SFG 2026 Level-2 starts from 6th March 2026
Dear Students,
ForumIAS is going to start with its Select Focus Group (SFG) 2026 Level-2tentatively from6th March 2026.
As we move closer to Prelims examination schedule for 24th May 2026; February is the most optimum time to kickstart your prelims preparation especially for those for whom Prelims has become a roadblock.
What is Select Focus Group?
SFG is arigorous test based learning program for prelimsthat focuses on discipline, consistency, and daily practice. Students are evaluated throughdaily tests and ranked accordingly. SFG is based on philosophy of:
- Discipline: Tests are conducted at 7 AM irrespective of conditions. Students are penalized for late coming.
- Rigorous Testing: Daily tests (5 days a week) with negative marking ensure discipline and commitment.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Our tests are conducted subject wise and chapter wise covering the entire Prelims syllabus, ensuring you don't miss any important topic. This also helps create a dedicated and planned revision timetable for you.
- Selective Entry and elimination of non-serious aspirants at different level: Only the most dedicated students are selected for SFG, creating a highly competitive and motivating environment.
SFG every year is conducted over two levels:
Level 1: conducted generally from December end to February. It seeks to ensure 1st revision prelims from recommended sources like NCERT, Laxmikant etc. along with daily evaluation. The question ensure completion of static portion of syllabus with questions being asked in a manner to ensure revision.
Level 2: conducted generally from March to April end. It replicates UPSC pattern questions and helps student level up their problem-solving skills in line with what is required for Prelims Examination. The questions are dynamic incorporate current affairs and interlinkages of topics.
SFG – How it works?
Admission to SFG is only through entrance test conducted by ForumIAS. Based on entrance test performance, students are divided into two groups i.e. SFG (top 100 students from entrance test) and Reserve List group (RLG) (students who do not qualify for SFG).Admission will not be granted on any other grounds.
SFG and RLG students will be required to report at 7 AM every day 5 days a week to write an hour-long test based on a pre-planned syllabus, followed by a discussion on the same. SFG students will have privilege to get discussion in online as well as offline mode. RLG students will get discussion in online mode only.
Results are provided within 8 hours of the test with a Name and Rank list for candidates to evaluate their daily performance. On the basis of ranks, about 50% of bottom-performing students from SFG are migrated to the reserve list on a weekly basis, and an equal number of students from reserve list (RLG) are moved into SFG.
Please note that this migration is done not keeping in mind the overall merit list but moving away from the bottom 50% from SFG and picking up an equal number of aspirants from RLG. Thus, those who may be getting more marks than RLG students but are in the bottom 50 in SFG will be moved to RLG.
After 1st month completion and before the 2nd months starts, the bottom 20% or so non-performing students are eliminated from the program to maintain the quality of competition.
Students who join the program in Online Mode, will be part of RLG only and not be selected for SFG. SFG is available in Offline Mode only.
Important Dates and Updates:
Registration for Entrance Exam Starts: 10th January 2026 at 5 PM
SFG 2026 Official Noticeboard: https://blog.forumias.com/sfg/
Entrance Test-1: 1st February 2026 | 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Entrance Test Results: 5th February 2026 | 8 PM
Entrance Test Registrations: https://academy.forumias.com/events/
SFG 2026 Level-2 Program Starts: 6th March 2026 at 7 AM
Please Note:
- If you have any clash with any other exam, you will get an opportunity to write the second entrance exam. Only those students will have the opportunity to write the specific entrance who will email other exam hall ticket to farej@flaviant.com.
- The Program is available in both Online mode and Offline mode at 10+ Centers. Click Here to see the available Test Centers.
- The tests will be supplemented with comprehensive discussions. As a privilege, the students selected in SFG will be eligible to get discussion in Online mode and Offline at New Delhi, Karol Bagh Centre. The student selected into RLG will be eligible to watch the online discussion on their portal only.
How do I apply for Select Focus Group?
- The program will commence from 6th March 2026, admissions to which will be entrance test based. The Entrance Test-1 will be conducted on 1st February 2026 in both online and offline mode. The results of the Entrance Test will be announced by 5th February 2026.
- Admission to the SFG and RLG are based on the rank of the candidate in the merit list of the SFG Entrance Test. Students can apply for the program by registering for the Entrance Test.
- Candidates can register by visiting https://academy.forumias.com/events/. The candidate must appear for the entrance test on the designated date and time, subsequent to which he/she will be admitted to the Select Focus Group or the Reserve List.
- 100 students will be selected for SFG. Those who appear for the offline entrance for the program, only the top 100 will be selected for SFG, while the rest will be part of RLG. Students appearing for the entrance test in online mode may only be selected for RLG. Those who do not meet the cut-off for the program will not have an opportunity to join the SFG 2026 Level-1 Program.
- The rank list of online and offline students will be published separately.
- The candidate must pay the program fee as per the group he/she is allocated.
Here are some updates with respect to the SFG 2026 Level-2 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., October, November and December 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.
- The entrance test will check the aspirant’s problem-solving aptitude within the provided time.
Ananya_Kalita,
When Did Access to a Question Paper Become a Luxury?
I have enrolled in the Prelims Test Series (11th January, English, online). Since I am preparing from home, I do not have access to a physical test center. To simulate real exam conditions, I usually get the question paper printed and attempt the test in a library using an OMR sheet, and then submit my responses online for evaluation and analysis.
However, I have been requesting the team since 20/01/2026 to enable the download option for the question paper before attempting the test, as the portal currently does not allow downloading the paper unless the test is attempted online first. Unfortunately, there has been no resolution so far.
I would like to clarify that I am completely fine if the answers are not available before attempting the test, but I at least need access to the question paper so that I can attempt it in hard copy under exam-like conditions. The team has suggested submitting the test blank(without attempting) and then downloading the paper, but that approach does not allow access to the post-test analysis, which defeats the very purpose of enrolling in a test series.
To be honest, I could have easily accessed the question paper through Telegram or other sources. However, what genuinely helped me last year was the post-test analysis, which allowed me to identify my weak areas and improve systematically. That is the primary reason I rely on the official portal rather than informal sources.
I genuinely fail to understand how enabling a simple question paper download optionis such a major issue that I have been made to wait since 20/01/2026 and am now compelled to reach out through a community post.
If someone wants to cheat and score well in a test, they will find ways to do so regardless of such restrictions—but ultimately, such practices do not lead to selection. Unfortunately, because of this rigid “no download” policy, students preparing from remote areas like me are the ones facing unnecessary difficulties.
I sincerely request the concerned team to look into this matter and provide a practical solution for those who depend on offline practice but still want to benefit from proper evaluation and analysis.
Thank you.
PS - The team has blocked me from creating community post, so I am forced to write here.
@Neyawn sir
When Did Access to a Question Paper Become a Luxury?
I have enrolled in the Prelims Test Series (11th January, English, online). Since I am preparing from home, I do not have access to a physical test center. To simulate real exam conditions, I usually get the question paper printed and attempt the test in a library using an OMR sheet, and then submit my responses online for evaluation and analysis.
However, I have been requesting the team since 20/01/2026 to enable the download option for the question paper before attempting the test, as the portal currently does not allow downloading the paper unless the test is attempted online first. Unfortunately, there has been no resolution so far.
I would like to clarify that I am completely fine if the answers are not available before attempting the test, but I at least need access to the question paper so that I can attempt it in hard copy under exam-like conditions. The team has suggested submitting the test blank(without attempting) and then downloading the paper, but that approach does not allow access to the post-test analysis, which defeats the very purpose of enrolling in a test series.
To be honest, I could have easily accessed the question paper through Telegram or other sources. However, what genuinely helped me last year was the post-test analysis, which allowed me to identify my weak areas and improve systematically. That is the primary reason I rely on the official portal rather than informal sources.
I genuinely fail to understand how enabling a simple question paper download optionis such a major issue that I have been made to wait since 20/01/2026 and am now compelled to reach out through a community post.
If someone wants to cheat and score well in a test, they will find ways to do so regardless of such restrictions—but ultimately, such practices do not lead to selection. Unfortunately, because of this rigid “no download” policy, students preparing from remote areas like me are the ones facing unnecessary difficulties.
I sincerely request the concerned team to look into this matter and provide a practical solution for those who depend on offline practice but still want to benefit from proper evaluation and analysis.
Thank you.
PS - The team has blocked me from creating community post, so I am forced to write here.
@Neyawn sir
The question paper will be uploaded 5 minutes before the test in PDF format, i.e., at exactly 9:25 AM, and it will remain available for only 5 minutes.
You may take a printout for your self-practice from the portal, but you must submit your answers on the screen only.
Only then your result will be generated.
SFG Is really delivering and Helping me Completing my syllabus and I can really see changes in my ranks.
But....
I don't understand the reason for paying registration fees again for SFG lvl2 if you are already part of level 1 and subscribed for both the months. I'm all for sunk cost fallacy, to a create tendency to continue for next month if money/effort has been invested, But this is literally "Drip Pricing" kinda thing ( Which i learned in SFG test itself). All I am saying is atleast don't charge those who are regular and doing it diligently.
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