Mid-September 2026 is a strange moment to be an MTS aspirant. Every notice board, every coaching channel and every WhatsApp group is full of CGL, because SSC announced on 12 September that CGL Tier-1 runs from 30 September to 30 October, and that has swallowed the entire conversation. Meanwhile the MTS cycle sits quietly behind it, and the tracking sites disagree with each other about where exactly it stands. We are not going to add to that noise by printing a date we cannot stand behind. What we can give you is the part that does not change: the Multi Tasking Staff and Havaldar paper has a distinctive two-session structure with two different negative-marking rules, and understanding that structure is worth more to you right now than refreshing a rumour page. Below is what the paper actually is, what that means for how you attempt it, and how to keep preparing usefully while the calendar sorts itself out.
The MTS Computer-Based Exam runs as two sessions on the same day, each question carrying 3 marks, for 270 marks in total. Session-I (40 questions, 120 marks) carries no negative marking. Session-II (50 questions, 150 marks) carries a deduction of 1 mark per wrong answer. Both sessions are compulsory, and Session-II is evaluated only for candidates who meet the qualifying standard in Session-I. Havaldar posts in CBIC and CBN additionally require a Physical Efficiency Test and Physical Standard Test. Always confirm the section timings, qualifying marks and physical standards against the official notification PDF for your own cycle on ssc.gov.in - these details have been revised before.
MTS is a computer-based exam and the screen is where candidates lose marks they had already earned - misclicking, losing track of the section clock, forgetting to mark for review. SSCIntel's free full mocks put you in front of a real CBE interface with sectional locks and live marking, so the machinery stops being a distraction long before your actual date is announced.
Roughly 29,000 of the questions in the bank are genuine previous-year SSC questions carried with the Commission's own answer keys. For MTS that is particularly useful, because the paper leans on familiar arithmetic, standard reasoning patterns and a General Awareness taste that repeats across SSC's exams. Practising on what was actually asked beats practising on someone's imitation of it.
Because Session-I has no negative marking and Session-II deducts a full mark out of three, the correct attempting behaviour is different in each half of the same exam. That is an easy thing to know and a hard thing to execute under pressure, which is precisely what mocks are for - rehearse attempting everything in Session-I and being selective in Session-II until it is automatic rather than a decision you make while nervous.
When your exam has no confirmed date, the real risk is drifting for a month and then cramming. The Daily Practice Paper is about twenty minutes with a streak and a daily leaderboard, which keeps you warm without demanding a full mock every day. The free tier includes eight AI tutor messages a day in Hindi or English and one AI analysis a week; paid plans start at Rs 499 a month or Rs 2,999 a year if you want an analysis after every mock.
We are deliberately not printing a date here, because third-party trackers currently disagree with each other about the 2026 MTS timeline and a wrong date on this page would be worse than no date at all. The only source worth trusting is the Notice Board and Examination Calendar at ssc.gov.in, plus your own candidate login if you have already applied. Check it directly this week, and check it again after the CGL window settles, since the Commission's announcements tend to come in clusters.
Structurally it is a different exam, not a smaller one. MTS runs as two sessions on the same day with 3 marks per question and 270 marks in total, rather than CGL's single 60-minute paper of 100 questions for 200 marks. Session-I is only numerical ability and reasoning - no English at all - while Session-II carries General Awareness and English. Session-II is evaluated only if you meet the qualifying standard in Session-I, so a weak first session cannot be rescued by a strong second one.
In Session-I there is no deduction for a wrong answer, which means a blank is strictly worse than a guess - leave nothing unattempted in those 40 questions. Session-II deducts 1 mark against a 3-mark question, which is a steep one-third penalty, so guess there only when you have genuinely eliminated two of the four options and never on a question from an area you have not studied. Practise this split until it is reflex, because switching your instinct halfway through an exam day is harder than it sounds.
Only if you are a candidate for the Havaldar posts in CBIC and CBN, which require a Physical Efficiency Test and a Physical Standard Test in addition to the written exam. Candidates for the Multi Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff posts do not. The exact walking distances and physical standards are specified in the Commission's notification, and they differ by gender and by category - read the PDF for your own cycle rather than a summary, because these particulars have been revised between cycles.
Yes, and if you have a CGL Tier-1 date inside the 30 September to 30 October window then CGL simply comes first - sit that paper, then return to MTS with the whole of November available. The overlap is real: reasoning, arithmetic and General Awareness carry across almost entirely, and the main adjustment is the different paper structure rather than different material. English is the one place where MTS asks for less than CGL does, so it is a sensible section to keep ticking over rather than to drill hard.
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