| Conducting body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Official website ↗ |
|---|---|
| Posts | Geological Survey of India: Geologist and Chemist (Group A); the 2027 notice has no Geophysicist Group A vacancy, Geological Survey of India: Assistant Geologist, Assistant Geophysicist and Assistant Chemist (Group B), Central Ground Water Board: Scientist B in Hydrogeology, Chemical and Geophysics (Group A), Central Ground Water Board: Assistant Hydrogeologist, Assistant Chemist and Assistant Geophysicist (Group B) |
| Qualification | A master's degree in the relevant science. Geologist posts need geology, applied geology or a listed earth-science subject; geophysicist posts need an M.Sc. in physics, applied physics or geophysics; chemist posts need an M.Sc. in chemistry, applied chemistry or analytical chemistry; hydrogeologist posts need a master's in geology, applied geology, marine geology or hydrogeology. Check the post-wise list in the notice. |
| Age limit | 21–32 years on 1 January 2027 (general category) |
| Domicile | Not required |
| Selection stages | Stage I: preliminary exam with two objective papers (400 marks) → Stage II: main exam with three descriptive papers (600 marks) → Stage III: personality test (interview) of 200 marks → Final merit adds marks from all three stages |
| Latest notification | Combined Geo-Scientist Examination 2027 notice (No. 01/2027-GEOL) · 127 vacancies |
Last checked . Sources
About UPSC Geo Scientist
The Combined Geo-Scientist Examination recruits geologists, geophysicists, chemists and hydrogeologists for the Geological Survey of India and the Central Ground Water Board. The 2027 notice lists vacancies post by post; the largest are 34 Assistant Geologist and 35 Assistant Geophysicist posts in GSI. Candidates write in one of four streams based on their master's subject.
Eligibility
Age limit
General category: 21–32 years, counted on 1 January 2027.
Age relaxation
- OBC: 3 years
- SC: 5 years
- ST: 5 years
- PwBD: 10 years
- Ex-servicemen: 5 years
- General category candidates must be born between 2 January 1995 and 1 January 2006.
- Government servants in the departments listed in the notice get up to 5 years for the corresponding posts.
- Defence personnel disabled in operations get up to 3 years.
Qualification
A master's degree in the relevant science. Geologist posts need geology, applied geology or a listed earth-science subject; geophysicist posts need an M.Sc. in physics, applied physics or geophysics; chemist posts need an M.Sc. in chemistry, applied chemistry or analytical chemistry; hydrogeologist posts need a master's in geology, applied geology, marine geology or hydrogeology. Check the post-wise list in the notice.
Other conditions
- Fee is Rs 200. Women, SC, ST and PwBD candidates are exempt.
Selection process
- Stage I: preliminary exam with two objective papers (400 marks)
- Stage II: main exam with three descriptive papers (600 marks)
- Stage III: personality test (interview) of 200 marks
- Final merit adds marks from all three stages
Exam pattern
Stage I: preliminary exam
Mode: Objective, set in English only · Duration: 2 hours for each paper · Negative marking: One third of the marks for a question is cut for each wrong answer.
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| Paper I: General Studies (all streams) | 100 |
| Paper II: stream subject (Geology/Hydrogeology, Geophysics or Chemistry) | 300 |
Stage II: main exam
Mode: Descriptive, answered in English · Duration: 3 hours for each paper
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| Paper I: stream subject | 200 |
| Paper II: stream subject | 200 |
| Paper III: stream subject (Hydrogeology for the CGWB hydrogeology stream) | 200 |
Stage III: personality test
| SUBJECT | MARKS |
|---|---|
| Interview | 200 |
UPSC Geo Scientist syllabus
Prelims Paper I: General Studies
- Current events of national and international importance
- History of India and the Indian national movement
- Indian and world geography
- Indian polity and governance
- Economic and social development
- Environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change
- General science
Prelims Paper II: Geology/Hydrogeology
- Physical and structural geology, mineralogy
- Igneous and metamorphic petrology, sedimentology
- Palaeontology, stratigraphy, economic geology
- Hydrogeology
Prelims Paper II: Geophysics
- Solid earth geophysics and mathematical methods
- Electromagnetism and geophysical prospecting
- Remote sensing and thermodynamics
- Nuclear physics and radiometry
Prelims Paper II: Chemistry
- Periodicity, bonding and structure, acids and bases
- Quantitative inorganic analysis
- Gaseous state, thermodynamics and equilibrium, solutions, electrochemistry
- Basic organic chemistry, stereochemistry, reaction types and rearrangements
What they ask
The prelims is objective and set only in English. The 100-mark General Studies paper follows the same topic list as the civil services prelims, while the 300-mark stream paper tests your master's subject. The mains has three descriptive papers of 200 marks each in the same stream. Marks from the prelims, the mains and the 200-mark interview all go into the final merit.
How to prepare
- Put most of your prelims effort into Paper II. It carries 300 of the 400 marks, and the scores count in the final merit.
- Revise your stream subject once in objective form for the prelims, then write full answers on the same topics for the mains.
- Cover General Studies with the civil services prelims topic list, since the Paper I syllabus is the same.
- Solve the official Geo-Scientist papers on the UPSC website for your stream to see the depth of the questions.
- Keep current affairs fresh with daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app.
Practise UPSC Geo Scientist syllabus topics a few minutes a day with short quizzes in the Improvam app.
Previous papers and answer keys
UPSC Geo Scientist FAQs
21 to 32 years on 1 January 2027 for the general category. OBC candidates get 3 more years, SC and ST candidates 5, and PwBD candidates 10.
Sources
- UPSC Combined Geo-Scientist Examination 2027 notice (No. 01/2027-GEOL) ↗ (official, checked )
- UPSC exam page: Combined Geo-Scientist (Preliminary) Examination 2027 ↗ (official, checked )
Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.
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