BPSC Mains Exam Pattern & Question Paper Analysis (Latest)

1. BPSC Mains Exam Pattern – Complete Overview

In this article, BPSC Mains exam pattern and question paper pattern is explained in detail. The BPSC Mains Examination is the second stage of the Bihar Civil Services selection process. It tests a candidate’s writing ability, conceptual clarity, and understanding of society, governance, and Bihar-specific issues through descriptive answer-writing papers, making it more analytical than the Prelims.

2. BPSC Mains Exam Pattern: Papers, Marks & Nature of Questions

According to the official notification of Bihar Public Service Commission, the BPSC Mains exam consists of written papers and interview. candidates qualifying Pre exam is required to appear in mains exam which consist of Four Subjective papers and one objective optional paper. These four subjective papers and one objective optional paper is listed below.

• General Hindi
• General Studies Paper-1
• General Studies Paper-2
• Essay
• Optional Subject in objective format

Let’s discuss now the question pattern of each BPSC Mains Paper.

2.1 BPSC Mains General Hindi Paper – Marks, Qualifying Criteria & Question Pattern

The first paper BPSC mains exam is general Hindi which consists of total 100 marks. Hindi is simply qualifying in nature and Hindi marks is not included in merit list preparation. A candidate is supposed to score 30 marks out of 100 marks to qualify. If you observe the Hindi question paper then you realize that questions are being asked as essay writing, precis writing, grammar and sentence formation. Candidates writing mains exam in Hindi medium are not required to be worried for qualifying in Hindi but candidates writing mains exam in English medium must be careful for qualifying in Hindi. It is pertinent to mention that if you score qualifying marks in mains exam and fail in Hindi then your result will not be considered for interview.

2.2 BPSC Mains General Studies Paper 1 – Syllabus, Marks Distribution & Question Pattern

The second paper of BPSC Mains exam is General Studies Paper 1. Following topics are included in general studies paper 1.

(a) Part-1: Indian History and Culture

(b) Part-2: Current events of National and International Importance

(c) Part-3: Statistics

General Studies Paper 1 consist of 300 marks. Out of 300 marks, 114 marks are assigned to part-1 i.e Indian History and Culture, 114 marks are assigned to Part-2 i.e Current events of National and International Importance and 72 marks are assigned to part-3 i.e Statistics. Now lets discuss number of questions being asked and number of questions to be replied by candidates in each part i.e in part-1, part-2 and part-3 of General Studies Paper-1.

Part-1: Indian History & Culture – Question Pattern in BPSC Mains

Question No. 01 of the part-1 i.e Indian history and culture is short answer question and the same is divided into 5 sub questions of 8/7 Marks each totalling 38 Marks.

Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 of the part-1 i.e Indian history and culture is long answer question. Further Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 each have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question each from Question No. 02 & Question No. 03. Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 also carry 38 marks thus making total marks 114 for Indian history and culture.

Part-2: Current Events (National & International) – BPSC Mains Question Pattern

Question No. 01 of the part-2 i.e Current events of National and International Importance is short answer question and the same is divided into 5 sub questions of 8/7 Marks each totalling 38 Marks.

Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 of the part-2 i.e Current events of National and International Importance is long answer question. Further Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 each have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question each from Question No. 02 & Question No. 03. Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 also carry 38 marks thus making total marks 114 for Current events of National and International Importance.

Part-3: Statistics – BPSC Mains Question Pattern & Marks

Question No. 01 & Question No. 02 of Part-3 i.e Statistics each have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question each from Question No. 01 & Question No. 02. Question No. 01 & Question No. 02 carry 36 marks each thus making total marks 72 marks for Statistics.

2.3 BPSC Mains General Studies Paper 2 – Syllabus, Marks Distribution & Question Pattern

The third Paper of BPSC Mains exam is General Studies Paper 2. Following topics are included in general studies paper 2.

(a) Part-1: Indian polity

(b) Part-2: Geography and Economics of India

(c) Part-3: Science and Technology

General Studies Paper 2 consist of 300 marks. Out of 300 marks, 114 marks are assigned to part-1 i.e Indian polity, 114 marks are assigned to Part-2 i.e Geography and Economics of India and 72 marks are assigned to part-3 i.e Science and Technology. Now let’s discuss number of questions being asked and number of questions to be replied by candidates in each part i.e part-1, part-2 and part-3 of General Studies Paper-2.

Part-1: Indian Polity – Question Pattern in BPSC Mains

Question No. 01 of the part-1 i.e Indian polity is short answer question and the same is divided into 5 sub questions of 8/7 Marks each totalling 38 Marks.

Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 of the part-1 i.e Indian polity is long answer question. Further Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 each have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question each from Question No. 02 & Question No. 03. Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 also carry 38 marks thus making total marks 114 for Indian polity.

Part-2: Geography & Indian Economy – BPSC Mains Question Pattern

Question No. 01 of the part-2 i.e Geography and Economics of India is short answer question and the same is divided into 5 sub questions of 8/7 Marks each totalling 38 Marks.

Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 of the part-2 i.e Geography and Economics of India is long answer question. Further Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 each have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question each from Question No. 02 & Question No. 03. Question No. 02 & Question No. 03 also carry 38 marks thus making total marks 114 for Geography and Economics of India.

Part-3: Science & Technology – Question Pattern in BPSC Mains

Question No. 01 of the part-3 i.e Science and Technology is short answer question and the same is divided into 5 sub questions of 7/6 Marks each totalling 36 Marks.

Question No. 02 of Part-3 i.e Science & Tech have two questions and a candidate is required to choose one question from Question No. 02. Question No. 02 carry 36 marks each thus making total marks 72 marks for Science & Tech.

2.4 BPSC Mains Essay Paper – Structure, Sections & Marks Distribution

The Fourth Paper of BPSC Mains Exam is Essay paper and that consist of 300 marks. Essay paper is divided in 3 sections of 100 marks each and each sections have 04 questions. A candidate is required to choose 01 question from each section and answer them.

2.5 BPSC Mains Optional Subject Paper – Objective Pattern & Qualifying Nature

The Fifth Paper of BPSC Mains Exam is Optional Paper. A candidate a supposed to choose one optional subject out of many subjects provided by BPSC. The complete list of optional subjects can be obtained on BPSC website. Optional Paper consist of 100 marks only. A total of 100 objective question is asked by the BPSC. Here it is important to mention that optional paper is simply qualifying in nature like Hindi and the marks of optional paper is not included in the preparation of mains result. A candidate is just required to score 40% marks in optional paper to qualify it. Here, it is also pertinent to mention that provision of negative marking is not there in objective optional paper.

Hence it is evident from para 2 above, that BPSC Mains exam is conducted for 900 Marks excluding Hindi language and optional paper.

3. BPSC Interview / Personality Test – Marks & Final Merit Calculation

Interview/Personality test is also a part of Mains Exam. Those who qualify mains exam are called for Interview cum personality test. 120 marks have been assigned for interview cum personality test. Final merit list for selection is being prepared based on the marks obtained by a candidate in mains exam and in interview cum personality test. Thus, merit list is prepared on the basis of 1020 marks (900 marks for mains+120 marks for interview).

4. Conclusion: Understanding BPSC Mains Exam Pattern for Effective Preparation

I hope that I have clarified every aspect of BPSC MAINS QUESTION PAPER AND EXAM PATTERN with appreciate examples.