IB Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade-II/Executive Exam 2025: syllabus and eligibility

Last checked 24 September 2026. Sources

About IB ACIO

The Intelligence Bureau, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, hires ACIO-II/Executive officers as Group C non-gazetted staff at Pay Level 7 (Rs 44,900 to 1,42,400), with a special security allowance of 20% of basic pay. The 2025 exam advertised 3,717 vacancies: 1,537 unreserved, 442 EWS, 946 OBC, 566 SC and 226 ST. The job carries all-India transfer liability. You apply online through the link on mha.gov.in or the NCS portal.

Eligibility

Age limit

General category: 18–27 years, counted on 10 August 2025.

Age relaxation

• SC: 5 years
• ST: 5 years
• OBC: 3 years
• Central Government civilian employees with 3 years of regular service: up to 40 years.
• Widows, divorced women and judicially separated women who have not remarried: up to 35 years (unreserved), 38 (OBC) and 40 (SC/ST).
• Ex-servicemen: as per Central Government rules.
• Meritorious sportspersons: up to 5 years, with the certificate in the prescribed form.

Qualification

A graduation degree or equivalent from a recognised university, with the result declared by the closing date of 10 August 2025. Knowledge of computers is desirable.

Other conditions

• The post is not identified as suitable for PwBD candidates, so they need not apply.
• All candidates pay Rs 550 recruitment processing charges. Male unreserved, EWS and OBC candidates also pay the Rs 100 exam fee. SC, ST, women and eligible ex-servicemen are exempt from the Rs 100.
• Final selection also depends on character and antecedent verification and a medical examination.

Selection process

1. Tier-I: online objective exam, 100 marks, 1 hour
2. Tier-II: descriptive paper, 50 marks, 1 hour
3. Tier-III: interview, 100 marks
4. Character and antecedent verification, then medical examination

Exam pattern

IB ACIO syllabus

What they ask

Tier-I packs 100 one-mark questions into one hour, 20 from each of current affairs, general studies, numerical aptitude, reasoning and English. The minimum Tier-I marks are 35 for unreserved and EWS, 34 for OBC and 33 for SC and ST, and about ten times the vacancies go on to Tier-II. Tier-II is a one-hour descriptive paper: an essay for 20 marks, English comprehension for 10, and two 10-mark answers on current affairs, economics or socio-political issues. You need 17 out of 50 in Tier-II to reach the interview, and the final list adds up all three tiers.

How to prepare

• Build speed for Tier-I. You get about 36 seconds per question, so time yourself on full 100-question mocks.
• Practise writing a full essay and two long answers inside one hour. Tier-II marks count in the final merit list, not just as a qualifier.
• Keep one set of current affairs and economy notes for all three tiers, since the same topics come up in Tier-I, the Tier-II long answers and the interview.
• Skip Tier-I questions you cannot narrow down. Each wrong answer costs a quarter mark.
• Use daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app for reasoning and numerical aptitude.

How to apply

1. Open the ACIO application link posted on mha.gov.in (or the NCS portal) when the exam is advertised.
2. Register, fill in personal and qualification details, and choose five exam cities.
3. Upload your photo and signature, then pay the fee and processing charges online or by SBI challan.
4. Keep the registration slip and watch your registered e-mail for Tier-II and interview dates.

Photo and signature

• Photo: Colour photo, 35 mm wide and 45 mm high, not older than 12 weeks, with the face covering 70 to 80% of the frame. JPG/JPEG, 100 to 200 KB.
• Signature: Signed by you only, JPG/JPEG, 80 to 150 KB. Scan just the signature area.

Source: official instructions ↗

Resize your photo and signature for IB ACIO

IB ACIO FAQs

Sources

• MHA link page: application portal for ACIO-II/Exe 2025 in IB ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• IB detailed advertisement: ACIO-II/Exe Examination 2025 (on the IB application portal linked from mha.gov.in) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• IB ACIO-II/Exe 2025 application portal ↗ (secondary, checked 24 September 2026)

Checked against official sources on 24 September 2026. Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.

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