West Bengal Civil Services Exam- All you need to know 

West Bengal Public Service Commission conducts the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) exam to recruit the Group A, B and C officers in administrative departments of West Bengal. The exam consists of 3 stages namely Preliminary, Mains and Interview.

The officers recruited through the WBCS exam are as follows:

Group A

• West Bengal Civil Service (Executive)
• Assistant Commissioner of Revenue in the integrated West Bengal Revenue Service
• West Bengal Co-operative Service
• West Bengal Labour Service
• West Bengal Food and Supplies Service
• West Bengal Employment Service

Group B

West Bengal Police Service

Group C

• Superintendent, District Correctional Home / Deputy Superintendent, Central Correctional Home
• Joint Block Development Officer
• Deputy Assistant Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Business Practices
• West Bengal Junior Social Welfare Service
• West Bengal Subordinate Land Revenue Service, Grade-I
• Assistant Commercial Tax Officer
• Joint Registrar (West Bengal State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal
• Assistant Canal Revenue Officer (Irrigation)
• Chief Controller of Correctional Services

WBCS EXAM LATEST UPDATES

West Bengal Public Service Commission had released the West Bengal Civil Services exam notification 2020 on November 5, 2019. Dates are important for any candidate who is planning to appear for the exams, as it gives time to schedule the preparation. 

The WBCS 2020 main exam will be conducted from December 19 - 26, 2020. The WBCS 2021 prelims exam will be conducted on February 7, 2021. The WBCS exam dates were released by WBPSC through a revised exam schedule. WBCS 2020-21 exam dates are announced by the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC). The COVID-19 global pandemic impacted the WBCS exams as well. 

WBCS EXAM 2020 OVERVIEW

WBCS EXAM 2020 IMPORTANT DATES

WBCS EXAM 2020 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The West Bengal Public Service Commission demands certain specific norms to be fulfilled by the candidates who are willing to appear for the WBCS exam. Take away a few points from the below section to know about the relevant eligibility criteria that a candidate needs to attain:

1. A candidate must be an Indian citizen.
2. The candidate must have good health and character and suitability in all respects for appointment to Government service.
3. A candidate should be able to read, write and speak in Bengali 
4. Minimum WBCS Age Limit for:

1. • Group A and C – 21 years
   • Group B – 20 years (For West Bengal Police Service only)
   • Group D – 21 years
2. Maximum WBCS Age Limit for:
   • Group A and C – 36 years 
   • Group B – 36 years 
   • Group D – 39 years 
3. The age relaxation applies to Backward class of West Bengal and SC/ST with 3 years and 5 years respectively.
4. Those candidates whose age is between 20 & 21 years as on 01.01.2020 may apply for Group B only.
5. Age, as‌ ‌recorded‌ ‌only‌ ‌in‌ the birth certificate will be accepted.
6. The age limits apply to all the candidates whether in Government service or not.
7. For West Bengal Police Service (Group ‘B’ Service) the minimum height requirement is 1.65 metres for male candidates and 1.50 metres for female candidates. 

WBCS EXAM 2020 SELECTION PROCESS

• WBCS is a two-stage exam process which consists of a written and personality test. The written exam has two stages namely- Prelims and Mains as mentioned in the official notification. The final stage is the interview stage which is faced only by the candidates who successfully clear the written exam.

•  The WBCS Preliminary exam was scheduled on February 9, 2020 and the result will be declared as per the due date declared on the official portal. WBCS preliminary is an objective type test consisting of one paper only. The paper is of 200 marks. The candidates who are able to make through the WBCS preliminary exam will be eligible to appear in WBCS main exam. 

• WBCS Preliminary Exam Pattern: The paper will include questions covering the following fields:

• English Composition -25
• General Science -25
• Current events of National & International Importance – 25
• History of India – 25
• Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal -25
• Indian Polity and Economy -25
• Indian National Movement -25
• General Mental Ability – 25

• For candidates appearing for Group A and Group B services, the Main exam consists of six compulsory papers and one optional paper having two papers.

Six compulsory papers include the following:

• Bengali or Hindi or Urdu or Nepali or Santali -200

• English -200

• General Studies-I -200

• General Studies –II-200

• Constitution of India and Indian Economy -200

• Arithmetic and Test of Reasoning -200

• The six compulsory papers will be objective type papers and the two optional subject papers will be detailed written conventional exams.  Negative marking shall form part of the objective type papers of Prelims and Mains exam.

• Thereafter, a personal interview is conducted as a form of personality test of the candidates. Each candidate will be asked questions on based on general interest. The object of the personality test is to assess the candidates’ personal qualities e.g., alertness of mind, the power logical reasoning, intellectual and moral integrity, leadership and other interests. 

• The marks of the personal interview are bifurcated as follows:

Final results will be declared after the candidate is put through all the stages of the exam. Post the final results are declared, the candidates have to appear for medical examination, document and certificate verification.

WBCS EXAM 2020 SYLLABUS

WBCS prelims exam syllabus

The WBPCS Prelims Exam is held at various centres in Kolkata and few other districts of West Bengal. The WBCS Preliminary Syllabus comprises of eight subjects and all these subjects are tested in form of 200 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ). Each topic has a weightage of 25 marks. The duration of the exam is 2.5 hours. The eight subjects that form part of the WBCS Prelims Syllabus are:

1. English Composition
   1. Synonyms and Antonyms
   2. Idioms and Phrases
   3. Vocabulary Test
   4. Phrasal Verbs
   5. Homophones
   6. Fill in the qualifying words.
2. General Science
   1. General appreciation
   2. Understanding of science
   3. Matters of everyday observation
   4. Experience as expected from an educated person not having made special studies of scientific disciplines
3. Current Events of National and International Importance
   1. Significant events affecting India and its relations with the world
4. History of India
   1. Ancient
   2. Medieval
   3. Modern
5. Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal
   1. Physical Geography
   2. Social Geography
   3. Economic Geography
6. Indian Polity and Economy
   1. Indian Constitution
   2. Panchayati Raj
   3. Constitutional Bodies, etc.
7. Indian National Movement
   1. Nature and character of Nineteenth-Century Resurgence
   2. Growth of Nationalism
   3. Attainment of Independence
8. General Mental Ability
   1. Logical Reasoning
   2. Common Aptitude

WBCS Mains exam syllabus

WBCS FAQs

1. Is the WBCS prelims 2020 result out?
   
   Yes, the WBCS 2020 result for the prelims exam was declared on September 16. More than four thousand candidates were qualified for the main exam scheduled to be conducted in December. Check the official portal of WBPSC for results.
2. Is there any negative marking in WBCS main exam?
   
   Yes, there is negative marking in the WBCS preliminary and main exam. The negative marking is 10% of the marks assigned to the question.
3. Are there any physical standards required for in the WBCS exam?
   
   Yes, there are physical standards for some posts. There is height standard for the West Bengal Police Service given separately for male and female candidates.
4. Are there different personality test for different groups of services?
   
   No, the personality test procedure remains the same for all, only the marks of personality test are different for each category of the exam. The following chart will make it clear

Group A and B - 200 marks

Group C - 150 marks

Group D - 100 marks.

1. Can the candidates write answers in Nepali in WBCS main exam?
   
   The candidates can write the WBCS main exam in English or in Bengali. But the answer script for Political Science and Botany can be written in Nepali.
2. The WBCS Prelims is conducted through Online or offline mode?
   
   The WBCS prelims and mains both exams are conducted in offline mode. The candidates have to mark their answers on the OMR sheet provided by the exam conducting body.
3. Are the candidates of age between 20 and 21 eligible to appear in the WBCS exam?
   
   Yes, the candidates who are between 20 and 21 years of age are eligible to fill the form of WBCS 2020 but only for the Group B services.
4. Is there any relaxation of age provided to SC and ST of other states?
   
   No, there is no age relaxation for the Backward Class candidates and SC and ST candidates from other states. They will be treated as General Category candidates.
5. Are optional subject papers compulsory for all candidates?
   
   No, compulsory subject papers are for Group 'A' and Group 'B' services only. The candidates appearing in the Group 'C' and Group 'D' services need not appear in Compulsory subject papers.
6. Is the WBCS main exam objective type?
   
   There are six compulsory papers in WBCS main exam. Out of six compulsory papers, four papers are objective in nature. Each paper is of 200 marks.
7. Is Bengali compulsory for WBCS?
   
   Yes, reading, writing and understanding Bengali language is compulsory for the WBCS exam. But it is not compulsory for candidates having Nepali as their mother tongue.
8. What is the age limit of WBCS 2020?

The age limit for WBCS exam 2020 is as follows

Lower age limit is 21 years

Upper age limit is 36 years.

The age relaxation is also provided to the reserved category candidates. The candidate who had attained the age of 20 and not attained the age of 21 can appear in the WBCS exam but for group B services only.

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