The scoreboard
47 of 56 in-scope questions carried usable material
Of 79 scoreable units across the four papers, 23 are static syllabus — ancient and medieval history, physical geography, reactor physics, ethical theory. No press-release corpus can answer those, and counting them against us would be as dishonest as counting them for us. That leaves 56 questions where a current-affairs corpus could plausibly contribute. 47 of them got something. 9 got nothing, and those 9 are named further down.
Direct
The dossier carries the spine of the answer. If a question issues two co-equal commands and we cover one, this is not direct — however strong the covered half.
Partial
At least two concrete, quotable items — a named scheme, a figure, a statute, a body — actually present in the rendered card.
Genuine gap
A contemporary question we should have covered and did not. Counted as a miss.
Out of scope
Static syllabus. Excluded from the denominator and stated openly rather than buried.
Every question, every paper
All 79 units. Widths are true proportions.
DirectPartialGenuine gapOut of scope
Against the prior years
Two papers held. One beat its average. One fell through the floor.
Our main backtest page publishes a four-year mean for each paper, measured 2022–2025. Here is 2026 — a year the method had never seen — against those means.
Deployable coverage, 2026 vs the 2022–25 mean
Share of all questions in the paper for which the dossier carried usable material. The vertical rule marks the four-year mean.
2022–25 four-year mean
GS-III and GS-II landed where the method predicted. GS-IV came in well above its 28% average — but read the next section before treating that as good news. GS-I lost nineteen points against its mean, and that has a specific, findable cause.
The ordering inverted for the first time.
Across 2022–25 the ranking GS-III > GS-II > GS-I > GS-IV never once flipped. In 2026 it did: GS-IV (42%) finished above GS-I (30%). Neither movement is a change in what PIB can do. Both are build defects in our own pipeline, and we can name them.
Why 2026 reads harder than 2022–25
Earlier years graded the method. This one graded the artifact.
The 2022–25 figures ask whether our corpus and selection could have served a question. This audit asks something stricter: whether the words were actually on the page of the rendered PDF. Every verdict here had to be backed by text quoted from the dossier itself — where nothing could be quoted, the verdict is a miss regardless of what sat in the corpus behind it.
That is a harder bar, and it is the right one, because it catches the failures a method-level test cannot see: a sheet that rendered empty, a paper that was never distilled, material filed under the wrong paper. All three happened.
What we actually built, by paper
Sheets in each rendered dossier. The imbalance is the story.
GS-III received 22 sheets across 23 pages. GS-IV received four sheets across five — and those four were carried over from other papers' governance material rather than authored for the ethics paper at all.
The hits
What a direct hit actually looked like
11 questions came back direct. Below are five of them, with the real question on the left of the exam hall and the real text of our dossier underneath — quoted verbatim from the rendered PDF, not paraphrased. Judge the fit yourself.
GS-I Q10Direct
Do you think digital technology promotes social empowerment? Explain with examples.
Quoted from the dossier
SHe-Box Portal (launched 29.08.2024) for the PoSH Act, 2013: 161,000+ workplaces onboarded, 68,460+ Internal Committees and 777 district Local Committees updated; multilingual in 23 languages.
GS1.7aPoshan Tracker gives near real-time dynamic identification of stunting, wasting and underweight; Anganwadi workers given smartphones, ₹2,000/annum connectivity and Growth Monitoring Devices.
GS1.7bUMEED Central Portal (launched 6 June 2025): real-time uploading, geo-tagged digital inventory, GIS mapping and public access to verified waqf records.
GS1.6Counter-evidence: of 8 lakh+ digitised manuscripts only 1.29 lakh are public; the library survey flagged poor rural internet — reach, not creation, is the gap.
GS1.1Where it deploys. Five sector examples fill the affirmative body; the manuscript-access datum supplies the qualifying paragraph that "Do you think" demands.
GS-II Q4Direct
Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the ECI while undertaking revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of voters?
Quoted from the dossier
ECI affirmed voting is a citizen's right under Article 326 while Aadhaar only proves identity; linkage to proceed strictly per Article 326, RP Act 1950 (Section 23) and the Supreme Court in WP(C) 177/2023.
GS2.8Article 326 guarantees universal adult suffrage as a citizen's voting right.
GS2.8Election Commission of India (Article 324) — autonomous constitutional body, multi-member (CEC + 2 ECs) since 1993.
GS2.8Bihar 2025: 824 flying squads deployed; of 650 C-Vigil complaints on ECINET, 649 disposed and 612 (94%) resolved within 100 minutes; over ₹71.32 crore in cash, liquor and freebies seized.
GS2.8Where it deploys. The Article 326 "citizen's right" formulation is the intro anchor; the identity-versus-citizenship distinction answers the third sub-question directly, with RP Act s.23 and WP(C) 177/2023 as the law-and-body spine.
GS-II Q16Direct
"Transparency and accountability in governance are not about controlling corruption but about creating trust of stakeholders by following the Rule of Law and Participatory Governance." Comment.
Quoted from the dossier
MeitY amended Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules 2021 (effective 15 November 2025): content-removal intimations now need Joint-Secretary/DIG-level authorisation, reasoned URL-specific notices and monthly Secretary-level review.
GS2.15bThe DPDP Act's amendment to RTI Section 8(1)(j) harmonises privacy per K.S. Puttaswamy with the right to information; the Section 8(2) public-interest override survives.
GS2.15b2,42,871 Gram Panchayats (91.92%) routed ₹38,491 crore via eGramSwaraj-PFMS; SabhaSaar generated 2.39 lakh+ minutes across 1.17 lakh GPs.
GS2.15cCAG's Goa Report No. 4 of 2025 found only 78% of collected solid waste was treated, and flagged ₹3.14 crore undue desilting benefit and ₹70.45 crore idle land-acquisition spend.
GS2.15aWhere it deploys. Rule 3(1)(d) and the RTI 8(1)(j)/8(2) balance form the Rule-of-Law paragraph; the 22,600 comments and SabhaSaar figures form the Participatory Governance paragraph; CAG Goa substantiates accountability-beyond-corruption — the statement's exact pivot.
GS-III Q8Direct
Discuss the aim and goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Mention India's commitments and initiatives with suitable examples.
Quoted from the dossier
Advances India's Updated NBSAP 2024–2030, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's 30x30 target, and empowers Biodiversity Management Committees and Panchayati Raj Institutions via Access and Benefit Sharing.
GS3.14MoEFCC–NBA five-year project (2025–2030) to green Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Tamil Nadu's Sathyamangalam and Meghalaya's Garo Hills, backed by a USD 4.88 million GEF–UNDP grant.
GS3.14Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 mandates an NBA Certificate of Registration before IPR on Indian bio-resources; filings rose from 857 (2024-25) to 1,077 (2025-26).
GS3.141st International Big Cat Alliance Summit, 1–2 June 2026, New Delhi; plus the India–Nepal MoU (February 2026) on transboundary corridors for elephant, Gangetic dolphin, rhino, snow leopard, tiger and vultures.
GS3.14Where it deploys. Four dated, differentiating examples for the "India's commitments" command, with FRA and BMC material for the community-conservation target.
GS-III Q13Direct
How has Indian agriculture been transformed from food scarcity to food surplus? Explain the various government policies for diversification.
Quoted from the dossier
Foodgrain production hit a record 3,577.3 LMT in AY 2024-25, up 254.3 LMT year-on-year; agriculture's decadal growth of 4.45% (FY16–FY25) is the highest ever, led by livestock and fisheries.
GS3.5PMGKAY covers over 80 crore beneficiaries — the world's largest food security programme — at roughly ₹2.25 lakh crore annually.
GS3.5Rabi MSP (MS 2026-27): wheat ₹2,585/quintal at a 109% margin, aimed at remunerative prices plus crop diversification; highest absolute rise for nigerseed at ₹820/quintal.
GS3.5NPDD enhanced to ₹2,790 crore covering 18.74 lakh farmers and 5,123 bulk milk coolers; millet PLI sales surged from ₹345.73 crore (FY22-23) to ₹1,845.25 crore (FY24-25).
GS3.5bWhere it deploys. The surplus half as data-led substantiation and the whole diversification half as the body — crops, allied sectors and the price-signal instrument.
The other 6 direct hits
GS-II Q10
"BRICS acts as a powerful counterweight in global governance, actively amplifying the voice and influence of the Global South." Explain.
GS-II Q17
Can the constitutional mandate of rights-based welfare be effectively realised in the context of non-integrated governance and minimal public investment? Examine.
GS-III Q2
Examine the view that financial inclusion is an integral part of social and economic inclusion. Throw light on the usefulness of the RBI's Financial Inclusion Index.
GS-III Q11
Explain the key challenges for India's energy security. What measures do you suggest for ensuring it alongside economic growth and sustainability?
GS-III Q12
How are startups in India promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and employment? Discuss global and domestic challenges and suggest measures.
GS-III Q18
"Community participation is the cornerstone of effective disaster management." Analyse with examples from India. Discuss challenges and measures.
The misses
The 9 questions we should have covered and did not
These are not out-of-scope questions. Each is a contemporary topic sitting inside our corpus window that a PIB-derived dossier had every business carrying. Where the audit could establish why we missed it, the reason is printed.
GS-I Q7
"Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia." Examine this statement giving examples.
GS-I Q15
Analyze the role of satellite-based technologies in achieving climate-smart agriculture and food security in India.
GS-I Q16
"The centre of global trade is gradually shifting from the Atlantic region to the Indo-Pacific region." Examine this statement.
GS-I Q17
Analyze the major drivers of human-induced land-use changes in India and their geographical consequences.
GS-II Q1
Right to privacy relating to self-identity is well protected under Article 21. Examine the effect of the 2026 amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
The Amendment received assent 30 March 2026 — inside the corpus window. The corpus has dense coverage of 24–27 March 2026 and not one entry on the Bill.
GS-II Q9
"IPMDA bridges the gap between India's SAGAR vision and the Quad's collective Indo-Pacific strategy." Make a critical assessment.
The corpus holds Quad and Indo-Pacific items — including the first-ever Quad At Sea Observer Mission — but all were routed to Paper 3. "IPMDA" is zero corpus-wide.
GS-II Q11
Discuss the position of the Governor in the federal polity. What is the nature of his power while giving assent to a State bill? Is he bound by aid and advice in all functions?
Structural: the Governor's-assent litigation of 2025 is judicial, and a PIB-only corpus is blind to the Supreme Court.
GS-III Q5
Explain by giving two examples how biotechnology has helped Indian farmers in processing their perishable crops.
GS-III Q15
Mention salient features of Mission Drishti. Discuss the imaging techniques used in the satellite launched on 3rd May 2026. Why is it considered the world's first of its kind?
The launch was inside the corpus window, but Mission Drishti was a private GalaxEye launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg — it may never have produced a PIB release. A limitation of a PIB-only corpus.
One of these is arguably not ours to close.
The Mission Drishti question turns on a private GalaxEye launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg. It may never have produced a PIB release at all. We have left it in the miss column rather than reclassify it, because a corpus that cannot see a launch is still a corpus that cannot answer the question.
GS-IV: zero direct hits across nineteen units
The ethics paper returned no clean hit at all. Eleven of its nineteen units are ethical theory and correctly out of scope, but the eight that were reachable came back partial — every one of them scavenged from governance material written for other papers. The cause is in the next section and it is not subtle.
What went wrong
Six defects, named
This is the part of the audit that made it worth running. Each of these is a fault in our own build pipeline, found by grading the output rather than the intention.
Content built, curated and shipped — in the wrong PDFHIGHEST SEVERITY · NO NEW SCRAPING REQUIRED. The paper router assigns each corpus item to exactly one GS paper. Where a topic serves two papers, only one dossier receives it. Three questions across two papers — roughly 30 marks — were answerable from material we had already built. Tribal welfare — PM JANMAN, DAJGUA, PESA, Forest Rights Act titles — shipped in GS1.4 (dossier-GS1.pdf) but was needed at GS2 Q6, tribal development policy. Nutrition — Poshan 2.0, 14.03 lakh Anganwadi Centres, PMMVY, the 377th Standing Committee Report — shipped in GS1.7b (dossier-GS1.pdf) but was needed at GS2 Q7, malnutrition as welfare governance. IT Rules 2021, Rule 3(1)(d) with the 15 November 2025 amendment shipped in GS2.15b and GS4.7a but was needed at GS3 Q9, which named the instrument explicitly. Evidence. Corpus routing sends 2,541 items to GS3 against 564 to GS2 — the broadest syllabus paper is being starved. Fix. Allow dual or multi-paper assignment, or reclassify tribal welfare, nutrition, child protection and digital regulation as spanning papers.
Two GS1 sections shipped blankHIGH SEVERITY · RE-RUN THE SHEET-AUTHORING STEP FOR TWO SHEETS. GS1.7c (Women's Economic Empowerment) and GS1.7d (Population, Census, Poverty & Migration) carry zero items across all six content buckets. Every other card of the 48 carries between 14 and 27. The shipped PDF prints a heading and a "DEPLOY IN" line with nothing beneath. Evidence. Verified three ways: roles: [] in sheets.json, zero items in dossier-cards.json, and pdftotext on the shipped PDF. The source material existed and was dropped — index-GS1.json holds Cabinet approval of Census 2027, Cabinet approval of caste enumeration, two Survey on Migration releases, the NITI–UNDP National MPI workshop, the PLFS monthly bulletin, Stand-Up India and NITI's From Borrowers to Builders. Cost to the student. GS1 Q19 asked to critically examine the challenges of demographic transition. A student who opened the page titled "Population, Census, Poverty & Migration" found white space. Fix. Treat an empty roles[] as a hard build failure. A blank sheet currently ships silently while still advertising what it deploys into — worse than omitting it.
GS4 was never distilledHIGH SEVERITY · STRUCTURAL DECISION REQUIRED. distilled-GS4.json and index-GS4.json are both empty arrays. GS1 holds 255 distilled items, GS2 564, GS3 2,541 — GS4 holds zero. Its four sheets were carried over from other papers' governance bands, which GS4.7c's own metadata admits by listing "Constitutional bodies & oversight (GS-II)" as its first deployment target. Evidence. Four sheets and five pages against twenty-two sheets and twenty-three pages for GS3. Not a thin chapter — an unbuilt one. Fix. Fold the four sheets into the GS2 governance-and-probity band, where CAG, RTI, the Citizen's Charter and Mission Karmayogi already belong and will earn GS2 marks too. If GS4 must stay separate, build it only along the axis the corpus can feed — AI governance, DPDP, algorithmic accountability, Aadhaar and DBT exclusion, surveillance and due process, which is where the 2026 paper put over 40 marks.
High-signal items dropped at sheet-buildMEDIUM SEVERITY · ADD A RETENTION CHECK. Items that survive distillation can still be lost when a sheet is authored, with no warning. "Competence, Not Just Seniority, Will Define Future Leadership in Civil Services" — Cabinet Secretary, 2 April 2026 — is present in distilled-GS2.json, absent from every GS2 sheet; it was needed at GS2 Q8, generalist civil services — the single most on-point item in the corpus. Fix. Flag top-scoring distilled items that fail to appear in any authored sheet.
An in-window Act was never capturedMEDIUM SEVERITY · AUDIT THE MARCH 2026 SESSION. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment passed both Houses in March 2026 and received assent on 30 March 2026 — squarely inside the corpus window. The corpus has dense coverage of 24–27 March 2026 and not one entry on the Bill. GS2 Q1 was 10 marks. Fix. Audit what else from the March 2026 session was missed, and add a legislative-tracker cross-check against Bills passed.
Two layers the corpus systematically lacksMEDIUM SEVERITY · NEW SHEETS, EXISTING CORPUS. Both are perennial exam demands and both went unserved across the paper. The international-institutions layer is absent, and was needed at GS3 Q14 (WTO Agreement on Agriculture) and GS3 Q20 (FATF); FATF appears only in a card's "DEPLOY IN" line, never in any content bucket. The named-regulation layer is thin: the dossiers reliably name schemes and outlays but under-name rules, notifications and their amendments — IT Rules 2021, SWM Rules 2016, the eco-sensitive zone and EIA framework. Fix. Add an India-at-the-WTO sheet and a Digital Governance & Information Integrity sheet. Both can be built from PIB material already inside the window.