| Conducting body | Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC). Official website ↗ |
|---|---|
| Posts | Junior Scale Officer, Goa Civil Service |
| Qualification | A degree from a university set up by an Act of Parliament or a state legislature, a deemed university, or a foreign university approved by the Central Government, or a qualification the state or central government recognises for this exam. Knowledge of Konkani is essential; Marathi is desirable. |
| Age limit | Up to 40 years on Last date of application (19 September 2025 in Advertisement No. 09 of 2025) (general category) |
| Domicile | Not required |
| Selection stages | Pre-screening test: 60 MCQs in 75 minutes; pass mark 65% for UR/EWS, 60% for PwD/CFF/OBC, 55% for ST/SC → Repeat pre-screening test within two weeks for borderline scorers (36 to 38 marks for UR/EWS, 33 to 35 for PwD/CFF/OBC, 30 to 32 for ST/SC); no fresh application → Screening test (computer-based recruitment test): 75 marks in 90 minutes, same category pass percentages → Competitive written examination of 250 marks in four parts, same category pass percentages → Oral interview of 40 marks for five times the vacancies; you need at least 50% in it → Final merit on written plus interview marks, subject to the category minimum on the combined total |
| Latest notification | GPSC Advertisement No. 09 of 2025: Junior Scale Officer of Goa Civil Service · 38 vacancies |
Last checked . Sources
About GPSC Junior Scale Officer
Junior Scale Officer is the entry grade of the Goa Civil Service, the state's own administrative cadre, at pay level 10. GPSC fills these posts through two screening tests, a written exam and an interview. Advertisement No. 09 of 2025, published on 5 September 2025, listed 38 posts: 16 unreserved, 11 OBC, 6 ST and 5 EWS, with 1 post for children of freedom fighters and 3 for persons with disabilities counted within them.
Eligibility
Age limit
General category: Up to 40 years, counted on Last date of application (19 September 2025 in Advertisement No. 09 of 2025).
Age relaxation
- OBC: 3 years
- SC: 5 years
- ST: 5 years
- PwBD: 10 years
- PwD candidates who are SC or ST get 15 years; PwD candidates who are OBC get 13 years (GPSC general instructions).
- Children of freedom fighters (CFF), government servants and regular employees of aided institutes get 5 years; contractual government staff get the length of their contract service, up to 5 years.
- The advertisement caps the upper age at 50 years after any relaxation.
Qualification
A degree from a university set up by an Act of Parliament or a state legislature, a deemed university, or a foreign university approved by the Central Government, or a qualification the state or central government recognises for this exam. Knowledge of Konkani is essential; Marathi is desirable.
Other conditions
- GPSC's general instructions say SC, ST, OBC, CFF and EWS candidates from other states must apply in the General category and pay the General fee.
- You need at least a working knowledge of Konkani. GPSC grades it as fluent, working knowledge or no knowledge, and an expert assesses it at the interview.
Selection process
- Pre-screening test: 60 MCQs in 75 minutes; pass mark 65% for UR/EWS, 60% for PwD/CFF/OBC, 55% for ST/SC
- Repeat pre-screening test within two weeks for borderline scorers (36 to 38 marks for UR/EWS, 33 to 35 for PwD/CFF/OBC, 30 to 32 for ST/SC); no fresh application
- Screening test (computer-based recruitment test): 75 marks in 90 minutes, same category pass percentages
- Competitive written examination of 250 marks in four parts, same category pass percentages
- Oral interview of 40 marks for five times the vacancies; you need at least 50% in it
- Final merit on written plus interview marks, subject to the category minimum on the combined total
Exam pattern
Pre-screening test
Mode: Multiple choice · Duration: 75 minutes · Negative marking: None; a wrong answer scores zero
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| General intelligence, reasoning and numerical aptitude | 50 | 50 |
| English comprehension | 10 | 10 |
Screening test (CBRT)
Mode: Computer-based · Duration: 90 minutes
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| History of India and Indian National Movement | 5 |
| Indian polity and governance | 10 |
| Environment, ecology, biodiversity and climate change | 5 |
| Science, technology and innovation | 5 |
| Current affairs | 10 |
| Indian and world geography | 5 |
| General English, comprehension and grammar | 10 |
| Logical reasoning and analytical ability | 25 |
Competitive written examination
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| Part A: General intelligence, reasoning and numerical aptitude (60 minutes) | 50 |
| Part B: Basics of the Constitution of India, governance and administration (120 minutes) | 75 |
| Part C: General knowledge and current affairs (120 minutes) | 75 |
| Part D: English comprehension (90 minutes) | 50 |
Oral interview
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| Interview | 40 |
GPSC Junior Scale Officer syllabus
Pre-screening test
- Number and letter series, analogies, verbal classification, odd one out
- Statement and assumption, statement and conclusion, cause and effect, course of action
- Coding-decoding, Venn diagrams, seating and ranking arrangements, family trees
- Problems on ages and on time and distance
- English comprehension
Screening test
- History of India and the national movement
- Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues
- Environmental ecology, biodiversity, climate change, pollution, forest conservation
- Startups, seed and angel funding, venture capital, National Innovation Council and government innovation schemes
- Current affairs; physical, social and economic geography of India and the world
- General English and grammar; logical reasoning
Written exam Part B: Constitution, governance and administration
- Preamble, fundamental rights and duties, directive principles
- Union and state legislatures, executives and judiciary
- Centre-state relations, the Union, State and Concurrent lists, budgetary allocations, the role of finance and NITI Aayog
- Elections, Election Commissions, Representation of the People Acts 1950 and 1951
- Role of the bureaucracy, civil service training, Central Civil Service rules, public-private partnership
- Good governance, Right to Information Act 2005, Lokpal and Lokayukta
Written exam Part C: General knowledge and current affairs
- State, national and international current events
- India's freedom struggle and Goa's freedom struggle
- Physical, economic and social geography of India and Goa
- Religion, customs and festivals of India and Goa
- ICT, biodiversity, environment and climate change
- Social movements on corruption, environment and women's issues
Written exam Parts A and D
- General intelligence, reasoning and numerical aptitude
- English comprehension
What they ask
The first two rounds are objective and lean heavily on reasoning: it carries 50 of the 60 pre-screening marks and 25 of the 75 screening marks. The screening test then spreads small blocks of 5 or 10 marks over history, polity, environment, innovation funding, geography, current affairs and English. The 250-mark written exam brings in Goa: its freedom struggle, geography, festivals and customs sit alongside national topics, and Part B asks about governance at central, state and local level with reference to Goa. Pass marks are high at every stage, 65% for unreserved and EWS candidates.
How to prepare
- Treat reasoning as your main subject for the first two rounds. It decides most of the pre-screening score, and unreserved candidates need 39 out of 60 to go through.
- Read the laws named in the syllabus closely: the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, the RTI Act 2005, and the roles of Lokpal, Lokayukta and NITI Aayog.
- Keep separate notes on Goa's freedom struggle, its physical and economic geography, and its religions, customs and festivals, since Part C asks about India and Goa together.
- Practise spoken Konkani before the interview; working knowledge is essential and an expert checks it there.
- Take daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app for reasoning, polity and current affairs.
Practise GPSC Junior Scale Officer syllabus topics a few minutes a day with short quizzes in the Improvam app.
How to apply
- Register on gpsc.goa.gov.in or the Goa CBES portal (cbes.goa.gov.in) and note your user ID and password.
- Scan your passport-size photograph and signature before you start the form.
- Fill in the online form; apply separately for each post.
- Pay the fee online, or generate an e-challan, pay cash at an SBI branch in Goa and hand the bank-stamped challan to the Commission by the last date.
- Download your application form once the payment succeeds.
GPSC Junior Scale Officer FAQs
Not more than 40 years on the last date of application. SC and ST candidates get 5 more years, OBC 3 and PwD 10, but the 2025 advertisement caps the age at 50 after any relaxation.
Sources
- GPSC Advertisement No. 09 of 2025, published 5 September 2025 ↗ (official, checked )
- GPSC general instructions to candidates (updated 26 May 2026) ↗ (official, checked )
- GPSC syllabus for the competitive written examination, Junior Scale Officer of Goa Civil Service ↗ (official, checked )
- GPSC syllabus page ↗ (official, checked )
Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.
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