Introduction

When we talk about UPSC CSE, some of the words that come to our mind are unpredictable, rigorous, laborious, difficult and many more. These words define the very nature of the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Since this exam demands continuity in dedicated efforts to get through and for those who want to attempt the Prelims examination next year (2026), it is the right time to begin its preparations sincerely. This exam demands more than just academic prowess and the path to success in this highly competitive examination is paved through with dedication, resilience, and strategic guidance.

Given the vastness of the syllabus, unpredictable nature and requirement of continuous motivation to keep going on for this exam, the importance of a helping hand can never be understated. To embark upon this journey, we are here to provide you with a trusted helping hand to support and give a defining direction to your preparations. These trusted helping hands are not just your mentors; they are companions on the aspirants' journey, offering motivation, encouragement, and a roadmap to success.

Recognizing the significance of a mentor's role in shaping aspirants for success, our Mentorship Programme stands as a beacon of support, offering a bridge between aspirants and the success sought in the field of UPSC CSE. Our Mentorship Programme is meticulously designed to address the unique challenges posed by the UPSC CSE during its different stages.

Keeping this in mind, we at Drishti IAS are starting Drishti Mentorship Programme (Foundation)-2026 for the students who are going to appear for this examination in 2026.

What is Drishti Mentorship Programme (Foundation)-2026?

DMP (F)-2026 is a 10-Months long Mentorship Programme aimed at different aspects of the student’s preparation. This programme will focus on the overall skills development of students regarding Prelims, Mains and Interviews that include good revisions, retention, ability to recall, representative answer writing, etc. The programme involves regular tests, value-added notes, group discussions, public speaking, hand holding for Mains answer writing and much more. All this help will be provided with the help of a team of mentors and teachers.

We intend to work on the analytical part of this preparation which includes concepts along with facts-learning and maximum retention of both. The idea is to prepare a student to face the hurdle of Prelims and then qualify in Mains and Interview with flying colors.

Highlights of the Programme:

• Regular Tests (Prelims and Mains)
• Mentors
• Well-Equipped Library Facility (Available from September)
• Value Added Notes
• Regular Group Discussions
• GS and CSAT Quick Batch
• Doubt Clearing Sessions

Facilities Available under the Programme:

• Subject-wise Daily Schedule: 
• The programme is designed in such a way that a candidate can revise the whole syllabus along with the regular practice of prelims and mains tests.  
• Daily study plan for each subject including CSAT with regular tests. 
• Coverage of basic NCERTs, Drishti Notes and standard reference books in the schedule. 
• Students will be given access to the Drishti Prelims Test Series-2026. 
• Weekly Tests of both Prelims & Mains (GS, CSAT and Optional subjects*). 
• Mentorship Tests (Prelims) (Till October) 
• The total number of Tests will be 21 Tests where 13 will be of GS and 8 will be of CSAT. 
  • All 13 GS Tests will be Full-Length (100 Questions) tests. Current Affairs and Mapping Questions will be included in these tests. 
  • Out of 8 CSAT tests, 6 will be of Half Length and 2 will be Full-Length (80 Questions). 
• Mentorship Tests (Mains) 
  • A total of 13 Mains Tests (GS Based) and 3 Essay Tests will be conducted during the Programme. 
  • All 13 Tests will be Full-Length. 
  • 6 Optional Tests (available at Drishti) will be full-length only. 
  • Essay Tests will be of Full Length (8 Questions each) only. 
• Mentors Facility: 
  • Regular One to One Mentoring Sessions. 
  • Test Discussions & Doubt Clearing Sessions. 
  • GS and CSAT mentors will be available for students in the library.  
  • Mains-related strategy discussions with a special focus on answer writing skill development. 
• Value-Addition Notes: 
  • The students will receive value added notes in their accounts on Drishti Learning App to brush up on their content and value-add it. 
  • Students can access them through their accounts on Drishti Learning App. 
• Quick Revision Classes:  
  • With the approaching Prelims, we will be providing you with access to Quick Revision Classes for General Studies as well as CSAT. 
  • These classes will help you revise different subjects quickly. 
• Other Classes and Sessions 
  • Ethics and Essay Crash Course Video Lectures by Dr Vikas Divyakriti 
  • Answer Writing Sessions 
  • Approach for Prelims Session (Prelims Test Series Analysis) 
  • Notes Making (Importance and Approach) 
  • Compulsory Faculty Sessions of covered syllabus at a fixed schedule  
• Making the Manthan Programme more proactive and increasing Manthan’s frequency and inculcating it into the Mentorship Programme/Making some events like  public speaking, debates and group discussions a regular part of the curriculum of the students. Active involvement of students will be required for this. 
• Mental Health Counselling of students to deal with the other half of students' preparations where we consider studying as the first half. 

Modes of Mentorship Programme:  

This programme will be available in offline and online mode.   

Note: Kindly note that the library facility will only be available from September 2025. However, students will still be able to meet their mentors at their designated centres.  

Validity of the Programme:

This programme will run till mid-October. After that, students of DMP (F)-2026 will be merged with the Drishti Mentorship Programme (Integrated)-2026 starting from October and Drishti Mentorship Programme (Prelims)-2026 starting Mid January, provided the student’s performance is up to the mark in the disciplinary and performance criteria set by the management.  

Discipline and Rules

The Mentorship Programme will be organised based on a Daily Study Schedule given to the students. Only those students who demonstrate discipline and commitment will make it to the end.  

The Mentorship programme demands hard work and strict discipline from the students which will be helpful for them in achieving their goals easily. Candidates enrolled in this programme must meet the following conditions: 

1. They will have to appear in all the tests of the programme. 90% attendance in the tests is a benchmark accepted under the programme. 
2. They will be eligible to appear in the next test only if they have appeared in the previous test. Only in rare circumstances, they will be given additional time to appear in the test. 
3. If it is found that a student is not taking the programme seriously in terms of attendance, performance or participation of the students, he/she will be warned. If there is no improvement, the management reserves the right to de-register the student from the programme. 
4. Any further clarifications on these rules will be provided to you during the programme.  

Note: In order to continue as a part of this programme, the candidates will have to prove their seriousness in regular examinations. If they do not fulfil the disciplinary rules of this programme then the management shall reserve the right to dispel such students from this programme.   

Note: For the Programmes to be run after this- 

• Mid-October to Mid January: We will be running DMP (Foundation)-2026 till mid-october. After this, we will start with DMP (Integrated)-2026 and the students of DMP (F)-2026 will be merged with DMP (I)-2026 
• Mid-January 2026 to May 2026: We will be running Drishti Mentorship Programme (Prelims) during this time. Only those students will be admitted to Drishti Mentorship Programme (Prelims)-2026 [DMP (P)-2026] (Prelims Exam Special) whose performance (in tests, punctuality and remarks of mentors) matches the criteria prescribed by the management. 
• June to September 2026: Only those students who qualify the UPSC Civil Services Prelims Examination-2026 will be admitted to Drishti Mentorship Programme (Mains)-DMP (M)-2026 (Main Examination Special). 

Admission Process:

• The admission to this programme can be taken in the following ways: 
  • For admission to the Online Programme, the course of the same can be purchased from Drishti Learning App or drishtilearningapp.com.  
  • For admission to the Offline Programme, the student needs to visit the centre (Karol Bagh, Noida, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur) where he/she wants to take admission and complete the admission-related formalities. 
  • The students who qualify the Induction Test will get free of cost access to this programme (Online access only). Kindly request students who have appeared for the DMP(F) Induction Test conducted on July 6, 2025, to wait for the results to be declared prior to purchasing the course. Please note no refund requests will be entertained.

Fee Structure: 

 Important Documents: 

• Please make sure to have the documents mentioned below ready with you before visiting the centre (for queries): 
  • Original Copy of Govt ID (Aadhar Card, Voter ID, PAN Card, Driving license, etc.) in digital form (jpg, png, pdf). 
  • Latest Passport Size Photo (jpg, png, pdf). 
  • Drishti ID Card, if you are a Drishti student (jpg, png, pdf). 

Contact Details

In case of any difficulty, please contact us through the following means. 

• Email: care@groupdrishti.in
• Mobile: 8750187501