JPSC 2020 – Exam Date, Syllabus, Admit Card, Result, Eligibility

JPSC, known as Jharkhand Public Service Commission, conducts the civil services examination for recruitment to various vacant government administrative positions in the state of Jharkhand.

The government will soon release the notification for the JPSC 2020 examination. Only eligible candidates can apply for the exam.

In this article, we have provided complete details on various parameters associated with the JPSC 2020 exam like the availability of online application form, the mode of fee payment, admit card details, eligibility conditions to be satisfied to apply for the exam, detailed exam pattern, syllabus, cut off and result announcement, vacancy for the current year, some useful preparation tips and finally some best reference books recommended for the exam.

JPSC 2020 Exam Dates

The notification schedule for JPSC 2020 shall be released soon by the government, and details will be updated on the official website. The JPSC conducts the preliminary and mains examination. Here we present the various important dates that a candidate should keep track of to apply within the deadline for the exam.

The tentative dates for the preliminary exam are provided below:

The tentative dates for mains exam are provided below:

JPSC 2020 Application form

Candidates aspiring to join the administrative services of the state of Jharkhand should apply for the JPSC exam by filling in the online application form. 

The application form for download is available on the official website. Candidates have to fill in all the required details in the application form without any error. Contact details of the candidates have to be filled carefully because the commission will communicate all further details via the provided contact information. 

Candidates should also pay the requisite fee for the examination. After submitting the application form, candidates are advised to keep a hard copy of the same with them for all future references. 

Steps to download the application form

• Visit the official website of JPSC – https://jpsc.gov.in/
• Go to the homepage of the website.
• On the left panel, click on the ‘online application’ tab.
• From the list of application forms, select the form for state civil services examination.
• Before applying for the exam, a candidate has to register himself on the website to login.
• After successful registration and login, enter all details correctly in the first part of the form.
• Verify details for correctness and hit the submit button.
• You will be provided a registration number that has to be preserved by the candidate.
• Enter the second part of the application form.
• Upload scanned copy of recent passport size photograph and candidate’s signature.
• Remit the appropriate application fee specified.
• A registration slip in the form of acknowledgment will be generated on the website for the candidate’s reference.

JPSC Application fees

Application fees for the online application can be made in two modes – online and offline.

Payment to be made only after the completion of one full working day, after 12 PM.

Candidates should note that they need to make the correct fee payment. Fewer fees paid will lead to cancellation of their candidature. The excess fee paid cannot be reimbursed by the commission whatsoever.

Online mode – Fees to be paid via internet banking/credit card/debit card facilities of recognized banks.

Offline mode – Fees to be paid in any of the recognized State Bank of India bank branches. A challan will be issued an acknowledgment for a fee paid. Challan number to be entered in the application form.

The fee structure is different for different categories as indicated below

• For general category candidates: INR 600
• For OBC candidates: INR 600
• For candidates from other states: INR 600
• For SC/ST candidates: INR 150.

Also, Read Other State Civil Services Articles

JPSC Eligibility Criteria

Students have to check their eligibility conditions in the official advertisement published on the official website of JPSC. If candidates do not satisfy particular eligibility conditions, then their candidature may be disqualified.

Nationality

• Citizens of India are eligible to apply for the examination.
• Interstate candidates can apply for the examination, too, subject to conditions.

Education Qualifications

• Graduation from a recognized university of India is the minimum educational qualification required.
• Any other qualification equivalent to three years degree from recognized Indian university is also permitted.

Age Limit

• The minimum age criteria when it comes to Jharkhand police services are 20 years.
• For other services like Jharkhand finance service and Jharkhand Labor service, the minimum age criteria is 21 years.

Age Relaxation

• The maximum age relaxation provided to attempt the JPSC exam for general category student is 35 years.
• For OBC candidates, the upper age limit is 35 years.
• For female candidates belonging to the general category, the upper age limit is 38 years.
• For both male and female candidates belonging to SC/ST categories, the upper age limit is set as 40 years.

Number of attempts

Generally, there is no upper cap on the number of attempts a candidate can make, provided he satisfies the prescribed age limit.

JPSC 2020 Admit card

The notification about the link to download the admit card will appear on the JPSC official website. Candidates have to check for updates from time to time. The admit card for the examination must be compulsorily carried by the candidate, failing which he may not be allowed to take up the exam.

Candidates are advised to check all details in the admit card against their personal data like name, address, registration number, etc. The admit card also displays the exam centre/ venue and the complete address of the exam center. 

Steps to download admit card

• Check the homepage of the official website.
• Click on the notification that allows download of admit card.
• Enter the following details correctly – Registration number, date of birth, and captcha code.
• Click on the download tab to get the admit card.
• Save a copy of the same and get a print outdone.

JPSC Exam Pattern

The JPSC examination consists of three rounds, namely the prelims examination, the main round of the exam, and finally, the personality test. In this section, we give you a detailed outlook of every section of the exam. 

 Prelims

• The preliminary examination is mostly objective type based.
• This exam is only for qualifying purposes, marks scored in the prelims will not be considered for final ranking.
• Questions in the prelims will have multiple choices of answers.

Here is the breakdown of marks allocation for prelims exam:

Mains

• Candidates who gain qualifying marks in the prelims will be called to attempt the mains exam.
• Such candidates have to fill in an application form for the mains and later appear for the exam.
• Marks scored in the main exam will be considered for eligibility for the next round.
• Marks will also be considered for final rank allocation.
• The main exam consists of a total of 6 papers. Each paper duration is 3 hours, and the total marks of the exam are 1050 marks.

Here is the breakdown of marks subject-wise for the mains exam:

Interview or personality test round

• After successful completion of the main round of examination, candidates will be shortlisted for the interview round.
• Candidates score in the mains exam plus interview will decide the final ranking of the candidate.
• The personality test round is conducted for a total of 200 marks only.
• The personality test round is conducted to assess the various personality traits of the prospective candidate and his suitability for the position of future roles in administration cadres if he gets selected.

JPSC Syllabus

The syllabus for every phase of the exam varies. In this section, we list all the important topics to be covered for each phase of the exam. For complete details on the syllabus, please download the pdf from the official website.

Prelims

For paper 1, you can expect the following break up of marks from each section as presented below:

• Indian History – Approximately 15 questions can be expected
• Indian Geography – Approximately 10 questions can be expected
• Indian politics and governance – Approximately 10 questions can be expected
• Economic and sustainable development – Approximately 10 questions can be expected
• Science and technology – Approximately 10 questions can be expected
• Questions pertaining to the state of Jharkhand – Approximately 10 questions can be expected
• Questions concerning current events from national and international news – Approximately 15 questions can be expected
• Questions concerning environmental safety and general awareness – Approximately 15 questions can be expected

For paper 2, you can expect the following break up of marks from each section as presented below

• Questions concerning the history of Jharkhand – 8 questions approximately
• Jharkhand movement-related questions – 7 questions approximately
• Socio-cultural movements and lineages of Jharkhand – 5 questions approximately
• Jharkhand’s cultural progress and development – 5 questions approximately
• Jharkhand’s literature – 5 questions approximately
• Jharkhand’s coverage of industries, government policies, major reforms, environment and safety concerns, wildlife, vegetation, habitat, etc.- 50 questions approximately

Mains

The mains exam is conducted for a total of 1050 marks.

There are six papers. The syllabus in brief regarding the six papers is presented below:

• Paper 1: Deals with General aspects of the languages of Hindi and English
• Paper 2: Deals with language and literature of Jharkhand.
• Paper 3: Deals with History and geography subjects for a total of 200 marks.
• Paper 4: Deals with Indian politics, the constitution of India, and many more topics related to public administration.
• Paper 5 deals with Indian economics and globalization aspects.
• Paper 6 deals with environment, technology, and development factors.

Interview

Those candidates who have cleared the JPSC mains can take part in the interview, which consists of a panel of interviewers who will judge the student on various parameters. There is no fixed syllabus for an interview, and those who excel well will stand a chance to appear in the final list of selected candidates. Some useful points concerned with syllabus are:

• Questions pertaining to the government and state of Jharkhand. 
• Local, national, and international news. 
• Questions about self interests and personality traits.
• Questions from one’s educational background and many more. 

JPSC Cut off

• The minimum marks that are set as a benchmark based on which candidates will be assessed are called the cut off marks. 
• In JPSC, the cut off marks depend on a number of factors like the number of candidates applied, the number of seats available, the number of posts to be filled, etc.

According to statistics over the years, the following may be considered as the cut off marks, yet this not the final count: 

JPSC Results

Candidates can check the website for updates regarding examination results. 

Steps to check the exam results: 

• On the homepage of the official website, scroll to the link that will display the results of the exam. 
• Enter relevant roll number, date of birth, and captcha code. 
• The mark sheet of the candidate will be displayed.
• Candidates can save a copy as pdf/ print the mark sheet. 
• In case of any discrepancies, they can contact the examination section of the commission.

JPSC Vacancies

JPSC conducts state civil service examinations every year for many posts, and the number of vacancies varies every year.

How to Prepare for JPSC Exam?

• Keep track of the revised syllabus. From the last few years, the syllabus has been updated, and candidates must stay abreast of the latest one.
• Keep looking for updates on the website regarding vacancies. 
• Minimum of six months’ preparation is mandatory to crack the exam easily. 
• Depth of studying each topic need not be too much in detail.
• Having reasonable elementary knowledge with the details about each topic will suffice.
• A good collection of notes is essential to crack the exam easily. 
• Refer to NCERT books thoroughly.
• Good coverage is given to current affairs at all levels of the exam; spend a minimum of 1 hour per day studying current affairs. 

Best Books for JPSC

• For general studies and knowledge on current affairs, students can refer to any of the competitive series books like Yojana magazine or Kurukshetra magazine. 
• Refer to Malayala Manorama for extensive coverage on several important topics.
• Read at least two newspapers like the Hindu / Press Information Bureau.
• NCERT books of 11th and 12th standard a must.
• Modern history by Bipin Chandra 
• Geography by Majid Hussain
• Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Indian Polity by Laxmikanth.
• India Yearbook is also a good reference book.