The BPSC syllabus for the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) has three stages: a 150-mark objective prelims, a 1,020-mark Mains-plus-interview that decides the final merit, and, since the 68th CCE, an essay paper and a qualifying objective optional. This guide sets out the pattern and the full syllabus of every paper as it applies to the 72nd CCE (2026), explains the scoring rules including the new Option E, and points to the notes and quizzes on this site for each topic.
BPSC CCE at a glance
| Stage | Papers | Marks | Counts in merit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary | General Studies (150 MCQs, 2 hours) | 150 | No, screening only (about 10 times the vacancies qualify) |
| Mains | General Hindi (3 hours) | 100 | No, qualifying at 30 per cent |
| Mains | General Studies Paper I (3 hours) | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | General Studies Paper II (3 hours) | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | Essay (3 hours) | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | Optional subject (objective, 2 hours) | 100 | No, qualifying only |
| Interview | Personality test | 120 | Yes |
| Final merit | GS I + GS II + Essay + Interview | 1,020 |
For a few specialised posts (Child Development Project Officer, Financial Administrative Officer and the women-only Sub-divisional Protection Officer) the optional is a 300-mark descriptive paper that replaces the essay in the merit total.
Prelims pattern and scoring
- One paper of 150 questions, 150 marks, 2 hours, in Hindi and English, on an OMR sheet.
- Every question has five bubbles: A, B, C and D are the answer options and E means Not Attempted.
- Scoring: +1 for a correct answer, −1/3 for a wrong answer, 0 for bubbling E, and, under BPSC’s May 2026 notice, −1/3 for a row left completely blank. Read our guide to the negative marking and Option E rule before you sit any mock.
- Roughly ten candidates per vacancy are called to the Mains. Recent cut-offs give the scale: for the 71st CCE prelims the unreserved (male) cut-off was 88 out of 150, BC 84, EWS 82.33, EBC 81, SC 72 and ST 71.33, with lower marks for women in each category.
Prelims syllabus, topic by topic
| Syllabus area | What BPSC asks | Where to prepare on BPSC Guru |
|---|---|---|
| General science | NCERT-level physics, chemistry and biology, with everyday applications and recent developments | Physics: Light and Sound (75 MCQs), Biology sets 10 and 11, Science and current affairs mock tests |
| Events of national and international importance | The previous 12 to 18 months: appointments, awards, sports, reports and indices, schemes, summits, defence | February, March and April 2026 notes; current affairs quizzes |
| History of India, with special reference to Bihar | Ancient, medieval and modern India at NCERT depth; Bihar’s dynasties, religions, movements and personalities | The 15-test practice series (prehistory to 1857), 150 modern history MCQs, Bihar GK notes |
| Indian national movement and the role of Bihar | 1857 to 1947, Champaran, Quit India in Bihar, Kunwar Singh, Rajendra Prasad, JP | Gandhian era quiz, 1937 to 1947 quiz, Bihar in Quit India, Veer Kunwar Singh |
| Geography of India and Bihar | Physical, economic and social geography; Bihar’s rivers, floods, soils, agro-climatic zones, minerals, population | Bihar geography notes, Bihar polity and geography PYQ, Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali |
| Indian polity and economy | The Constitution, Centre-State relations, Panchayati Raj, the economy since independence, budgets, Bihar’s economy and schemes | Centre-State relations and the Governor, Budget 2026-27 quiz, Bihar economy PYQ, Saat Nishchay, scheme guides |
| Changes in the Indian economy after independence | Planning, green revolution, 1991 reforms, GST, recent policy | Bihar’s economic transition, Agro-industries and ethanol |
| General mental ability | Arithmetic, reasoning, data interpretation at Class 10 level; usually 10 to 15 questions | Practice Test 15: aptitude set |
The base for most of this is the NCERT textbooks from Class 6 to 12; our NCERT books for BPSC guide maps each book to the syllabus and gives a 45-day reading plan.
Mains syllabus
General Hindi (100 marks, qualifying)
Essay (30 marks), grammar (30), syntax (25) and summary writing (15), at the level of the Bihar Board Class 10 examination. A candidate must score 30 per cent; the marks are not added to the merit list.
General Studies Paper I (300 marks)
- Modern history of India and Indian culture, from the mid-nineteenth century, with the role of Bihar: 1857, the national movement, Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Santhal and Munda uprisings, and Bihar’s art and architecture from the Mauryas to Patna Kalam.
- Current events of national and international importance.
- Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams: reading tables and charts, drawing conclusions and spotting errors (no advanced mathematics).
General Studies Paper II (300 marks)
- Indian polity, with the political system of Bihar: the Constitution, Union and State governments, Panchayati Raj, the judiciary, and constitutional bodies.
- Indian economy and the geography of India, with Bihar’s economy and geography: planning, agriculture, industry, population, natural resources, and Bihar’s development programmes.
- The role and impact of science and technology in the development of India and Bihar: applied science, energy, space, IT, and technology in agriculture and health.
Essay (300 marks)
Three sections, four topics each, one essay from each section: abstract themes, contemporary issues and a Bihari proverb. See the complete list of BPSC essay topics from the 68th to 71st Mains for the pattern.
Optional subject (100 marks, objective, qualifying)
Choose one of 34 subjects: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Labour and Social Welfare, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology, and the literatures of Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali and Maithili. Since the 68th CCE the paper is objective and only qualifying, so most candidates pick the subject in which they can clear the bar with the least extra reading; History, Geography, Political Science and Hindi literature are the common choices.
Interview and final selection
The personality test carries 120 marks. A limited number of candidates per vacancy are called on the basis of Mains marks (GS I, GS II and Essay, or the optional for specialised posts). The final list is drawn on 1,020 marks: 900 from the Mains plus 120 from the interview. Service allotment follows rank and preference: the Bihar Administrative Service (SDM or Senior Deputy Collector), Bihar Police Service (DSP), Bihar Financial Service, State Tax Assistant Commissioner, Rural Development Officer, Revenue Officer, Block Panchayati Raj Officer, Labour Enforcement Officer, Co-operative Extension Officer, City Executive Officer and others, depending on the posts advertised in that cycle.
Eligibility in brief
- Education: a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university (specific degrees for a few specialised posts).
- Age (as on 1 August of the exam year): minimum 20, 21 or 22 depending on the post; maximum 37 for unreserved men, 40 for unreserved women and for BC and EBC candidates, and 42 for SC and ST candidates. Reservation and age relaxation apply to Bihar domiciles; candidates from other States are treated as unreserved.
- Attempts: no limit within the age range.
How the stages fit together: a preparation plan
- Base (two to three months): NCERTs for history, geography, polity, economy and science, with the chapter quizzes on this site after each book.
- Bihar layer (three to four weeks): Bihar GK notes, PYQs and the Bihar special mock, since a quarter or more of the prelims paper has a Bihar angle.
- Current affairs (continuous): monthly notes plus the topic quizzes, finishing with the last twelve months before the prelims.
- Mocks (last six weeks): full-length papers under BPSC scoring, practising when to bubble E; our free mock test series uses the exact scoring rule.
- Mains (after prelims): answer-writing for GS I and II, one essay a week across the three sections, and graph and table practice for the statistics part of GS I.
Frequently asked questions
It overlaps heavily on static subjects, but BPSC has no CSAT paper, asks more direct factual questions, includes general mental ability within the single GS paper, and weights Bihar-specific history, geography, economy and schemes much more.
No. It only decides who sits the Mains. The final merit is Mains (900) plus interview (120).
Since BPSC’s May 2026 notice, every question has a fifth bubble for Not Attempted. Bubbling E scores zero; leaving the row blank costs a third of a mark, the same as a wrong answer.
Only as a hurdle: the 100-mark objective optional is qualifying and does not count in the merit list for general posts. For CDPO, Financial Administrative Officer and Sub-divisional Protection Officer posts a 300-mark descriptive optional does count.
Not in the descriptive papers; the objective optional follows the same one-third penalty as the prelims.
Keep going
- 72nd BPSC 2026: notification, vacancies and exam date status
- NCERT books for BPSC: class-wise list
- BPSC negative marking and the Option E rule
- All free BPSC mock tests and quizzes
Harsha