All about WBCS exam

Eligibility criteria, exam pattern, question paper format, etc

West Bengal civil service (Executive) popularly known as WBCS (executive) is a civil service of the West Bengal. For the WBCS (executive), Public Service Commission conducts competitive examinations in three phases every year, the phases being Preliminary, Mains, and Personality Test (Interview). Normally, online form fill up starts for WBCS in the month of November. Preliminary exam for WBCS is held in the last week of January, then Mains exam is held in July or August.The candidate who passes the Mains exam are qualified for an Interview and at last, a selection list is issued by PSC consisting the names of qualified candidates post the interview stage. All these processes take up to one and a half year.

Recruitment for WBCS Candidates- Based on merits and choice there are different groups in recruitment of cadres .These are Group A ,Group B, Group C and Group D.The WBCS(Exe) officers belong to Group A and is the only State Civil Service of West Bengal, and Group B is only for West Bengal Police Service .Group C and Group D post are as follows: Group C belongs to Joint Block Development Officer, Deputy Assistant Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Business Practices, West Bengal Junior Social Welfare Service, Assistant Canal Revenue Officer, West Bengal Subordinate Land Revenue Service ,Assistant Commercial Tax officer ,Chief Controller of Correctional services. Group D belongs to Inspector of Co-operative Societies, Panchayat Development Officer under the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Rehabilitation Officer under the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department.

Eligibility conditions for applying for WBCS- A candidate must be a citizen of India, either natural or by registration and he/she should be a person whose certificate of eligibility has been issued by the government. The candidate should be more than 21 years but less than 32 years on the 1^st January of the year of examination for services and posts included in Group A, Group C and Group D. There is some relaxation in the upper age limit for S.C,S.T (5 years) and OBC- Non-creamy (3 years)  and in case of Persons with Disabilities the age limit is till 45 years.

 Education Qualification- Candidate must possessed a degree from a recognized university and have a ability to read, write and should speak Bengali (not required for Nepali speaking candidates)

Examination Procedures- Candidates would be selected based on their performance in preliminary, mains and interview. The preliminary Examination will consist of only one paper .The paper will be on General Studies. The paper will be of an objective type question consisting of 200 multiple questions. The paper will carry 200 marks and will be of 2.5 hours. The main purpose of preliminary examination is to select a candidate for the mains exam. The Main examination will consist of five Compulsory papers and two optional subjects. Every paper whether it is compulsory or optional will carry 100 marks and will be of 3 hours duration.

Exams result for WBCS-WBCS preliminary examination has been conducted in the month of January and the result for preliminary exam will be published within a couple of month after the examination.

It’s quite a well known fact that the WBCS exam is a tough nut to crack. If you are a serious aspirant then you will need a lot of dedication and practice to clear all the hurdles and help you to reach your destination.

The Mantra for cracking WBCS exam

It is true that cracking WBCS examinations is not easy. It requires proper dedication, hard work, planning and determination. But the fuit of this hard work is quite sweet, it will give you both respect and power, as it is one of the most respectable jobs in India. WBCS examination is one of the most prestigious examinations which draws attention of thousands of students every year and getting through the examination is a cherished dream for the aspirants. But most of the time many candidates, either lose their focus in between or do just keep dreaming about appearing for the exam. Candidates fear that cracking the exam is a difficult task and one has to work almost for long hours per day to clear the syllabus. Unlike any other exam, WBCS examination’s syllabus is vast, so candidates are supposed to enhance their knowledge. 

The syllabus for preliminary exam contains subjects from almost all fields. Therefore basic knowledge regarding all subjects equally is a must. It is true that cracking the WBCS examination is quite hard; it requires proper dedication, guidance, time management, right study materials, smart work and knowledge of current affairs. Many students even after putting more than 15 hours a day for this exam but fail to pass it. Whereas, many students who study with the right approach even for 7 to 8 hours pass the exam. So we can say that approach towards the exam is very important. 

Preparation strategy for preliminary examination embraces in-depth study of NCERT books, to harness reasoning ability, and subject knowledge while mains examination test in-depth knowledge of a candidate so an aspirant need to strengthen and enhances their general awareness and essay writing skills as well. Current events is one of the major factor, so students should keep themselves updated of the current happening and keep making notes of the same for instant revision.

Hence we can say that WBCS examination is not a nightmare, it only requires right guidance, proper dedication, ability to pick up relevant study material, proper strategy, and good knowledge of syllabus and current affairs.

Preparing For WBCS Syllabus Exams – Top Things to Consider

When you prepare for the West Bengal Civil Services, which is a competitive exam, you have to be very genuine with your approach to the WBCS syllabus. You have to deal with the pressure of the examination, and consider these things in order to make preparations for the same.

Know the papers thoroughly

The Preliminary Examination comprises of only one paper, that of General Studies. It is a 200 marks question paper that typically includes the following pattern:

1. General Mental Ability (25 Marks)
2. Indian National Movement (25 Marks)
3. Indian Polity & Economy (25 Marks)
4. Indian Geography - with special ref. to West Bengal (25 Marks)
5. History of India (25 Marks)
6. Current events of National & International Importance (25 Marks)
7. General Science (25 Marks)
8. English Composition (25 Marks)

The initial test is one of the steps to screen aspirants for WBCS jobs. Those who qualify are provided with the chance to appear for the final Mains exam, which consists of 2 optional and 5 compulsory papers. Each compulsory paper, Paper I, Paper II, Paper III, Paper IV and Paper V, is of 100 marks. Paper I is on Composition and Translation from English to Nepali / Urdu / Hindi / Bengali, Precis Writing and Essay on Bengali / Nepali / Urdu / Hindi. Paper II differs from Paper I only due to the fact there is Essay on English and not any other language. Paper III is on Current Affairs & General Knowledge, and there are no questions on the 5-year Plans and the Constitution of India. Paper IV is solely on these two. Paper V is on Test of Reasoning & Arithmetic.

Use online portals

There are many credible online resources available. You can check and refer to these to be able to make preparations for WBCS syllabus exams. These things have made arrangements easier for the test for even students who are not from a very privileged background or stay in remote areas where books and study materials on West Bengal Civil Services preparations are unavailable.

Deal with timings

The time is another important thing that you need to oversee. As the syllabus for WBCS is a lot, you have to allocate time separately for making preparations for the test every day. Determine which the best time for you to study is, in the morning or at night, and sit down for your studies at the same time. That way, you will be able to finish your syllabus on time.

Have confidence

If you wish to crack the WBCS exams, you need to have plenty of confidence. 50% of the preparations will be completed with a confident approach. Try to get as much information about the exam as possible right at the beginning, and make a planned approach for the study purposes. Steer clear of all distractions and remain focused in your objective. If possible, talk to someone who has already sat for the WBCS exam and possibly even cleared it. You are likely to get invaluable suggestions.