The government jobs in the country are still one of the most desired jobs by lakhs of students. Lakhs of aspirants fill in applications for different state service examinations. West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) conducts West Bengal Civil Services Examination annually. Candidates appear for the preliminary examination in lakhs while a few thousands are promoted to the mains stage. The selection process of the examination is quite similar to that of Civil Services Examination. This article will help all aspiring candidates to understand the West Bengal state examination 2020-21.

West Bengal is currently undertaking the recruitment process of 2019 and 2020. The prelims examination 2021 is on 7th February but the WBCS Notification is awaited for further guidelines on EXE. examination 2021.

Let us know in detail about the West Bengal PSC examination.

What Are the Stages of The WBCS (EXE.) Examination?

It is a state service examination conducted to recruit for Group A, B, C, and D services. There are three stages in the examination:

• The first stage is the Preliminary examination.
• The second stage is the Mains examination.
• Final stage is the interview.

Let’s read about the three stages briefly:

PSCWB Prelims Examination:

• It has only one paper.
• The paper is a Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) type.
• There are eight topics in this paper under which questions are framed. 25 marks are assigned to each topic.
• English composition, current affairs, history of India and West Bengal, polity of India and West Bengal, India and West Bengal’s economy are few main subjects of the prelims stage.
• 200 marks are assigned for this stage.
• A candidate gets 2.5 hours to finish this exam.
• There is a negative marking for each wrong answer.

PSCWB Mains Examination:

• It has eight papers.
• Unlike many other mains examinations where there are only descriptive-type questions, PSCWB civil service (Mains) examination has a mix of MCQ and essay type questions.
• There are two papers based on an optional subject out of the eight papers. However, the optional subjects’ papers are only designed for candidates appearing in the Group A and Group B examinations.
• A candidate gets three hours to complete each paper which is 200 marks.

PSCWB Interview

• It is the final stage of the exam.
• 200 marks are allotted for the candidates who opt for Group A and Group B services while 150 and 100 marks are allotted to the candidates who sit for Group C and Group D exams respectively.

Important Dates of the West Bengal Civil Services Examination

The 2019, 2020 recruitment process is on. Candidates should know a few important dates that are released by WBPSC. These are mentioned in the table below:

Quick Tips for WBPSC Preparation

There are a few universal tips for any kind of competitive examination which should not be missed by any candidate. For PSCWB state examination, these tips will work:

• Rote learning the syllabus – While rote learning is otherwise frowned upon, it works for the syllabus of the exam. This way, all candidates can frame their resources and cover only the required topics.
• Never miss current affairs – The important events of national and international importance are one of the most focussed-upon topics. Various questions can be asked from any such topic that made headlines and is important from the state and national perspective.
• Emphasis on State’s history, polity, economy and geography – Unlike the All-India examinations, state examinations will test the candidate’s awareness of the state’s development. Hence, for the West Bengal state examination, candidates should focus on its history, polity and other factors.
• Revision is the key – How much cliche it sounds, but it holds value for each examination. The periodic cycle of revision helps candidates retain information. This proves beneficial for all the stages of the examination.
• Mock Tests are your friends – Various institutes introduce mock tests well-ahead of time. Candidates should subscribe to any test series and finish it diligently.

The importance of the state service examinations will never fade. This examination provides each candidate a fair chance to serve in the state administration. Also, a selected few can serve as civil servants at the national level after years of service in the state administration.

Hence, if you are eyeing on to crack the exam, keep a track of the WBCS Notification and fill the application up before the last date of submission.