Everything you need to know about the BPSC exam

History of the Bihar Public Service Commission

The BPSC Exam is conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission. The Bihar Public Service Commission was formed on the 1st day of April 1949. It was first headquartered in Ranchi. The headquarters of the BPSC was shifted to Patna in the year 1951. The city of Patna continues to house the headquarters of the Bihar Public Service Commission to this day. The Commission was formed by an Act of the Indian Parliament and is under the vigilance of the Government. The Bihar Public Service Commission has to submit an Annual Report to the Governor of the State of Bihar. This Annual Report of the work done by the Commission is mandatory under an Article of the Constitution of India. The syllabus for the BPSC examination is set following the Commission’s directives. The Bihar Public Service Commission is authorized by the law of the land to assist the Bihar Government with recruitment, promotion, transfer, and disciplinary matters. When it comes to top Government jobs in Bihar other than elected representatives, the Bihar Public Service Commission is usually the deciding authority.

Why is the BPSC examination so popular? 

Successful candidates for the BPSC examination can get recruited to prestigious Government jobs. The best candidates can be recruited for positions such as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assistant Commissioner of State Taxes, District Planning Officer, etc. These holders of these jobs command respect from society at large. 

In addition to the starting point of the successful candidates for the BPSC examination being high, the chances of getting promoted to even greater positions are also very common. The successful BPSC candidates can rise to positions of even greater power, responsibility and respect by being promoted through the Departmental Promotion Committee under the chairmanship of the Bihar Public Services Commission. 

Broadly speaking, the successful candidate for the BPSC examination has a very bright and secure future. The number of examinees for the forthcoming BPSC examination is expected to be over three lac. Further, it has been projected that the number of aspiring candidates for the BPSC examination can cross six lac in the next ten years.

What is the BPSC exam like?

The BPSC examination is divided into three parts. The three parts are the BPSC prelims exam, the BPSC Mains, and the BPSC interview respectively.

The BPSC Prelims exam consists of just one paper for a maximum of 150 marks to be completed within a maximum period of 120 minutes. This is an objective type examination. The minimum qualifying marks the General Category students have to score in BPSC Prelims to qualify for the BPSC Mains is 40 percent. The candidates who belong to the backward class category have to score a minimum of 36.5 per cent in the BPSC Prelims percent to qualify for the BPSC Mains. The qualifying for the OBC category candidates is 34 percent. These qualifying marks for Women, SC, ST, and PwD candidates are further reduced to 32%. The BPSC prelims are qualifying examinations for the BPSC Mains examination. Candidates selected from among candidates who have scored at least the minimum qualifying marks in BPSC Prelims are considered eligible to apply for the BPSC Mains examination. The final list of eligible candidates selected for the BPSC Mains is also subject to the number of vacancies in the Bihar Public Service Commission jobs. The number of eligible candidates selected for the BPSC Mains is approximately 10 times the number of available vacancies. After the Prelims Result is declared, the selected candidates have to fill and submit the application form for BPSC Mains.

The BPSC Main examination consists of 4 papers. The 4 papers consist of one qualifying paper and 3 other papers. The qualifying paper is General Hindi and the minimum passing percentage required is thirty. The next two papers are General Studies Paper 1 and General Studies Paper 2. The fourth paper is optional and has to be chosen by the candidate from a list of choices given to them. The exam type is subjective. The maximum marks carried by each of the three papers other than Hindi is 300 each. The maximum duration for writing each exam is 180 minutes.   

The 100-mark Hindi paper is a qualifying paper. The aspiring BPSC candidate has to score a minimum of 30 marks to pass the BPSC examination. The marks scored in the Hindi paper will not be considered for the calculation of the overall merit of the candidate. 

Both BPSC Prelims and BPSC Mains exams are conducted offline. There is no online option for this examination. 

The commission usually issues BPSC admit cards about three weeks before the BPSC Mains examination.

The Candidates who successfully clear the BPSC Mains Examination are called for an interview. The interview carries a maximum of 120 marks. The final merit list is prepared based on the candidate’s score in the BPSC Mains examination and the BPSC Interview.

What is the secret to success in the BPSC examination?

The BPSC examination is not a test of knowledge. It is a test of performance under certain criteria and conditions. The BPSC does not have the means to get into the candidate’s brain to find out how much knowledge and intelligence he or she has. Therefore, repeatedly appearing in BPSC Mock Tests is a great way for a candidate to have an edge over others. Apart from this, BPSC Test Series and BPSC Practice sets are a proven but well-guarded secret to success in the BPSC examination.

If the candidate appears for BPSC Mock Tests repeatedly, solves the problems given in the BPSC test series and regularly practices the BPSC practice sets, it will enable the candidate to learn the vital art of performing under actual high-pressure BPSC exam conditions. These activities can effectively safeguard against examination-related anxiety which also negatively affects the performance of the very best candidates.

The things you should know about the BPSC Examination Syllabus.

The syllabus for the BPSC Prelims consists of the following topics. The topics are General Science, events of national and international importance, History of Bihar, History of India, Geography, Geography of Bihar and its significance, Indian Polity, Indian economy, the significant post-independence changes in the economy of Bihar, Indian national independence movement, the role of Bihar in India’s national independence movement. The syllabus also includes a general mental ability test. The aspiring candidate for the BPSC Prelims exam must have the ability to connect his knowledge of history and geography to the socio-economic implications of historical events and geographical locations on aspects of agriculture, industry, natural resources, etc.

• The General Hindi syllabus for the BPSC Mains examination is secondary-level Hindi. The candidate has to write an essay in which he or she can score a maximum of 30 marks. The other part of the General Hindi paper is Grammar, syntax, and précis writing for which the maximum scores are 30, 25, and 15 marks.
• The syllabus for the General Studies 1 paper of the BPSC mains includes Indian Culture, the Modern History of India, significant Indian personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, etc., the role of Bihar in India’s freedom struggle, Contemporary events of national and international importance, Statistical Analysis, diagrams and graphs, The study of Pataliputra, Mauryan art, etc. The analytical ability of the candidate in graphical, diagrammatical, and statistical data will also be tested.
• The General Studies Paper 2 syllabus of the BPSC Mains examination includes Indian and Bihar politics, economy, and geography. It also includes the impact of science and technology. This paper tests the candidate's ability to understand the connection between events and their socioeconomic and political influence. 

The examination tests the candidate's ability to gauge and understand the significance of events and express them in writing.

The BPSC Mains examination includes an optional paper. The candidate has to select from a list of 34 optional subjects. The language and literature options include Hindi, English, Urdu, Pali, Persian, Arabic, Maithili, Sanskrit, and Bengali. The other options include Physics, Chemistry, Sociology, Statistics, Agriculture, Zoology, Botany, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Labor and Social Welfare, Public Administration, Psychology, Management, Mathematics, Geography, Mechanical Engineering, Geology, History, Anthropology, Civil Engineering, Law, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Anthropology, Animal Husbandry, and Veterinary Science, etc. 

The candidate’s ability to express his or her thoughts in writing is tested by the descriptive, essay-type answers the candidate is expected to write. The candidate has the option of writing his or her answers in either Hindi or Urdu or English. However, the candidate has to make his or her choice of language during the application process.  

It should be noted that the candidate has to carry a proper identity card and his or her valid photo-id to be allowed to enter the examination hall to write the examination.

The level of questions in BPSC mains is equivalent to the level of the 3 years Honors Course of Patna University.

BPSC Interview round

 The BPSC interview is the final step of the BPSC examination. Preparing for the interview round is the most challenging as maintaining eye contact, and displaying positive body language are difficult under the high-pressure conditions of an interview. 

A significantly large number of candidates falter at this final stage. The candidates tend to get nervous during the interview process. 

The interview carries 120 marks. The interview score added to the score from the 3 papers of the BPSC Prelims examination makes it to the final score in the final merit list.

You must understand that cracking your interview round is not an overnight task. You need to plan and prepare beforehand as the interview round can be tricky. You need a proper approach to ace this round. Hence, we have curated some tips from previous year’s BPSC toppers which will give you an insight into your interview preparation. So dive into this article to know more about the BPSC preparation for the interview process. 

Eligibility criteria, admit card, and application 

The candidate should be a graduate of a recognized University. The upper age limit for general-category male candidates is 37 years. The upper age limit for General category females, BC/OBC is 40 years. The upper age limit for the SC/ST candidate is 42 years. There is no restriction on the number of attempts. Certain relaxations are made for a special category of candidates.

Which is the trickiest part of the BPSC examination?

Staying calm, getting your mental faculties together, and maintaining eye contact with the interviewer while thinking about and answering situational or random questions asked during the interview is the trickiest part of the BPSC examination.

The questions that are asked during this part of the interview are usually out-of-the-box questions that require lateral thinking. The interviewers make up a situation or create a hypothetical problem. Then they immediately ask the candidate to tackle the problem.

Continuous problem-solving drills, regular lateral thinking sessions, and appearing in Mock tests are a way to get through this difficult part.