APSC SYLLABUS: Stages Of Examination , Optional Papers..Preliminary ..Main

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APSC SYLLABUS: STAGES OF THE EXAMINATION, Optional Papers PRELIMINARY..MAIN

APSC SYLLABUS

STAGES OF THE EXAMINATION

        The Combined Competitive Examination consists of two successive stages:-

  • The Preliminary  Examination (Objective Type)
  • The  Main Examination (written & interview)

 (I). PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION:

  1. The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of objective type multiple choice questions of two hours duration each.
Paper-IGeneral studies IMarks=200Time=2hrsObjective type multiple choice question paper
Paper-IIGeneral Studies IIMarks=200Time=2hrsDo
 Total marks400  
APSC SYLLABUS
  • The questions will be of objective type with multiple choices
  • OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) answer sheet will be provided for answering questions.
  • Candidates will have to use ONLY BLACK/BLUE BALL PEN.
  • USE OF ERASER, CHEMICAL, CORRECTION FLUID etc. for correcting options once marked in the OMR answer sheet is prohibited and answer sheets bearing traces of such use shall not be evaluated.
  • This Examination is meant to serve as a screening test only.
  • The marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the Candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining the final order of merit.
  • There will be negative marking for incorrect answers as detailed below:
    • There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. A penalty of one-fourth (.25) of the total marks assigned to that question will be deducted for each wrong answers marked by a candidate.
    • If a candidate marks more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happen to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.
    • If a question is left blank i.e no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.
  • The General Studies II paper of the Combined Competitive (Prelim) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
  • The Commission will draw a list of candidates to be qualified for Combined Competitive (Main) Examination based on the criterion of minimum qualifying marks of 33% in General Studies Paper-II of Combined Competitive (Prelim) Examination and total qualifying marks of General Studies paper- I of Combined Competitive (Prelim) Examination as may be determined by the Commission.
  • The candidates may refer to the Assam Public Services Combined Competitive Examination (Amendment) Rules, 2019 for syllabi of General Studies I & General Studies II.

(II). MAIN EXAMINATION:

         The Main Examination consists of (A) Written Examination and (B) Interview Test.

(A) WRITTEN EXAMINATION:

  1. On the results of the Preliminary Examination, the number of candidates to be admitted to the written part of the Main Examination will be 11 to 12 times the number of vacancies notified for each category. The selection will be strictly on the basis of merit adhering to the norms of Vertical and Horizontal Reservation as per prescribed law in force.
  2. The questions of the examination will be of conventional type. The written examination will consist of the following papers:

• Qualifying Language Papers: (in the level of Class X)

Paper A (300 marks- 3Hours duration)–

any one of the language from Assamese, Bengali, Bodo. Candidates from DimaHasao, Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts who have not studied any of these languages in school shall be exempted from appearing for this Paper A.

Paper B- English (300 marks- 3Hours duration)

N.B. 

  1. The marks obtained in these two papers shall not be counted for determining the final order of merit.
  2. The minimum qualifying marks in Paper ‘A’ and Paper ‘B’ will be 25%.

Papers to be counted for order of merit (written Examination)

Sl. NoPapersType of PaperMarksDuration in Hours
1Paper 1Essay2503 Hrs
2Paper 2 to 6General Studies250 for each paper3 Hrs for each paper
3Paper 7Optional Subject, Paper 12503 Hrs
4Paper 8Optional Subject, Paper 22503 Hrs
5Interview Test (After qualifying in written test)275 
 Total2275 
APSC SYLLABUS

Optional Papers:

The list of Optional subjects for the Main Examination:

(The standard and syllabi of the Optional subjects are approximately those of Degree Level Course of the Universities) 1. Agriculture

  • Anthropology
  • Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science 4. Botany
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Commerce and Accountancy
  • Economics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Geography
  • Geology
  • History
  • Law
  • Literature of any one of the following languages:
    • Assamese
    • Bengali
    • Bodo
    • Hindi
    • Sanskrit
    • English
  • Management
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Medical Science
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Political Science and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Public Administration
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • Zoology

The candidates may refer to the Assam Public Services Combined Competitive Examination (Amendment) Rules, 2019 available in the Commission’s website for syllabi of the above mentioned optional subjects.

Interview Test(275 Marks)

  • On the results of the written part of the Main Examination the number of candidates to be called for interview will be about thrice the number of vacancies advertised.
  • The selection will be strictly on the basis of merit adhering to the norms of Vertical and Horizontal Reservation as per prescribed law in force.
  • The candidates will be interviewed by a board that will have before them a record of his/her career.
  • He/She will be asked questions on matters of general interest.
  • The objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a board of competent and unbiased observers.
  • The test is intended to judge the mental caliber of a candidate.
  • In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs.
  • Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgment, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.
  • The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.
  • The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialized or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers.
  • Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own State or Country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated youth.
  • The interview, however, will not have any qualifying marks.
  • The marks scored at the interview will be added to the marks scored in the written Examination (Main) and the ranking of the candidates will be determined on the basis of the total marks obtained.
  • The Commission shall recommend exactly the same number of candidates for different posts as notified.
  • The candidates will be allotted cadre strictly on the basis of merit cum preferences opted by candidates in their applications for the Main Examination
  • The Commission shall not recommend a candidate for a post which he/she has not opted for.

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