BPSC Exam Pattern - Combined Competitive Exam (Prelims, Mains, Interview)

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) conducts recruitment exams to fill up vacancies in the state administration. The BPSC Exam Pattern of the respective exams can be found on the official website and in the notification/advertisement. The 68th Combined Competitive (mains) Exam has been conducted and the commission has announced the date of 30th September for 69th Combined Competitive (Prelims) Exam.

In this article, you can find the updated and detailed exam pattern of the BPSC Combined Competitive Exam.

As per the BPSC Exam Pattern, there will be the following three stages in the 69th Combined Competitive Exam, 2024:

1. Prelims
2. Mains
3. Interview

The exam pattern of state service exams is modelled on the IAS Exam (conducted by the Union Public Service Commission).

The candidates can know about the BPSC Mains Exam Pattern in detail from the below table. Knowing the exam pattern of the exam is the first step of any preparation.

Note:

The BPSC Admit Card for the examination will be out almost three weeks prior to the date of the examination. It is important for the candidates to keep a check on the release of the admit card as it is a hall ticket to be carried to the examination centre. Candidates can get all related details about BPSC Admit Card in the linked article.

The detailed exam pattern of Bihar PSC is given below.

BPSC Exam Pattern

The salient aspects of the BPSC exam pattern are:

1. The first stage i.e. Prelims is a screening test
2. Candidates have to apply online before the last date given in the notification
3. The Prelims exam comprises one paper (General Studies)
4. The BPSC Prelims is for a total of 150 marks and the exam duration is 2 hours.
5. As per the exam pattern, all questions in Prelims will be of objective type(MCQs)
6. There is no negative marking in BPSC Prelims
7. The Prelims Syllabus contains the following topics:
   1. General Science
   2. Events of national and international importance
   3. History of Bihar and Indian History
   4. Geography
   5. Geography of Bihar
   6. Indian Polity and Economy
   7. Changes in the economy of Bihar post-independence
   8. Indian National Movement and Role of Bihar
   9. General Mental Ability

BPSC Syllabus:- Download PDF Here

Quick Facts about BPSC Prelims

1. 1. The minimum qualifying marks in Prelims are:
      1. General Category – 40%
      2. BC – 36.5%
      3. OBC – 34%
      4. Women/SC/ST/PwD – 32%
   2. Among the candidates who score above the minimum qualifying marks, the final list of candidates selected for BPSC Mains will be prepared based on the number of vacancies
   3. After the Prelims Result is declared, the selected candidates have to fill and submit the application form for BPSC Mains.
   4. Candidates can check the BPSC results in detail in the linked article.
   5. As per the exam pattern of BPSC Mains, there are four exam papers:
      1. General Hindi – 100 marks (Minimum qualifying marks – 30 marks)
      2. General Studies Paper 1 – 300 marks
      3. General Studies Paper 2 – 300 marks
      4. One Optional Subject – 300 marks

Candidates can also go through the complete IAS Syllabus and prepare an integrated preparation strategy.

BPSC Optional Subjects

Candidates have to select one of the following 34 optional subjects:

Check the success rates of different optional subjects in UPSC Mains.

Quick Facts about BPSC Mains

1. The duration of each paper in Mains will be of 3 hrs
2. The questions in the Mains exam will be of descriptive-essay type
3. Candidates can write the answers in one of the following languages depending on the stated preference in the application:
   1. Hindi
   2. Urdu
   3. English
4. The minimum qualifying marks in BPSC Mains are:
   1. General Category – 40%
   2. BC – 36.5%
   3. OBC – 34%
   4. Women/SC/ST/PwD – 32%
5. Candidates who clear the Mains stage will be called for an interview. As per the BPSC Exam Pattern, the interview will be of 120 marks
6. The final merit list will be made based on the candidates’ marks in Mains and Interview
7. For more information on BPSC, check the links given below:
   1. BPSC Eligibility Criteria
   2. BPSC Study Material
   3. BPSC Notification 
   4. BPSC Exam Dates

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