What is difference between SFG and PTS? And if one is following PTS then can SFG be skipped?
Unlike PTS, SFG offers no flexibility — tests once missed are missed for good. SFG consists of a 1-hour daily test, while PTS provides 2-hour comprehensive, subject-wise tests.
SFG is not a replacement for a Test Series Program. It is built on the pillars of discipline and rigour, as one must write tests daily at 7 AM. This structure helps you complete the syllabus within a definite timeline and gauge your preparation against your peers.
On the other hand, PTS, with its weekly tests conducted throughout the year, allows for systematic practice and consolidation of what you have learned.
If one is following PTS then can SFG be skipped? If you have cleared prelims before — at least twice — you can skip SFG Level 1 and opt for SFG Level 2 to maintain discipline, and combine it with PTS for effective revision. Otherwise, we would suggest to opt for SFG Level 1 along with your ongoing PTS Test series.
I have registered for the entrance Online mode..but where will be the entrance conducted as I can see nothing in my portal
You will receive a mail regarding the same one day before the entrance exam. Kindly follow our SFG Telegram channel and noticeboard for further updates. The link is given below:-
Telegram-Click here
Noticeboard-Click here
I wanted to know if i am an online student so basically i will be the part pf RLG but what if i am consistently working hard will get a chance to participate in discussions? Also RLG people in offline mode will be upgraded to SFG but RLG people in online mode even if they are scoring good can’t be promoted to SFG?
SFG students have the privilege to participate in discussions in both online and offline modes.
RLG students (offline & Online mode), on the other hand, will get access to discussions in online mode only.
Every week, around 50% of the bottom-performing students from SFG are moved to the reserve list (RLG), and an equal number of top-performing RLG students are promoted to SFG.
However, students who join the program in Online Mode will remain part of RLG only and will not be eligible for SFG, as SFG is conducted in Offline Mode exclusively.
If i register for sfg entrance test online will I be able to register for sfg tests in offline mode and is there possibility eventually promoted to sfg from rlg ?
Yes, after selection, you can join the RLG group in offline mode. If you perform well in the first week, you can be promoted to the SFG group in the following week.
Every week, around 50% of the bottom-performing students from SFG are moved to the Reserve List (RLG), and an equal number of top-performing RLG students are promoted to SFG.
The team is working on it. It will be uploaded by 8 PM today.
Sir, please arrange one centre in Mumbai for SFG tests. There are at least 40–50 aspirants waiting for it. There is one centre at Dadar for simulators, but none for SFG tests. It would be of great help.
Please check now. We have already added the Mumbai centre on the registration page. Click on the link-academy.forumias.com/events
I have following doubts
1. Taking sfg1 and then 2 will also give access to simulator or do we need to enroll and buy simulator over and above sfg.
2. Will current affairs question be covered in sfg questions.
3. Will sfg prelims magazine provide
1) You will need to purchase the Simulator separately.
2) There will be no current affairs questions in SFG Level 1, but they will be covered in SFG Level 2.
3) No
No Bhubaneswar centre for SFG? There is one for simulators so why not for SFG?@farejul Can you look into it?
Okay
How to prepare for sfg plz someone guide me
What will you get in Entrance Test?
- The duration of the test will be 1 hour. It will have both GS and CSAT questions.
- There will be 50 questions. For every correct question, there will be 2 marks, and for incorrect questions, there will be a negative marking of -0.67
- It is expected that candidates will have gone through the basic books and are aware of the concepts across different subjects.
- For GS part, you can expect a judicious mix of questions from Polity (8 Questions), Economy (8 Questions), History and Art & Culture (4 Questions), Environment (4 Questions), Science & Technology (4 Questions) and Indian geography (6 Questions). For Current Affairs (6 Questions), questions will be asked from the last 3 months i.e., August, September and October 2025.
- For CSAT part, a total of 10 questions from Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, and Aptitude will be asked. The previous year's question paper from 2013 can be used as a reference point for preparing these topics.
Sir, will we get a link for the online entrance exam tomorrow? I am not able to find where the exam will be held on the website.@farejul
You will receive a mail regarding the same today by 7 PM. We kindly request your patience.
Please follow our SFG noticeboard for further updates.
Sir, will we get a link for the online entrance exam tomorrow? I am not able to find where the exam will be held on the website.@farejul
Same problem.
You will receive a mail regarding the same today by 7 PM. We kindly request your patience.
Please follow our SFG noticeboard for further updates.
Dear Students,
SFG 2026 Level-1 Entrance Test-1 will be held at its scheduled time, i.e. 16th Nov. 2025 at 9:30 AM.
Hall Tickets are available to Download, visit:https://info.forumias.com/
If you have any query, please fill out the query form:https://go.forumias.com/sfg-1-hallticket-queries
Sir, I gave today’s SFG test in the online mode, but on your portal it is written that if the test is taken online, then selection will not be in SFG; it will be in RLG. Sir, I had no idea about this because the venue section was also showing an online mode option. Sir, is there any solution now?”
Online test takers who are selected will be part of RLG. They can do RLG in online or offline mode.
Get the whole purpose correct - there is a chance of cheating in online mode. If sfg selection is promised in online mode, people will get 90+ marks.
Dear Team ForumIAS,I was unfortunately unable to take the scheduled online exam on November 16th due to unavoidable logistical issues. I sincerely regret missing the test, as I am very keen to join the SFG program.I kindly request permission to appear for the next entrance test scheduled for December 7th, and I would prefer to take it in the offline mode at your Chandigarh centre.I would be grateful if you could consider my request.Thank you for your understanding.
Kindly drop a mail to me at farej@flaviant.com with details
Sfg entrance answerkey & result.....???
We are not providing the answer key because this is an entrance exam.
SFG 2026 Level-1 Entrance Test-1 Result is out. To check your result, visit:https://forumias.com/blog/sfg-2026-level-1-entrance-test-1-result/
@farejul Sir I have sent please check.
Noted
Hello sir, I’m a little confused about the structure/rules of the exam. Suppose I gave the entrance test at an offline centre in Delhi and got selected in RFG. If after the first week I’m promoted to SFG then I’ll be allowed to give the test at the centre? Is that right?
Suppose, you are selected in RLG. you can attend RLG in either online or offline mode.
I have a query, I have been selected for RLG online but I wanted to know the test in the online mode will be conducted the same way entrance test was conducted like one question on the screen, mark it then slide will change and attempt the next. Because if you can provide the pdf of the test at 7 am, I can solve it the way actual exam is conducted. The way entrance test was conducted, it doesn't feel like I am giving mocks, the experience is different. I can upload the very clear picture of omr exact at 8 am, please help sir. I would have joined in offline mode but I am preparing from my home. Kindly help.
Just like you attempted the entrance exam on the screen, the regular tests will also be conducted in the same manner.
However, the question paper will be uploaded5 minutes before the testin PDF format.
You may take a printout for your self-practice, butyou must submit your answers on the screen only.
Only then your result will be generated.
Sir, does this mean that we have to pay the fee on or before 22nd November only? Cannot it be payed beyond this date and time? Like in first week of December?
Yes, you can pay the fee beyond the given date, but a penalty charge will be applicable.
@farejul Sir, the motive of the test is to prepare for prelims by replicating the experience. If I solve the downloaded pdf on an omr sheet between the 7 am to 8 and try to solve it like 5-10 minutes early and then mark the answers in the screen, I guess the questions and options will be in the same order then only it can work, please clarify. Or if there is any way I can share the omr, please let me know. This marking on the screen will be an extra thing and probably won't help. Kindly help.
Resolved
Sir, does this mean that we have to pay the fee on or before 22nd November only? Cannot it be payed beyond this date and time? Like in first week of December?
Yes, you can pay the fee beyond the given date, but a penalty charge will be applicable.
Sir, if you could specify the penalty amount, it would be of great help. Keeping in mind that the fee would be payed on 1st of December.
Okay, I will speak to the management, and we will extend the payment deadline for a few days.
I have a query, I have been selected for RLG online but I wanted to know the test in the online mode will be conducted the same way entrance test was conducted like one question on the screen, mark it then slide will change and attempt the next. Because if you can provide the pdf of the test at 7 am, I can solve it the way actual exam is conducted. The way entrance test was conducted, it doesn't feel like I am giving mocks, the experience is different. I can upload the very clear picture of omr exact at 8 am, please help sir. I would have joined in offline mode but I am preparing from my home. Kindly help.Just like you attempted the entrance exam on the screen, the regular tests will also be conducted in the same manner.
However, the question paper will be uploaded5 minutes before the testin PDF format.
You may take a printout for your self-practice, butyou must submit your answers on the screen only.
Only then your result will be generated.
Sir, few days back I called the phone support number and a lady operator mentioned that for Online RLG mode, one has to attempt the questions online only on the portal itself( similar to what you are saying that we can attempt the questions on screen only) and no PDF of the question paper will be provided before the starting of the test that can be downloaded, as I clearly asked if before the test will we get an option to download the PDF of the QP, she strictly said no to it.
However, you are mentioning here that we can download the PDF of the QP at around 6:55 am, print it out and then solve it manually; the only thing concerning here is we have to submit the answers on the online portal window, for rank calculation.
Now my question is, let’s suppose for a particular test, at 6:50 AM , I get Set A QP for download, which I will solve manually in a Q1 to Q50 sequence after downloading.
Now when the test starts at 7 AM, on portal, the questions will follow the sequence similar to that of the Set A QP PDF that I downloaded at 6:50 am? Or can it differ? For example, Q1 on PDF is on Preamble of IC, so on portal too, the Q1 will be the same question on Preamble only or will the questions on Portal follow some other sequence?
I hope this has clarified your concern.
Sir, does this mean that we have to pay the fee on or before 22nd November only? Cannot it be payed beyond this date and time? Like in first week of December?
Yes, you can pay the fee beyond the given date, but a penalty charge will be applicable.
Sir, if you could specify the penalty amount, it would be of great help. Keeping in mind that the fee would be payed on 1st of December.
Okay, I will speak to the management, and we will extend the payment deadline for a few days.
@farejul yes sir, that would be very helpful as we get monthly expenses from parents in the first week of month.
Noted
, please clarify whether the online rlg selected students can get the pdf of the question paper 5 min prior to the test. The way we gave the entrance was more on lines with an online exam. But in our case, we have to give an offline paper-marking on omr...so that time management also has to be practiced. In Offline papers, atleast we can get to glance through the entire paper once. It is easy to attempt those questions which we are confident of when they are visible at once. And that's how it is to be done in the actual exam also.
So please provide the pdf beforehand just a few minutes back. So that atleast we don't have to click everytime for next question and just scroll easily and attempt accordingly.
The question paper will be uploaded 5 minutes before the test in PDF format, i.e., at exactly 6:55 AM, and it will remain available for only 5 minutes. You can download the question paper from the portal.
@farejul i gave sfg exam in online mode but my name is not in the pdf- neither selected nor rejected??
Your rank is 87. Kindly check properly
Sir, does this mean that we have to pay the fee on or before 22nd November only? Cannot it be payed beyond this date and time? Like in first week of December?
Yes, you can pay the fee beyond the given date, but a penalty charge will be applicable.
Sir, if you could specify the penalty amount, it would be of great help. Keeping in mind that the fee would be payed on 1st of December.
Okay, I will speak to the management, and we will extend the payment deadline for a few days.
Sir, could you please provide an update on extension of the payment deadline.
Yes, It will be done
@farejul could you please provide update regarding the extension of payment deadline for level 1 sfg program. It is still reflecting 22nd nov as the last date for fees payment on the website. Will their be an extension or not?
It will be done by 8 PM
How to downloador print SFG level 1 schedule. It's only coming as webpage. I don't have access to internet everytime and would like to printout the option for which isn't enabled by Forum.
We do not provide the SFG schedule in PDF format because topics are subject to updates from time to time. Therefore, you are requested to regularly check the daily syllabus in the Excel sheet only.
