MPSC Group B Syllabus and Exam Pattern

Stages of the group B combined exam

MPSC advertises the three posts together, which is why the exam is often called the group B combined. You fill one form, list your post preferences, and everyone sits the same preliminary paper.

1. Prelims: a filter round. Clearing its cut off earns you a mains seat, and the score is then set aside for good.
2. Mains: Paper 1 and Paper 2, both objective and each out of 200. The first is common, while Paper 2 differs for ASO, STI and PSI, so every post you opt for means one more Paper 2 on the timetable.
3. PSI only: a physical test of 100 marks, which is qualifying with a reported minimum of 60, followed by an interview.
4. Document verification and the final merit list, post wise.

For the gazetted officer route through the state services exam, see the MPSC syllabus page, which covers Rajyaseva and its descriptive mains.

MPSC group B exam pattern

Every paper is objective and set in Marathi and English, except that the language parts test each language in itself. A mistake costs you 25% of the item's value, which means half a mark in the mains, where each item is worth two.

Reports on Paper 1 give its internal split as Marathi 50 questions for 100 marks, English 30 questions for 60 marks, and general knowledge 20 questions for 40 marks.

MPSC group B syllabus for the prelims

• Current events: state, national and world affairs
• History: modern India with special stress on Maharashtra, the social reform movement and the freedom struggle
• Geography: the earth and the world, plus Maharashtra's physical setting, soils, rainfall, crops, rivers, cities and industries
• Polity: basics of the Constitution, state and village administration
• Economy: how national income is measured, farm and factory sectors, exports and imports, banks, demographic trends, poverty, joblessness, RBI and government policy, plus the state budget with its accounting and audit
• General science: everyday physics and chemistry, animal and plant biology, health and hygiene
• Arithmetic and reasoning: basic operations, averages, decimals and fractions, percentages, and intelligence type puzzles

With just 60 minutes for 100 questions, you have 36 seconds per item. Questions on Maharashtra appear in almost every subject, so state level facts deserve a separate notebook.

MPSC group B mains syllabus: the common Paper 1

Marathi (100 marks)

Vyakaran (grammar), shabda sampatti (word power), sentence building, mhani and vakprachar (proverbs and phrases), and an unseen passage.

English (60 marks)

Tenses, articles and other grammar points, word meanings, framing correct sentences, common phrases, and an unseen passage.

General knowledge (40 marks)

Recent national and global developments, the RTI law of 2005 in its central form, Maharashtra's law guaranteeing time bound public services, and computers and information technology, including the state's e-governance programmes.

Marathi is worth 100 of the 200 marks in this paper, and candidates schooled in English medium often leak marks there. Give Marathi grammar a daily slot from the very first week.

Paper 2: what changes by post

Each Paper 2 opens with reasoning, Maharashtra history and geography and the Constitution, then moves to the subject matter of the job.

Who qualifies for group B posts

Graduates of every stream may apply, provided they have working command of Marathi in speech and writing. Final year students may apply for the prelims, provided they pass before the mains application date. Published summaries of the most recent advertisement report these age bands:

PSI aspirants must also meet height and chest standards. Check the advertisement for exact figures, relaxation for other groups and the exact date your age is counted on.

Preparing for the post you want

1. Months 1 and 2: the prelims subjects, using state board history and geography books for classes 5 to 12 and NCERT for science and polity basics.
2. Month 3: a timed prelims test every other day; the quarter mark penalty punishes careless guessing.
3. Month 4: Marathi and English grammar for Paper 1, plus the RTI and service delivery laws.
4. Months 5 and 6: your Paper 2. ASO aspirants should read polity in depth, STI aspirants economics and GST, and PSI aspirants the police and criminal law acts along with physical training.

Much of this prelims material serves the group C exam too; the MPSC combine syllabus page explains that side. For other state commissions, open our state exams hub.