About

The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) conducts the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) Examination to recruit candidates for the Executive Branch & Other Allied Services. Students recruited are offered the positions of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Excise Inspector, Taxation Officer, Block Development Panchayat Officer, District Food & Supplies Controller (DFSC), and others. Candidates who wish to be recruited for these positions must prepare well for the exam.

Cracking the HPSC HCS exam requires consistent effort and comprehensive preparation. Aspiring students must understand the HPSC exam pattern before they start their preparation for the HCS examination. Candidates must also be aware of the detailed HPSC Syllabus which includes topics & subtopics from where questions are asked in the examination.

Every aspirant must first analyze what works for them and accordingly prepare the preparation tips. To start, they should study the topics and subtopics in the HPSC Syllabus they are most interested in and make them their strongest areas. Then, choose subjects that you think will require more time and study them thoroughly. Students can also take the help of online study materials to enhance their HPSC preparation.

HPSC HCS Prelims Exam Pattern 2024

 

• The exam contained  two papers, each paper was of  100 marks.
• Questions will be objective MCQ-based.
• Each paper will have to be completed within 2 hours.
• For every wrong answer, ¼th of marks, i.e. 0.25 will be deducted.
• Question papers will be asked in two languages, that is in Hindi and English.

 

As mentioned earlier, some changes have been approved in the exam pattern of HPSC HCS.

• Paper 2 – CSAT, is now qualifying in nature.
• At least 33% of marks must be obtained in CSAT.
• Provisional selection for Mains will be based on Paper I only. Because the Paper 2 is in only qualified nature.
• Previously, the selection was based on the score procured in both papers.

 

HPSC HCS Prelims Exam Pattern

 

 

HPSC HCS Mains Exam Pattern 2024

 

• A total of 5 papers have to be attempted by the candidates in the HCS Mains examination.
• First 3 papers are compulsory in nature and Papers 4 & 5 are optional;The candidate can choose the subjects for these two papers.
• Papers will have questions of conventional nature.
• Each paper will be for 3 hours.
• The Interview round worth 75 marks is also a part of this test.
• Final selection is made on the basis of marks scored out of 675.

 

HPSC HCS Mains Exam Pattern

 

 

HPSC HCS Syllabus 2024 for Prelims

 

There are only two papers in the HPSC HCS Prelims exam and the syllabus for both subjects are given below.

 

Paper 1– General Studies

• General Science: Including knowledge of concepts of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
• Current Affairs: Recent happenings in India and the World.
• History of India & Indian National Movement
• Indian and World Geography
• Indian Polity and Economy: Constitution of India and Economic development in the country, basic concepts of Economics.
• General Mental Ability: testing reasoning and analytical abilities.
• Haryana- Social, economic and cultural institutions, Economy and people; and language of Haryana.

 

Paper 2– Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT)

• Reading comprehension
• Decision-making and problem solving
• Interpersonal skills, including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (Class 10 level)
• Data interpretation (Class 10 level)

 

Mains Syllabus

 

HPSC HCS Syllabus 2024 for Mains

 

Paper 1: English

• Precise writing
• Comprehension skills
• Essay
• Word usage and vocabulary
• General Grammar knowledge
• Composition or Essay

 

Paper 2: Hindi

• Translation of English passage to Hindi
• Letter or precise writing
• Explanation of Hindi passage (with reference to poetry or prose)
• Composition (idioms, proverbs, etc.)
• Essay (choice of topics will be given)

 

Paper 3: General Studies

This paper is divided into two parts, and the two parts contain different topics as they are listed below.

 

Part 1

• History of Modern India & Indian culture
• Geography of India
• Indian Polity
• Current national issues and topics of social relevance

 

Part 2

• India and the World
• Indian Economy
• Developments in the fields of science and technology, communication and space
• Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams

 

Paper 4 and 5 (Optional Subjects)

A list of 23 subjects is given by HPSC to the applicants to choose their optional papers:

1. Agriculture
2. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service
3. Botany
4. Chemistry
5. Civil Engineering
6. Commerce and Accountancy
7. Economics
8. Electrical Engineering
9. English Literature
10. Geography
11. Hindi Literature
12. Indian History
13. Law
14. Mathematics
15. Mechanical Engineering
16. Physics
17. Political Science and International Relations
18. Psychology
19. Public Administration
20. Punjabi Literature
21. Sociology
22. Sanskrit Literature
23. Zoology

However, the following combination of subjects are not allowed to be chosen together

• Political science and International relations with Public Administration.
• Agriculture with Animal husbandry and veterinary service.
• Hindi literature, English literature, Sanskrit literature and Punjabi literature.
• Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.

The choice of optional subjects and the planning of preparation tips must be done after checking the detailed exam pattern, syllabus, and the previous year question papers. The aspirants must be well aware of their strengths and weaknesses and plan their preparation based on them.

 

 

 

 

HPSC HCS Preparation Tips

 

Candidates who are sincerely preparing for the exam must devise their own preparation strategies. This will assist students in preparing for the exam in a systematic manner. Here are some general preparation ideas to assist students pass the preliminary exams, major exams, and interviews.

 

HPSC Preliminary Preparation

 

• The prelims exam consists of objective-type questions
• The prelims paper consists of two papers: General Studies & CSAT
• The General Studies paper includes questions from General Science, Current Events (National & International), History of India, India & World Geography, Culture, Politics, and Economy
• The CSAT paper includes questions from Comprehension, General Mental Ability, Decision Making & Problem Solving, Logical Reasoning & Mental Ability, Data Interpretation, and Basic Numeracy.
• Aspirants must read NCERT books from Class 6-12 to cover topics like History, Geography, Polity, and Economy. Once done with NCERTs, students should study from standard books available in the market.
• For the CSAT paper, candidates can solve any standard textbooks available in the market
• Practice CSAT questions on a daily basis to have a good command over them.
• Read newspapers for both Current Events & English Comprehension.

 

HPSC Mains Preparation

 

• The mains exam consists of descriptive questions.
• The mains exam consists of five papers: English, Hindi, General Studies, and 2 Optional Subjects.
• For all subjects, students first must cover the prescribed syllabus by the commission
• The mains exam is descriptive in nature, hence students must practice answer writing for each paper.
• For General Studies, comprehensive reading of newspapers is very important.
• Candidates must also solve HPSC previous question papers to enhance their preparation.

 

HPSC Interview Preparation

 

• The Interview is the last stage of the HPSC HCS exam selection process.
• During the interview round, students will be asked questions from general studies, current events, optional subjects, candidate’s educational background, and hobbies & interests.
• The interview panel will judge the candidate’s abilities, knowledge, confidence, and overall personality.
• Students must give mock interviews to practice well for the exam.
• The interview round carries 75 marks and hence plays a crucial role in determining the status of the candidate in the final merit list.