BPSC Syllabus 2022
Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) is one of the most reputed State Level Civil Services Exam conducted for recruitment to multiple posts such as Sub Divisional Officer, Rural Development Officer, District Sanapark Officer and other PCS level Officers etc. The BPSC Syllabus is set by the Bihar Public Service Commission. BPSC Prelims and Mains Syllabus are set by the Bihar Public Service Commission. The commission is constitutionally incorporated to assist the Bihar State Government in matters of recruitment, transfer, and disciplinary matters, of public service in the state. Let have a look at the BPSC Syllabus for upcoming exams.
Like the other State Service Commission and UPSC, BPSC also conducts the Combined Competitive BPSC Exam in three stages. Candidates can check the stages below.
Prelims: One objective type paper for 150 marks.
Mains: Four Papers
Interview: 120 marks
Stage of BPSC Exam Type of Exam Mode Total Marks Duration
Prelims Objective Offline 150 2 Hours
Mains Subjective Offline
One qualifying paper (Hindi)
900 ( 3 Papers of 300 marks each)
3 Hours for each Paper
Personal Interview Physically Present Offline 120 Not Defined
Candidates have to clear each stage in order 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., interview of the BPSC CCEExam.
The Prelims is the qualifying in nature, it is basically used to screen out the non-serious candidates. 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
Name of Exam Combined Competitive Exam
Conducting Body Bihar Public Service Commission ( BPSC )
No of Papers 1 – General Studies (150 marks)
Duration 2 hours
BPSC Syllabus
General Science
Events of national and international importance
History of Bihar and Indian History
Geography(mainly Geography of Bihar)
Indian Polity and Economy
Changes in the economy of Bihar post-independence
Indian National Movement and the Role of Bihar
General Mental Ability.
Important Points:
Marks of paper be considered for qualifying candidates for the mains exam.
There is no negative marking in BPSC Prelims exam.
BPSC Prelims is screening in nature.
Candidates need to score minimum marks as decided by the commission to qualify for the mains exam.
All the questions are set in English and Hindi except for those questions which are meant to test the candidate’s knowledge of English.
The syllabus for the BPSC 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 Prelims Exam:
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.
Current Affairs of National/International importance
History of India and Bihar (General understanding of the subject with the broad aspects of the history of Bihar)
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)
General geography and geographical division of Bihar and its major river systems
Indian polity (Questions will test knowledge on the country’s political system, Panchayati raj, community development and planning in India and Bihar)
Indian economy and economy of Bihar post-independence
Indian Movements and Contribution of Bihar in it (Question 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
Under Indian National Movement, candidates have to focus on the resurgence in the 19th century, 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
Questions based on General Mental Ability
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.
Stage of Exam Name of Paper Total Marks Duration
Main Exam (Subjective) General Hindi (Qualifying) 100 3 Hours
General Studies Paper 1 300 3 Hours
General Studies Paper 2 300 3 Hours
Optional Paper 300 3 Hours
Important Points:
General Hindi Paper is qualifying in nature (30 % Marks required), Its marks will not be considered in the calculation of merit list.
Questions of General Studies are available in Hindi and English both.
The score will be arrived at by considering the total of 900 marks in GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2 and Optional Paper.
The candidates who are placed suitably in the merit are called for the interview.
There is no negative marking in the descriptive question papers.
Candidates need to attempt all the papers to qualify for the Interview round.
This round is both scoring and qualifying in nature.
BPSC mains syllabus 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 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 standard is enough.
Until now, every paper that the candidates have appeared is of qualifying nature. The BPSC Prelims Exam and the General Hindi paper are just qualifying in nature. These papers marks does not 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 1 General Studies 2
Indian Culture
Modern History of India
Contemporary events of national and international importance
Statistical Analysis, diagrams and graphs
Indian (and Bihar) Polity
Indian (and Bihar) Economy
Indian (and Bihar) Geography
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)
Role of Bihar in the Indian National Movement
Santhal uprising
1857 war of independence
Champaran Satyagraha
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
Indian Polity ( Questions based on the political system in India including Bihar)
Indian economy and Geography of India (Questions on planning in India and the physical, economic and social geography of India and Bihar)
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.
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:
English Language and Literature
Urdu Language and Literature
Hindi Language and Literature
Persian Language and Literature
Arabic Language and Literature
Pali Language and Literature
Maithili Language and Literature
Bangla Language and Literature
Sanskrit Language and Literature
Chemistry
Sociology
Physics
Agriculture
Statistics
Botany
Zoology
Philosophy
Political Science and International Relations
Psychology
Public Administration
Labour and Social Welfare
Management
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Geography
Geology
History
Law
Civil Engineering
Economics
Commerce and Accountancy
Electrical Engineering
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
Anthropology
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.
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.
The objective of the interview is to check the personal suitability of the candidate for the career in the state services by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
In the personality test, apart from their academic study, candidates must be aware of the affairs happening both within and outside their state.
The interview is more of a purpose conversation intended to explore the mental qualities and analytical ability of the candidate.