APSC 2020 – Apply Online, Syllabus, Admit Card, Exam Date

APSC stands for Assam Public Service Commission. A commission working directly under the government of India is authorized to recruit for civil service positions across the state of Assam.

The headquarter of APSC is located in Jawahar Nagar, Khanapara, Guwahati. APSC exam is a highly competitive exam that demands careful planning, dedication, and thorough preparation to succeed in the exam.

Thousands of candidates appear for the APSC exam each year, and to have an edge in this competitive exam, meticulous preparation is essential. This article is designed to deliver all the crucial details of the APSC 2020 exam to aspirants. The article covers information on exam dates, eligibility criteria, information on the application form, admit card, exam pattern, syllabus, etc. After reading this article, we highly suggest you guys go through the official web portal of this APSC, i.e., apsc.nic.in.

APSC 2020 – Exam Dates

The most important exam dates to the APSC civil service exams 2020 is given below:

APSC 2020 Application Form – Apply Online

All candidates have to enter their details and submit an ONLINE application form to be eligible to attempt the examination. Follow these steps to submit the online application form:

• Check the homepage of the official site.
• Click on the activated link that provides the application for submission.
• Enter all personal information related to the candidate, like name, address, contact details, educational qualification, etc. These details are compulsory.
• Upload scanned the photograph and scanned signature of the candidate.
• Pay the requisite application fee and click on the submit button.
• Once the application is submitted successfully, the candidate shall receive an acknowledgment.
• The reference id thus received has to be carefully saved for future references.
• Print/save/download the submitted application.

Are you aspiring to attempt UPSC examination? Read this article: UPSC Exam.

Application Fees

The fee for applying to APSC civil services exam 2020 varies between different categories.

• For general merit candidates: INR 250.
• For SC/ST candidates: INR 150.
• For OBC and Minority OBC candidates: INR 150.

Modes of paying application fee

• Offline Mode: Pay the fee in cash at any designated SBI branch and obtain challan acknowledgment for the same. Enter challan number later in the ONLINE application form.
• Online Mode: Pay the fee in the ONLINE mode though net banking facility/ debit card/ credit card usage.

APSC Admit card 2020

The candidates, after applying for the examination, can wait for updates about the admit card to be available on the official site. Once the link has been activated on the official site, candidates can download the same from the website. Follow these guidelines:

• Enter the homepage of the official site.
• Login into the website with valid credentials. 
• Check if the link to download the admit card is activated or not.
• If activated, click on the link and enter the download window.
• In this window, enter all particulars of the candidate asked like name, registration number, and date of birth. Enter captcha code, if any. 
• Once all details are validated, and the student application is qualified, his admit card will be displayed.
• Download the admit card for examination. 

The admit card is a very important document and carries all necessary and relevant information of the candidate like name, address, exam venue, timings, etc. For any discrepancies in the details mentioned on the admit card, candidates have to report to the commission without fail immediately. 

The admit card should be carried to the exam hall without fail. Along with with admit card, candidates are also requested to carry any valid government-issued ID proof to the exam hall. Without the admit card, candidates may not be allowed to enter the exam hall or take up the examination. 

APSC Eligibility Criteria 2020

All candidates are strictly advised to check their eligibility conditions fully and correctly before making an application to the commission. Fees once paid to the commission shall not be refundable under any circumstances. Here are a few eligibility criteria for the candidates to check:

Nationality

• All applicants must be a citizen of India to apply for the APSC civil services exam 2020.

Education Qualifications

• Candidates must have completed a minimum graduation degree by a recognized university of India.
• The commission also permits any degree/qualification equivalent to three years graduation provided it is done from a recognized university of India.

Age Limit

Minimum age criteria: 21 years

Maximum age criteria: 38 years.

Age Relaxation

Only reserved category students enjoy age relaxation in the upper age limit. Here are the details:

• For SC/ST categories: 5 years
• For OBC categories: 3 years.
• For persons with disabilities: 10 years.
• For ex-servicemen: 2 years.

Number of attempts

 There are no particulars regarding the number of attempts a candidate can make, but he should satisfy the age limit specified by the commission.

APSC Exam Pattern

The APSC state civil services exam 2020 follows the exam pattern that includes the prelims, mains, and the interview round. In the section below, we present each section in detail. 

Prelims Round

• This is the first stage of the examination.
• Exam consists of 2 papers, each of 200 marks, for 2 hours each.
• 1st paper is the general studies paper.
• 2nd paper is the optional subject paper. Candidate has to select the optional subject from the list provided by the commission.

Mains Examination

• This is the second phase of the examination.
• This round will have a total of six papers.
• All papers of the main exam will be completely descriptive in nature.
• All papers will be conducted for a total duration of three hours.

All these details are listed below in this table:

Interview

• The last and final round of selection for the APSC state civil service exam 2020 includes the interview round.
• Only those candidates who successfully clear the mains round will be called in for the interview round.
• It is also called the viva voce round. It is conducted for 200 marks.
• No minimum qualifying marks prescribed for the interview round.
• Candidates shall be questioned based on their academic performance and credentials.
• Total marks are taken by calculating the main exam and interview marks decide the ranking of the candidate.

APSC Syllabus 2020

The most important points and aspects of the syllabus for the APSC civil services exam 2020 have been given below. Candidates can download the detailed syllabus in PDF format from the official website. We list the syllabus of each round in brief here:

Prelims and Mains Syllabus

The brief syllabus for the general studies paper of prelims and mains round is given below:

• Current affairs and general knowledge
• Business studies and comprehensive case scenarios
• History, geography, and economics
• Politics and Indian constitution
• Culture, languages, and international relations.
• Science and technology in Indian sphere
• Growth of IT revolution and development of scientific research studies
• Indian financial and economic upholstery, budget news, and five year plans.
• Sports, entertainment, and fiscal allocation.

General English syllabus

The brief syllabus for General English paper of the main examination is provided below:

• General Grammar
• Comprehension and language
• Idioms and phrases
• Translation
• Sentence completion
• Paragraph writing
• Precise writing, etc

Interview

There is no specific range of syllabus prescribed for the interview round.

• Candidates shall be questioned based on their choice of academic qualification.
• They may be questioned about the choice of optional subjects.
• Questions could be framed from current political topics of interest.
• Candidates are generally expected to have a good and detailed knowledge of the state of Assam.
• Questions are asked to assess the interpersonal skills, communication skills, and personality of the candidate.
• The suitability of the candidate, if inducted into the civil service cadres, is tested in this round.

APSC Cut off

• The cut off marks for each round of the exam, namely the prelims and the mains will be displayed on the official website after the results are out. 
• Candidates can check the cut off marks decided by the commission by looking out for timely updates on the official site.
• The cut off marks vary every year, and they are purely based on many factors like:
• Number of applicants for the current year.
• Number of applicants cleared the exam.
• Total number of vacant positions
• Difficulty level of exam etc. 

APSC Results

Results are displayed after every round of the examination. Results can be checked from the official site. Follow these guidelines to check results on the website:

• Login into the official website with valid id details.
• Traverse to the results section.
• Click on the link “Results – APSC Civil service exam 2020”.
• Enter valid details like candidate name, registration id, and date of birth. 
• Upon successful validation, results will be displayed.
• Candidates can download/print the result card. 

APSC Vacancy

The exact number of vacancies for the posts that are vacant for the current year shall be quite different from other years. Candidates can check the number of vacancies on the official site before applying for the same. Below we have given a brief breakdown of the vacant positions for the year 2020.

• Exploration officer
• Assistant conservator
• Forest Range officer
• Junior Information public relation officer
• Fishery development officer
• Medical Inspector
• Veterinary officer/ block veterinary officer
• Assistant Geologist

How to Prepare for Assam Public Service Commission?

• There are two general studies papers, one in the prelims and the other in the mains. So candidates are advised to allot longer time duration so that over the period of time, they would have covered a substantial portion of GS papers.
• Choose optional subjects carefully.
• You have to choose three subjects as your optional (both prelims and mains). Choose the subjects that you have mastered during your graduation. For the other two, choose related subjects or the ones that you are confident at.
• Along with subject preparation for the exam, do not ignore current affairs and general knowledge preparation from books, internet sources, and newspapers.
• Since you have to set time aside for three optional subjects, at least 9 months prior to the exam should you begin preparation with.
• Refer to NCERT textbooks right from 6th to 12th standard.
• Refer to online study resources / PDF/ e-books and prescribed standard books for studies.
• After the prelims exam, concentrate more on optional subject preparation rather than general studies, which was already there for prelims too.
• Read articles in newspapers regularly to spruce up English knowledge.
• Analyze the breakdown of different sections/subjects in previous year papers.  

Best books for APSC

• Book on Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
• Book on Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Book titled “ India’s Struggle For Independence” by Bipin Chandra
• Assam 2020 Yearbook
• Geography of India by author Majid Hussain 
• Book titled “India After Gandhi” by historian Ramachandra Guha.
• Book on History of the World by Arjun Dev
• Book on Physical and Human Geography by author Goh Cheng Leong
• Book on Indian Social System by author Ram Ahuja

Also, Read Other State Civil Services 2020 Articles