| Conducting body | Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Official website ↗ |
|---|---|
| Posts | Assistant Section Officer (ASO), State Tax Inspector (STI), Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) |
| Qualification | A degree from a statutory university or an equivalent qualification declared by the government. Final-year students can take the prelims but must pass the degree by the last date of the mains application. |
| Age limit | 18–38 years on 1 August 2026 (general category) |
| Domicile | See the notification |
| Selection stages | Combined preliminary exam (100 marks) → Combined main exam (400 marks, two papers) → PSI only: physical test (100 marks, at least 60% needed to reach the interview) → PSI only: interview (40 marks); PSI merit uses mains plus interview marks |
| Latest notification | Advt. No. 011/2026: Maharashtra Group B (Non-Gazetted) Services Combined Preliminary Examination 2026 · 552 vacancies |
Last checked . Sources
About MPSC Group B
MPSC's Group B non-gazetted combined exam recruits Assistant Section Officers, State Tax Inspectors and Police Sub-Inspectors. Advertisement No. 011/2026 had 552 posts: 310 PSI, 236 STI and 6 ASO. All three posts share the prelims and the mains; PSI candidates then also face physical standards, a physical test and an interview.
Eligibility
Age limit
General category: 18–38 years, counted on 1 August 2026.
Age relaxation
- OBC: 5 years
- SC: 5 years
- ST: 5 years
- EWS: 5 years
- PwBD: 7 years
- Ex-servicemen: 5 years
- ASO and STI: 18 to 38 years for open category; up to 43 for backward class, EWS, orphan, sportspersons and ex-servicemen; up to 45 for divyang candidates
- PSI: 19 to 31 years for open category; up to 34 for backward class, EWS and orphan; up to 36 for sportspersons and ex-servicemen
- Divyang candidates are not eligible for PSI
Qualification
A degree from a statutory university or an equivalent qualification declared by the government. Final-year students can take the prelims but must pass the degree by the last date of the mains application.
Other conditions
- Indian citizenship
- Knowledge of Marathi is required
- PSI physical standards: men at least 165 cm tall with 79 cm unexpanded chest and 5 cm expansion; women at least 157 cm tall (barefoot)
Selection process
- Combined preliminary exam (100 marks)
- Combined main exam (400 marks, two papers)
- PSI only: physical test (100 marks, at least 60% needed to reach the interview)
- PSI only: interview (40 marks); PSI merit uses mains plus interview marks
Exam pattern
Combined preliminary exam
Mode: Objective multiple choice, Marathi and English, degree level · Duration: 1 hour · Negative marking: One-fourth of the marks cut for each wrong answer
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| General ability test | 100 | 100 |
MPSC Group B syllabus
General ability test (prelims)
- History: modern India, especially Maharashtra
- Geography with focus on Maharashtra: earth, world regions, climate, latitude and longitude, soils, rainfall, major crops, cities, rivers and industries
- Indian economy: national income, agriculture, industry, foreign trade, banking, population, poverty and unemployment, monetary and fiscal policy
- Government economy: budget, accounts and audit
- Current affairs: world, India and Maharashtra
- Polity
- General science: physics, chemistry, zoology, botany and hygiene
- Arithmetic: basic operations, decimals, fractions and percentages
- Intelligence test: questions on speed and accuracy of thinking
What they ask
The prelims gives you one hour for 100 questions, which works out to 36 seconds each. Questions are mostly direct and factual, and Maharashtra's history, geography and economy take a large share. The arithmetic and reasoning items are short and easy, so speed matters more than depth. A quarter mark goes for every wrong answer, which makes wild guessing expensive.
How to prepare
- Practise full 100-question sets in 60 minutes; time pressure is the main difficulty in this prelims.
- Build short notes on Maharashtra's districts, rivers, crops and social reformers, since the syllabus asks for these by name.
- Revise budget, accounts and audit basics for the government economy topic, which general books often skip.
- If you are aiming for PSI, train for the physical test while preparing for the mains, because you need 60% there to reach the interview.
- Use daily topic-wise quizzes on the free Improvam app to keep arithmetic and current affairs sharp.
Practise MPSC Group B syllabus topics a few minutes a day with short quizzes in the Improvam app.
Previous papers and answer keys
MPSC Group B FAQs
No. For the 2026 cycle, ASO and STI allow 18 to 38 years for open category, while PSI allows 19 to 31. Both are counted on 1 August 2026.
Sources
- MPSC advertisements list (Advt. No. 011/2026, Group B prelims 2026) ↗ (official, checked )
- Advt. No. 011/2026 PDF (MPSC download) ↗ (official, checked )
- MPSC syllabus page: Group B (Non-Gazetted) Combined Preliminary Examination syllabus (9 October 2024) ↗ (official, checked )
- Group B prelims syllabus PDF (MPSC download) ↗ (official, checked )
Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.
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