift 3 paper?

Candidates rated the 16 October 2026 Shift 3 paper Easy to Moderate overall. Shift 3 was reported as easy to moderate overall. Candidates said the pattern matched previous years, except for sectional timing. Students who practiced previous years' papers were expected to perform well. No technical issues were reported; everything ran smoothly.

Which General Intelligence & Reasoning topics were asked in SSC CGL 16 October 2026 Shift 3?

General Intelligence & Reasoning was Moderate. Topics reported: Verbal Reasoning (25), Spelling correction (1).

Which General Awareness topics were asked in SSC CGL 16 October 2026 Shift 3?

General Awareness was Moderate. Topics reported: Current Affairs (2), History (2), Polity (2), Constitution (2), Kabaddi (1), Quad (Indo-Pacific) (1), Delhi Sultanate - Balban (1), Pangong Lake, Sikkim (1).

Which English Comprehension topics were asked in SSC CGL 16 October 2026 Shift 3?

English Comprehension was Moderate. Topics reported: Direct and Indirect Speech, Antonyms, Synonyms, Paragraph-based questions, PQR S, Cloze Test.

What was the overall difficulty level of SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 Shift 1 on 16 October 2026?

Shift 1 on 16 October 2026 was reported as Easy to Moderate by most candidates. The exam covered General Awareness, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and English, with several General Awareness questions repeating across sources, including topics like the Forest Man of India and 1991 economic reforms.

How was the difficulty level and performance in SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 Shift 2 on 16 October 2026?

Shift 2 on 16 October 2026 was reported as Moderate to Difficult overall. General Awareness and Quantitative Aptitude were identified as the toughest sections, while Reasoning and English were comparatively easier. Candidates noted timing challenges, particularly in Data Interpretation and Trigonometry under Quantitative Aptitude.

What was the analysis for SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 Shift 3 on 16 October 2026?

Shift 3 on 16 October 2026 was reported as Easy to Moderate. The pattern was largely similar to previous years, except for changes in sectional timing. No technical issues were reported, and the exam proceeded smoothly. Good attempts for this shift are not reliably reported.

Were there any repeated questions in the General Awareness section of SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 on 16 October 2026?

Yes, several General Awareness questions were reported as repeated across sources in the 16 October 2026 exam. Common topics included the Forest Man of India, 1991 economic reforms, constitutional articles, and government schemes. Some sources also provided answer keys alongside the questions.

Does SSC normalise scores across shifts for SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 conducted on 16 October 2026?

Yes, the Staff Subordinate Commission normalises scores across all shifts of the SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 exam, including those conducted on 16 October 2026. This ensures that variations in difficulty levels across shifts do not affect the fairness of the evaluation process.