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APSC Guide

Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) is a constitutional body, which is responsible for recruitment of personnel in various Assam Government posts and services. It conducts Combined Competitive examination (CCE) to recruit eligible candidates for Assam Civil Service, Assam Police Service and other allied services.

APSC LogoAssams.info has been publishing APSC related information such as question papers, answer keys, short notes and other information since 2013. We are thankful to our readers for their invaluable feedback and support. Assam Public Service Commission related information are scattered throughout this site. To help users in finding the right information, we are preparing this index. This special page will also serve as a beginner's guide for APSC preparation.

1. About CCE:

Before starting your preparation, it is important that you have a complete understanding about the examination process, its structure, syllabus and the other aspects related to the preparation. The APSC CCE is a three stage examination. The first stage is Preliminary or Prelims, which carries two objective type papers. The second stage is Mains, where candidates are required to write subjective type papers. The final stage is interview, in which personality of the candidates are judged by a board consisting of experts and APSC members. Learn more about APSC CCE.

The process of CCE starts with releasing of notification. Unlike UPSC, there is no fixed schedule. The advertisements appear on official APSC website and on major newspapers from Assam. Candidates are required to submit their applications online. Date of Prelims is announced later. After clearing Prelims, candidates are required to submit another application. That's for the Main examination. Though APSC Prelims is conducted in several examination centers across the state of Assam, Mains exam is conducted in Guwahati only. After Mains results, selected few candidates (1:2 ratio) are invited for viva or interview. That's the last stage. From initial notification to announcement of final results, it takes more than one year to complete the process of CCE.

2. Syllabus (Updated):

The question papers of CCE are set according to predefined syllabus. So, candidates need to align their preparation according to the syllabus. Details of the syllabus are provided below.

APSC has updated it's rule book. The Assam Public Services Combined Competitive Examination Rules 2019 has made several changes to the structure of the combined competitive examination (CCE). As usual, there will be one Preliminary Examination and one Main Examination.

2.1 Prelims Syllabus:

The Preliminary examination will consist of two papers – General Studies I and General Studies II. There will be no optional papers in prelims.

  • General Studies paper I: 2 hours duration and 200 marks. It will carry 30-35% questions related to Assam.
  • General Studies paper II: 2 hours duration and 200 marks. It will be of qualifying nature and a candidate must score minimum 33%.

There will be negative marks for wrong answers in the preliminary examination.

2.2 Mains Syllabus:

The Main examination will consist of Written examination and Viva/Interview. Written exam will have 8 conventional essay/objective type papers and 2 qualifying language papers. Those who clear the written exam will be eligible for the interview round.

Written exam - Compulsory papers:
  • Paper 1 - Essay: Traditional essay paper.
  • Paper 2 - General Studies I: Indian History, Heritage, Culture and Society, Geography of India and World
  • Paper 3 - General Studies II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and international relations
  • Paper 4 - General Studies III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
  • Paper 5 - General Studies IV: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
  • Paper 6 - General Studies V: Assam related
  • Paper 7 - Optional Subject Paper 1:
  • Paper 8 - Optional Subject Paper 2:

Each of the above papers will carry 250 marks. The allotted duration for each paper is 3 hours. So, total marks in Written Exam will be: 2000. Maximum marks allotted for Interview is 275. Thus, total marks in CCE Mains exam will be: 2275

Written exam - Qualifying papers:
  • Paper A: Any of the following languages: Assamese, Bengali and Bodo. Candidates from Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong who had not studies these languages will be exempted.
  • Paper B:English

These papers will be of Class X standard. Both of them are of 3 hours duration and will carry 300 marks each. The marks of these papers will not be counted. But a candidate must obtain at least pass mark in both of these papers.

3. How to Prepare?

Right Mindset and smart preparation is very important for competitive examinations. Before starting your preparation know yourself and set the right mindset to start journey towards your goal. Read our article on preparation for civil services exam.

3.1 How to Prepare For APSC Prelims:

Prelims is the first and most important stage in APSC CCE. A major chunk of the candidates get eliminated in this stage. If you are appearing in APSC CCE, don’t take Prelims lightly. Many people repeatedly fail in prelims. But not due to lack of knowledge or hard work. They fail because they don’t know how to prepare. Study smart, clear your basic concepts.

3.2 How to Prepare for APSC Mains:

The Mains stage carries 2000 marks (earlier 1400 marks). APSC has released a per-defined format for Mains question papers. To learn more, check our page on Mains question pattern. Begin your preparation for GS right before Prelims. Read newspapers regularly. Our suggestion: Hindu and Assam Tribune. With clear concepts, you'll be able to answer most of the questions. Refer previous question papers and solve them yourself. Practice time management. GS paper is lengthy. Forget 100%, many find it difficult to complete even 70% of the paper. That's because of lack of practice and poor time management.

3.3 How to Prepare for APSC Interview:

Interview is the last stage of CCE. It carries 275 marks (earlier 200 marks) and often plays the deciding role. Read our post on what to expect in APSC interview.

4. Important Books:

Following are some books for APSC CCE. We will update this booklist with user input.

General Studies:

General English:

Sociology:

5. Important Web links:

6. RTI Information:

In order to request exam related information from APSC, candidates are required to follow the RTI route. We covered APSC RTI instructions for the benefit of candidates.

7. Discussions:

There are several APSC related discussion pages right here on assams.info. Some of them:

8. Question Papers:

Question papers of previous APSC Exams are available in Assams.info. Following are some of them:

We will update this page with more relevant information. Don't forget to provide your valuable feedback and suggestions.

181 comments in “APSC Guide

  • saanvi hazarika on

    can you suggests me some education optional paper books for prelims..

  • Can I take computer science and electronics as the optional subjects?

  • @Rowel teron,
    The APSC 2018 advertisement has been released http://www.assams.info/jobs/assam-civil-services-exam-2018. You need to apply within the prescribed duration mentioned in the advertisement. To be eligible, you must have a Bachelor degree. Those who are awaiting results are not eligible for APSC CCE.

  • Hello sir my name is Rowel teron . My standard is BSc 6th sem pass course. I am very interested to appear in APSC examination but I don’t how to appear the said exam and when to fill up the examination form and minimum percentage required for ST(H)…. Please kindly help me.

  • Iftiara Alam on

    There are now several books for ACS exams on Amazon.

  • Pallabi saikia borah on

    Can you provide the details of 2018 prelims exam date and procedure

  • No…the post will b mention for what they are going to recruit…n educational qualification will also be mentioned

  • If I pass the APSC exam then what kind of Job government will provide me? Is there any chance to become a DC or IS officer?

  • Can you please provide the details of mains exam procedure.

  • Ruchira Paul on

    More mcqs on assam history

  • Please kindly provide all the previous year question papers in PDF format, if possible.
    Thank you.

  • @wannabe aspirant,
    Yes, you can.

  • wannabe Aspirant on

    Can i take the same optional paper in mains, that i had taken in Prelims? for example if i tale economics in prilims can i take education(for e.g.) and economics(again)?

  • Can u suggest books for Assamese optional for APSC mains?

  • Can i take polity and assamese as optional for APSC mains?

  • JITUMONI CHOUDHURY on

    I am a mechanical engineering student so can I take optional subjects–mechanical engineering and mathematics.

  • @Arun,
    You can’t. You must have a graduation degree to apply for APSC CCE.

  • can i apply for apsc cce as i am final year student of b.tech?

  • Hirakjyoti Nath on

    please, ,,, suggest reference books for zoology for mains

  • NAGENDRA Chetry on

    Sir
    Please provide me some previous years question papers of History mains.

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