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JHARKHAND · CIVIL SERVICES

JPSC Combined Civil Services Examination: syllabus and eligibility

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JPSC Civil Services key facts
Conducting bodyJharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC). Official website ↗
PostsDeputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), District Commandant, Probation Officer, Assistant Director, Women, Child Development and Social Security Department, Assistant Registrar (Cooperative), Assistant Municipal Commissioner / Executive Officer / Special Officer, Jail Superintendent, Assistant Director-cum-District Public Relations Officer
QualificationA degree from a university set up by a central or state Act, an institution deemed a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, or a foreign university approved by the central government, or an equivalent qualification.
Age limit21–35 years on 1 August 2026 (general category)
DomicileNot required
Selection stagesPreliminary exam: two objective papers, used only for screening → Main written exam: six descriptive papers → Interview (100 marks)
Latest notificationJharkhand Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination 2025, Advertisement No. 01/2026 · 103 vacancies

Last checked . Sources

About JPSC Civil Services

JPSC fills Jharkhand's state service officer posts through the Combined Civil Services Examination. The 2025 exam was advertised in January 2026 under Advertisement No. 01/2026 for 103 posts, the largest groups being DSP and Deputy Collector. You go through an objective prelims, a descriptive mains and a 100-mark interview.

Eligibility

Age limit

General category: 21–35 years, counted on 1 August 2026.

Age relaxation

  • OBC: 2 years
  • SC: 5 years
  • ST: 5 years
  • PwBD: 10 years
  • Ex-servicemen: 5 years
  • Upper age limit by category: 37 for Extremely Backward Class (Annexure-I) and Backward Class (Annexure-II) candidates, 38 for women from the unreserved, EBC, BC and EWS groups, 40 for SC and ST candidates, and 35 for EWS.
  • Persons with benchmark disability get 10 more years and ex-servicemen 5 more years over their own category limit.
  • Candidates with at least three years of regular service under the Jharkhand government get 5 more years.

Qualification

A degree from a university set up by a central or state Act, an institution deemed a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, or a foreign university approved by the central government, or an equivalent qualification.

Other conditions

  • Reservation is given only to permanent residents of Jharkhand who submit the certificates in the formats the advertisement names.
  • There is no limit on the number of attempts.
  • DSP, District Commandant, Jail Superintendent and Probation Officer posts have minimum height and chest standards set out in the advertisement.

Selection process

  1. Preliminary exam: two objective papers, used only for screening
  2. Main written exam: six descriptive papers
  3. Interview (100 marks)

Exam pattern

Preliminary exam

Mode: Objective (MCQ) · Duration: 2 hours per paper · Negative marking: None

SUBJECTQUESTIONSMARKS
General Studies Paper I100200
General Studies Paper II (Jharkhand)100200

Main exam

Mode: Descriptive · Duration: 3 hours per paper

SUBJECTMARKS
Paper I: General Hindi and General English (qualifying, minimum 30 marks)100
Paper II: Language and Literature (one of 15 languages)150
Paper III: Social Sciences (History and Geography)200
Paper IV: Indian Constitution and Polity, Public Administration and Good Governance200
Paper V: Indian Economy, Globalisation and Sustainable Development200
Paper VI: General Science, Environment and Technology Development200

Interview

SUBJECTMARKS
Interview100

JPSC Civil Services syllabus

Prelims GS Paper I (question count per unit as listed in the advertisement)

  • History of India: ancient, medieval and modern (15)
  • Geography of India: general, physical, economic, social and demographic (10)
  • Indian polity and governance: Constitution, public administration, panchayats and municipalities (10)
  • Economy and sustainable development: basic features, economic reforms and globalisation (10)
  • Science and technology: general science, agriculture, ICT (15)
  • Jharkhand history, society, culture and heritage (10)
  • National and international current events (15)
  • General topics: human rights, environment and climate change, urbanisation, sports, disaster management, poverty and unemployment, awards, UN agencies (15)

Prelims GS Paper II: Jharkhand

  • Traditional governance: Munda, Nagvanshi, Padha, Manjhi Pargana, Munda Manki, Dhoklo Sohor and caste panchayat systems
  • Jharkhand movement and formation of the state
  • Folk literature, dance, music, tourist places and tribal culture
  • Jharkhandi literature and writers; major educational institutions; sports
  • Land laws: Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and other state Acts
  • Economy since 1947, geography, forests, rivers and minerals
  • Industrial, displacement and rehabilitation policies; major industries; state schemes
  • Forest management and wildlife conservation, environment and climate change, disaster management
  • Jharkhand current affairs

Mains (all papers compulsory)

  • Paper I: General Hindi and General English (50 marks each)
  • Paper II: one of Odia, Bangla, Urdu, Sanskrit, English, Hindi, Santhali, Panchpargania, Nagpuri, Mundari, Kurukh, Kurmali, Khortha, Khadia or Ho language and literature
  • Papers III to VI: history and geography; Constitution, polity and governance; economy and sustainable development; science, environment and technology

What they ask

Prelims Paper I has 100 questions of 2 marks each on Indian history, geography, polity, economy, science, current events and a block of Jharkhand questions. Paper II is entirely on Jharkhand: its old self-governance systems, the statehood movement, the CNT and SPT land Acts, folk culture, industries, schemes and current affairs. The prelims has no negative marking, but marking two options counts as a wrong answer, and prelims marks do not count in the final merit. The mains is written, with five scoring papers and a Hindi-English paper you only need to pass.

How to prepare

  • Treat Prelims Paper II as a Jharkhand paper and make separate notes on the CNT and SPT Acts, the traditional governance systems and the statehood movement, since each has a fixed number of questions in the syllabus.
  • Plan Paper I by question count: history, science and current events have 15 questions each, while geography, polity and economy have 10 each.
  • Choose your mains language paper early. It carries 150 marks that count towards merit, and the list includes Santhali, Nagpuri, Kurukh, Khortha and Ho.
  • Keep practising Hindi and English for mains Paper I. You only need 30 out of 100, but falling short means your other papers do not count.
  • Revise static GS with daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app.
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Practise JPSC Civil Services syllabus topics a few minutes a day with short quizzes in the Improvam app.

How to apply

  1. Complete One Time Registration (OTR) on the JPSC portal.
  2. Fill the online application for the advertisement through your OTR login.
  3. Pay the fee and keep a copy of the submitted form.

JPSC Civil Services FAQs

You must be at least 21 on 1 August 2026, and not older than 35 if you are in the unreserved or EWS category. The limit is 37 for EBC and BC candidates, 38 for women from the unreserved, EBC, BC and EWS groups, and 40 for SC and ST candidates.

Sources

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

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