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PPSC Exam Pattern
Three stages make up the PPSC State Service Exam. Candidates who pass the first level are deemed qualified for the second. Candidates who pass the second stage of the PPSC are regarded qualified for the third step. The exam pattern should be noted by candidates in order to better prepare for the test. The following lists the three components of the PPSC exam:- Preliminary Examination
- Main Examination
- Interview Round
PPSC Prelims Exam Pattern
The Preliminary Examination is merely a screening exam to determine which candidates are eligible to take the Main Examination; the results of this Examination are not taken into consideration when determining the merit of the candidates following the Main Examination. Candidates who appear in the Preliminary Examination and score at least 13 times the number of openings posted in each category will be eligible to take the Main Examination. The questions would be expected to measure knowledge that would be expected of someone with at least a high school diploma. Both of the papers for the PPSC Prelims Exam are listed in the table below.
Papers |
Name of the Subjects |
Questions |
Marks for each Question |
Total Marks |
Duration |
Paper –I |
General Studies |
100 |
2 |
200 |
2 hours |
Paper-II |
Civil Services Aptitude Test(CSAT) |
80 |
2.5 |
200 |
2 hours |
Paper I
- Paper I is Objective type questions(MCQs) based on General Studies.
- There are 100 questions asked for 200 marks.
- Each question holds a weightage of 2 marks each.
- There is no negative marking, however, there may be negative marking for any objections to the Answer Key found false/frivolous/not supported by authentic evidence.
- The question paper shall be bilingual and shall be printed in English and Punjabi except for questions where candidates’ proficiency in the language is to be tested.
Paper-II
- Paper-II is an Objective type question (MCQs) based on the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
- There are 80 questions and 200 marks.
- Each question holds a weight of 2.5 marks.
- There is no negative marking, however, there may be negative marking for any objections to the Answer Key found false/frivolous/not supported by authentic evidence.
- The question paper shall be bilingual and shall be printed in English and Punjabi except for questions where candidates’ proficiency in the language is to be tested.
PPSC Mains Exam Pattern
Candidates who clear the Prelims will be called for the second stage which is the Mains examination. From amongst the candidates who have appeared for the Main written examination, candidates not more than three times the number of vacancies advertised in each category shall be called for the interview. The PPSC exam pattern for mains has been given below:
Papers |
Subject Name |
Maximum Marks |
Duration |
Paper I |
General English |
100 marks |
3 hours |
Paper-II |
General Punjabi (to be answered only in Gurmukhi Script) |
100 marks |
3 hours |
Paper III |
General Essay (to be answered either in English/ Gurmukhi Script) |
150 marks |
3 hours |
Paper IV |
General Studies Paper 1 (History, Geography, and Society) |
250 marks |
3 hours |
Paper V |
General Studies Paper 2 (Indian Constitution & Polity, Governance and International Relations) |
250 marks |
3 hours |
Paper VI |
General Studies Paper 3 (Economy, Statistics, and Security Issues) |
250 marks |
3 hours |
Paper VII |
General Studies Paper 4 (Science & Technology, Environment, Problem-solving & Decision Making) |
250 marks |
3 hours |
- All papers shall be descriptive in nature.
- The main competitive examination shall include seven compulsory papers.
- Candidates will have the option to attempt all the papers, except the language papers in Punjabi or English medium.
- Candidates exercising the option to answer Papers in the Punjabi language may, if they so desire, give the English version within brackets of only the description of the technical terms, if any, in addition to the version in the Punjabi language.
- The question papers other than language papers will be set in English. However, when any candidate opts for attempting any paper(s) in Punjabi medium, the question papers shall be printed in Punjabi accordingly.
PPSC Exam Pattern for Interview
Only candidates who have qualified for the written examination and fulfil the eligibility criteria will be called for an interview. The interview will contain 150 as maximum marks. The marks obtained in the interview together with the marks obtained in the written exam will be considered for the final merit list.
Note: No candidate shall be eligible to appear in the interview unless he/she obtains 45% marks in the aggregate of all the papers (read 40 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) including at least 25% marks in each paper.
- For each category, candidates up to three times the number of openings must be certified qualified to sit the viva voce test.
- An Interview Board consisting of the Chairman and Members of the Commission, as well as an independent expert, will conduct the viva voce test. To interview the candidates, multiple Interview Boards may be put up. When an Interview Board is not led by the Chairman of the Commission, the most senior member serves as Chairman of the Board.
Multiple Choice Questions/Objective Type question is given in the Preliminary Examination
Can you tell me about the PPSC Exam Pattern for Mains?
The PPSC SSE Mains has 5 different sections. General English, General Punjabi, General Essay, General Studies Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, Paper 4.
What is the selection process of the PPSC exam?
The selection of the candidate is based on three stages in total-Preliminary Examination, Mains Examination, Interview