WBCS Exam Details

Every year, the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) conducts the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Exam to recruit candidates for various posts. Aspirants can find the WBCS Syllabus and Exam Pattern on this page, helping them prepare for the upcoming exam in 2024. The WBCS Exam consists of three stages: Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. It’s crucial to understand the WBPSC Common Services Examination Syllabus & Exam Pattern for effective preparation. The prelims exam follows an objective type test, and in case of equal marks, the Date of Birth serves as the deciding factor. Alongside the official syllabus, candidates need a well-planned strategy to succeed in the exam in their first attempt.

This article provides insights into the WBCS Syllabus and the exam pattern for both prelims and mains.

WBCS Syllabus 2024: Overview

Refer the below table for overview details for WBCS Syllabus 2024:

Particulars	Details
Recruitment Body	West Bengal Public Service Commission
Exam Name	WBCS 2024
Category	Syllabus
Notification Date	To be notified
Exam Date	To be notified
Exam Level	State
Mode of Exam	Offline
Selection Process	Prelims Mains Interview
Official Website	https://licindia.in/

WBCS Syllabus and Exam Pattern

The WBCS Prelims exam consists a single paper on General Studies. For the WBCS Mains Exam, candidates face six compulsory papers and one optional subject with two papers. Optional Subjects are for those opting for Group A and Group B services. Among the compulsory papers, four are of the MCQ type, covering topics like General Studies, the Constitution of India and Indian Economy, Arithmetic, and Test of Reasoning. The Mains Exam, conducted in Bengali/English, is of the Conventional/Essay type. Any disclosure of identity in any paper, results in 10% deduction from the total marks.

West Bengal PSC Exam Pattern

Applicants appearing for the West Bengal Civil Service exam should be aware of the exam pattern for all the stages. Understanding the exam pattern of WBPCS, can provide a thorough knowledge of the exam process.

WBCS Exam Pattern – Prelims

The prelims exam is the first stage of the West Bengal PSC CCE. The WBCS Prelims Exam Pattern consists of English Composition, General Science, Current events of National & International Importance, History of India, etc. The exam duration for the WBCS prelims exam is 2 hours.

The exam pattern of the WBCS is given below:

WBCS Exam Pattern – Mains

The WBCS Mains examination consists of a total of 8 papers, including two papers for the optional subject. Each paper has a duration of 3 hours. The WBCS Mains Exam Pattern 2024 covers various subjects such as Language Paper, General Studies, Constitution of India, Indian Economy, Arithmetic, Reasoning, and the Optional Subject.

Candidates can check the WBCS Mains Exam PaƩern from the below table

WBCS Syllabus

Having thorough understanding of the WBCS Syllabus and having syllabus PDF is compulsory for candidates approaching for the WBPSC 2024 Exam. The topic wise details of the WB PSC prelims and mains syllabus along with the marking scheme is given below.

WBCS Syllabus – Prelims

The WBCS Prelims syllabus 2024 consists secƟ ons on General Studies topics like Indian Polity, Economy, History, and Geography. There is 200 MCQ type quesƟons in the paper. Each topic is assigned 25 marks. The duraƟon of the exam is 2.5 hours. The Prelims is only a screening test, and its marks are not considered for final selecƟon.

The eight topics given in WBCS Prelims Syllabus are:

1. English ComposiƟon
Synonyms and Antonyms
Idioms and Phrases
Vocabulary Test
Phrasal Verbs

Homophones
Fill in the qualifying words

2. General Science
General appreciaƟon
Understanding of science
MaƩers of everyday observaƟon
Experience as expected from an educated person not having made special studies of scienƟfic
disciplines
3. Current Events of NaƟonal and InternaƟonal Importance
Significant events affecƟng India and its relaƟons with the world
4. History of India
Ancient
Medieval
Modern
5. Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal
Physical Geography
Social Geography
Economic Geography
6. Indian Polity and Economy
Indian ConsƟtuƟon
PanchayaƟ Raj
ConsƟtuƟonal Bodies, etc.
7. Indian NaƟonal Movement
Nature and character of Nineteenth-Century Resurgence
Growth of NaƟonalism

AƩainment of Independence
8. General Mental Ability
Logical Reasoning
Common ApƟtude
WBCS Syllabus – Mains
Candidates qualifying in the Prelims will proceed to the WBCS Mains exam, which includes compulsory papers on Language, English, General Studies, ArithmeƟc, Reasoning, the ConsƟtuƟon of India, Indian Economy, and OpƟonal Subjects. The Mains exam consists of six compulsory papers and two papers for the opƟonal subject, each carrying 200 marks. Candidates will have 3 hours for each paper.
Papers Subjects Topics Paper 1 Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali LeƩer wriƟng (within 150 words) DraŌing of Report (within 200 words) Precis WriƟng ComposiƟon

TranslaƟon from English to Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali Paper 2 English LeƩer wriƟng (within 150 words)
DraŌing of Report (within 200 words) Precis WriƟng ComposiƟon
TranslaƟon from Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali to English Paper 3 General Studies – I Indian History with an emphasis on NaƟonal Movement Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal Paper 4 General Studies-II Science and ScienƟfic & Technological advancement Environment
General Knowledge
Current Affairs
Paper 5 The ConsƟtuƟon of India and Indian Economy Role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
FuncƟons of RBI

Paper 6 ArithmeƟc & Test of Reasoning ArithmeƟc:
Similar to MathemaƟcs paper at the Madhyamik ExaminaƟon of the Board of Secondary EducaƟon,
West Bengal.
Test of Reasoning:
AnalyƟcal Reasoning: Data Sufficiency
Logical Reasoning: Logical DeducƟon
Forcefulness of the Arguments
ImplicaƟon of sentences
Inferring from diagrams
Series: LeƩer series
Number series
Inferring from Data
Analogy tests
Symbol InterpretaƟon
MathemaƟcal puzzles
Odd man out
PercepƟon test
Non-verbal reasoning
SelecƟng correct sequence
Paper 7 & 8 OpƟonal Papers In
accordance with the subject opted by
candidates
The Mains exam will consist of two opƟonal papers of which candidates will have to choose from a list of 37 subjects given below. Candidates will be able to select one opƟonal subject as both the opƟonal papers will consƟtute quesƟons from the
subject opted by candidates.
List of opƟonal subject along with their code is given below

WBCS 2024 Interview

Candidates passing the WBCS Mains Exam proceed to the ‘Interview’ Round. A panel appointed by WB PSC conducts the interview to assess the candidate’s personal suitability for state services. The objecƟve is to gauge their mental and analyƟcal abiliƟes. Besides academic knowledge, candidates should be informed about current affairs within and outside their state.