The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) conducts the State Level Civil Services Exams for recruiting Sub Divisional Officers, Rural Development Officers, District Sanapark Officers, and other PCS level Officers. The BPSC sets the syllabus for both Prelims and Mains exams. The commission is responsible for recruitment, transfer, and disciplinary matters related to public service in Bihar. Let's take a look at the BPSC Syllabus 2024 for the upcoming BPSC 70th exam.

BPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024

Unlike the other State Service Commissions and UPSC, the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) also conducts the Combined Competitive BPSC Exam in three stages i.e. Prelims, Mains & Interviews. Candidates have to qualify in each stage to get shortlisted for final selection. 

BPSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024
OrganisationBihar Public Service Commission (BPSC)
Exam NameBPSC CCE
Level of ExamState Level
CategorySyllabus & Exam Pattern
BPSC 70th Prelims Exam 202417th November 2024
Negative MarkingPrelims- ⅓ mark
Mains- Nil
Mode of ExamOffline
Selection ProcessPrelims, Mains & Interview
Official websitewww.bpsc.bih.nic.in

BPSC 70th Notification 2024 Out for 1957 Vacancies- Click to Check

BPSC Selection Process 2024

Candidates have to clear each stage to be eligible for the next stage, if candidates clear the prelims, they can give the mains, clearing which they would be summoned for the final stage i.e., an interview for the BPSC CCE 2024 Exam. Candidates can check the stages below.

  • Prelims: One objective-type paper for 150 marks.
  • Mains: Four Papers
  • Interview: 120 marks
BPSC Selection Process 2024
Stages of BPSC ExamType of ExamModeTotal MarksDuration
PrelimsObjectiveOffline1502 Hours
MainsSubjectiveOfflineOne qualifying paper (Hindi)
900 ( 3 Papers of 300 marks each)
3 hours for each Paper
Personal InterviewPhysically PresentOffline120Not Defined

BPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024

The Prelims is qualifying in nature, it is used to select candidates for mains exam. Those who qualify for the Prelims exam are called for BPSC Mains. The marks in Prelims will not be taken into consideration for the final merit list. Before going to the syllabus of the BPSC Prelims Exam candidates must check BPSC Prelims Exam Pattern in the table below.

BPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2024
Name of ExamCombined Competitive Exam
Conducting BodyBihar Public Service Commission ( BPSC )
No of Papers1 – General Studies (150 marks)
Mode of ExamOffline
Exam Duration2 hours
No. of Questions150
Negative Marking⅓ mark
BPSC Prelims Syllabus
  1. General Science
  2. Events of national and international importance
  3. History of Bihar and Indian History
  4. Geography(mainly Geography of Bihar)
  5. Indian Polity and Economy
  6. Changes in the economy of Bihar post-independence
  7. Indian National Movement and the Role of Bihar
  8. General Mental Ability

Important Points:

  1. Marks of paper be considered for qualifying candidates for the mains exam.
  2. There is a negative marking of ⅓ marks in the 70th BPSC Prelims exam.
  3. BPSC Prelims is screening in nature.
  4. Candidates need to score minimum marks as decided by the commission to qualify for the mains exam.
  5. All the questions are set in English and Hindi except for those questions which are meant to test the candidate’s knowledge of English.

BPSC Syllabus 2024 for Prelims Exam

The BPSC syllabus 2024 for the BPSC 70th Prelims exam is the same as that of the previous exams of the BPSC. It covers the aspects of General Science, Polity, Economy, History and the National Movement. The candidates have to go through the syllabus and prepare themselves well because the exam will have questions of a good standard. Here is a detailed syllabus of the BPSC 70th Prelims exam:

  1. General Science (General understanding of science, including matters of everyday observation and experience). The questions on Science and Tech will be such that they do not require subject specialization.
  2. Current Affairs of National/International Importance
  3. History of India and Bihar (General understanding of the subject with the broad aspects of the history of Bihar)
  4. Geography of India and Bihar (Questions will relate to the physical, social and economic geography of the country including the main features of Indian agricultural and natural resources)
  5. General geography and geographical division of Bihar and its major river systems
  6. Indian Polity (Questions will test knowledge on the country’s political system, Panchayati raj, community development and planning in India and Bihar)
  7. Indian economy and economy of Bihar post-independence
  8. Indian Movements and Contribution of Bihar in it (Questions will relate to the nature and character of the 19th century resurgence, growth of nationalism and attainment of Independence with special reference to Bihar)Under Indian Economy and Polity, the questions will cover the following topics:
    Indian Political System
    Panchayati Raj
    Community Development
    Planning in India and Bihar
  9. Under the Indian National Movement, candidates have to focus on the resurgence in the 19th century, the nature and growth of nationalism in India, and India’s independence. Also, the role of Bihar in the Indian National Movement is important from the BPSC exam point of view
  10. Questions based on General Mental Ability

Check BPSC Previous Year Cut-Off Marks

BPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024

The candidates are called for the BPSC main exam only if they qualify in the BPSC Prelims Exam and secure the required cut-off marks as decided by the Commission. Since the BPSC Prelims Exam is qualifying in nature it does not matter what one score. The BPSC Main Exam have a qualifying paper General Hindi. Apart from this, there will be General Studies Paper 1 and General Studies Paper 2 carrying 300 marks each. There will be an Optional Paper that the candidate has chosen earlier while filling the Application Form. The Optional Paper carries 300 marks. The list of the 34 Optional Subjects has been given below.

BPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2024
Stage of ExamName of PaperTotal MarksDuration
Main Exam (Subjective)General Hindi (Qualifying)1003 Hours
General Studies Paper 13003 Hours
General Studies Paper 23003 Hours
Optional Paper3003 Hours

Important Points:

  1. General Hindi Paper is qualifying in nature (30 % Marks required), Its marks will not be considered in the calculation of the merit list.
  2. Questions of General Studies are available in Hindi and English both.
  3. The score will be arrived at by considering the total of 900 marks in GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2 and Optional Paper.
  4. The candidates who are placed suitably in the merit are called for the interview.
  5. There is no negative marking in the descriptive question papers.
  6. Candidates need to attempt all the papers to qualify for the Interview round.
  7. This round is both scoring and qualifying in nature.

BPSC Syllabus 2024 for Mains Exam

The BPSC mains syllabus 2024 for all 4 papers is discussed below.

Qualifying Paper: General Hindi

The paper of General Hindi will be qualifying in nature. The syllabus for the qualifying paper is of the level as that of the Bihar School Education Board (BSEB). The paper will be of 100 marks and subjective in nature, and the distribution of the marks is as follows:

  • Essay: 30 Marks
  • Grammar: 30 Marks
  • Syntax: 25 Marks
  • Summarisation: 15 Marks

Out of the 100 marks, candidates are required to secure the qualifying marks in the paper. For this qualifying paper, a good book of school standards is enough.

General Studies Papers

The BPSC Prelims Exam and the General Hindi paper are just qualifying in nature. The marks scored will not be included in the merit lists. The actual BPSC exam starts now with the General Studies Papers and the Optional Paper. There are two Papers for the General Studies and one for the Optional. Each Paper carries 300 marks making the total marks from all these papers to be 900.

General Studies 1General Studies 2
  1. Indian Culture
  2. Modern History of India
  3. Contemporary events of national and international importance
  4. Statistical Analysis, diagrams and graphs
  1. Indian and Bihar Polity
  2. Indian and Bihar Economy
  3. Indian and Bihar Geography
  4. Role and impact of Science and Technology in the development of India (and Bihar)

Below is the detailed syllabus for the GS Papers and the Optional Paper:

Syllabus of GS Paper 1

Modern History of India and Indian culture (History of the country with special reference to Bihar in the middle of 19th century, the introduction and expansion of western and technical education, Bihar’s role in the Indian freedom struggle, the Santhal Uprising in Bihar, Birsa movement, Champaran Satyagrah, the Quit India Movement, chief features of Mauryan and Pal art, Patna Qulam painting, Roles of Gandhi, Tagore and Nehru)

  1. Role of Bihar in the Indian National Movement
  2. Santhal uprising
  3. 1857 war of independence
  4. Champaran Satyagraha
  5. Quit India Movement 1942

Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams ( Questions to test the ability to draw conclusions from statistical, graphical or diagrammatical information and to point out deficiencies, limitations or inconsistencies)

Syllabus for GS Paper 2

  1. Indian Polity ( Questions based on the political system in India including Bihar)
  2. Indian economy and Geography of India (Questions on planning in India and the physical, economic and social geography of India and Bihar)
  3. The role and impact of science and technology in the development of India (Questions to test awareness of the role and impact of science and technology in India and Bihar with special reference to applied science.

BPSC Optional Subjects

In BPSC Mains, candidates have to select one optional subject out of 34 subjects. There will be only one optional subject exam for 300 marks and the questions will be of Honours Level (3-year course in Patna University). The choices are given below and the syllabus for optional subjects can be viewed in the BPSC Syllabus PDF.

Optional Subjects in BPSC Syllabus are:

  1. English Language and Literature
  2. Urdu Language and Literature
  3. Hindi Language and Literature
  4. Persian Language and Literature
  5. Arabic Language and Literature
  6. Pali Language and Literature
  7. Maithili Language and Literature
  8. Bangla Language and Literature
  9. Sanskrit Language and Literature
  10. Chemistry
  11. Sociology
  12. Physics
  13. Agriculture
  14. Statistics
  15. Botany
  16. Zoology
  17. Philosophy
  18. Political Science and International Relations
  19. Psychology
  20. Public Administration
  21. Labour and Social Welfare
  22. Management
  23. Mathematics
  24. Mechanical Engineering
  25. Geography
  26. Geology
  27. History
  28. Law
  29. Civil Engineering
  30. Economics
  31. Commerce and Accountancy
  32. Electrical Engineering
  33. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
  34. Anthropology

Download BPSC Prelims + Mains Syllabus 2024 PDF 

BPSC Interview Test

Candidates who had qualified for the BPSC Mains Exam would be called for the ‘Interview’ Round. Candidates are interviewed by a Board appointed by the Commission. The main fields checked by the interviewer are given below.

  1. The candidate will be interviewed by a board who will have before them a record of the candidate's career and interests filled by the candidate in the Application Form.
  2. The objective of the interview is to check the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in the state services by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
  3. In the personality test, apart from their academic study, candidates must be aware of the affairs happening both within and outside their state.
  4. The interview is more of a purposeful conversation intended to explore the mental qualities and analytical ability of the candidate.

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BPSC Syllabus 2024: FAQs

Ans. You can download the BPSC Syllabus PDF from the link mentioned in this article to get BPSC Syllabus in Hindi.

Ans. Yes, there is a paper on Hindi language Class XII level [Subjective] in BPSC exam for 100 marks.

Ans. BPSC Prelims exam is based on a single paper General Studies and BPSC Main exam consists of four papers i.e. General Hindi, General Studies Paper-1, General Studies Paper-2 and Optional Paper.

Ans. Yes, Candidates have to attempt one optional subject in the BPSC mains examination.

Ans. Yes, there will be a negative marking of 1/3 mark for each incorrect answer.

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