Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) – Pattern

 Introduction

Generally most of the students, while preparing for the Civil Services Examination, also appear in the State Civil Services (PCS) examinations. This trend is mostly seen in the candidates of Hindi speaking states. Apart from the candidates of Rajasthan origin, the exams conducted by Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC), are also the main attraction for the candidates of other states preparing for civil services. Despite the difference in the nature and process of questions, the syllabus of the Civil Services Preliminary and Mains Examination has a meaningful role in the Rajasthan State and Subordinate Services Examination, so students preparing for the Civil Services Examination also get success in these exams.

Exams conducted by the Commission:

• The state based government, semi-government, judicial and other subordinate services in Rajasthan are mainly organized by the Ajmer based Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
• The most popular examination conducted by this commission is ‘Rajasthan State and Subordinate Services Combined Competitive Examination’ also known as ‘RAS-RTS’.

RAS-RTS Exam- Nature and Procedure

Nature of Exam:

• These competitive examinations conducted by the commission generally include three levels-
  
  1. Preliminary Examination – Objective in Nature
  2. Mains Exam – Descriptive in Nature
  3. Interview – Oral
• Since 2013 Significant changes have been made in the nature and syllabus of the preliminary and mains examination. Its detailed description is given below.

   Exam Process

• Process of Preliminary Exam
  
  • First of all, the release related to these examinations is issued by the commission, after that the process of filling the online application form starts. Detailed information related to the process of filling the form is given under the heading ‘How to apply online?’
  • A detailed description of various aspects related to the said examination is given in the notification. Therefore, it is important to study it before filling the form.
  • After the completion of the form filling process, the preliminary examination is usually conducted after 3 to 4 months.
  • This preliminary examination is conducted on the same day at different centers of the state as decided by the commission.
  • The nature of this preliminary examination is of ‘Objective Type’ (Multiple Choice) in which one has to choose the correct option out of four possible options (a, b, c and d) given for each question.
  • This right option has to be filled with only black or blue ball point pen at the appropriate place in the respective circle in front of it in the OMR seat provided by the commission.
  • After the new amendment made in the year 2013, in this preliminary examination, there is only one paper General Knowledge and General Science (Objective) (Earlier there were two papers- ‘General Knowledge and General Science’ and one ‘optional subject’ selected by the candidate from the subjects given in the notification issued by the commission).
  • The total number of questions in the preliminary examination are 150 and maximum marks are 200 (all questions carry the same marks). Candidates have to answer this within the time limit of three hours prescribed by the commission.
  • There is a provision of negative marking for wrong answers, in which one-third (1/3) marks are deducted for each wrong answer.
  • If a candidate gives more than one answer to a question, then that answer will be treated as wrong, even if one of the given answers is the correct answer.
  • If a question is not attempted by the candidate, i.e. no answer is given, then there will be no penalty for that question.
  • Due to the provision of negative marking, it is generally required to get 40-50% marks to pass this stage, but sometimes this percentage can be even less considering the difficulty level of the questions.
  • The question paper is given in both the languages (Hindi and English) and in case of any dispute regarding the language of the question, preference will be given to the questions printed in English language.
  • The preliminary examination is qualifying in nature. The marks obtained in this are not added with the marks of the mains exam or interview.
• Process of Mains Exam
  
  • For the successful candidates in the preliminary examination, the mains examination is organized in seven divisions of the state (Jaipur, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Udaipur) at various centers decided by the commission.
  • In 2013, the syllabus of the RPSC mains exam was changed by the commission. Earlier there were two optional subjects in the mains exam, which has now been removed.
  • Now the mains examination consists of four compulsory papers (General Studies First Paper, General Studies Second Paper, General Studies Third Paper and ‘General Hindi and General English’), the detailed information of which is given in the ‘Syllabus’ section.
  • The mains exam is descriptive/analytical in nature, having short, medium and long questions with word limit. The answers to all these questions have to be written in the prescribed words in the prescribed place in the answer-book given by the commission within a time limit of not more than three hours.
  • After the new amendments, now RPSC’s mains examination is of total 800 marks, in which maximum 200- marks are fixed for each paper.
  • Generally 60-65% marks are required to be scored in this stage of the examination.
  • The marks obtained in these papers will be added to the merit list as before.
  • Credit will be given to the organized, subtle and powerful expression in the least number of words in all the subjects.

Interview Process

The candidates selected in the mains examination have to appear for an interview before the commission after one month ordinarily. The personality of the candidates is tested during the interview.

• The candidates selected in the mains examination have to appear for an interview before the commission after one month ordinarily.
• During the interview, the personality of the candidates is tested, in which oral questions are asked by the members of the commission at the designated place in the commission, to which the candidate has to answer orally. This process lasts for more than one day depending on the number of candidates.
• A total of 100 marks have been fixed for the interview in this examination conducted by RPSC.
• Merit list is prepared on the basis of aggregate of marks obtained in mains examination and interview.
• The list of finally selected candidates is released usually one week after the completion of the entire interview.