The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) is the Public Service Commission of the State of Karnataka, which implements a state-level civil service examination of the multiple positions in the state. The test is performed in various governmental entities to enlist people for different positions.
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The official notice concerning the same is accessible on the Commission’s official website i.e. www.kpsc.kar.nic.in
KPSC Highlights
KPSC 2021 Highlights of the Exam
Name of the exam |
Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) |
Conducting body |
Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) |
Level of the Exam |
State Level |
Frequency of the Exam |
Once a year based on vacancy |
Mode of application |
Online |
Mode of the exam |
Offline |
Number of stages |
Three (Prelims, Mains and Interview) |
Location of posting |
All over Karnataka |
Name of posts |
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Tahsildar Grade II, Commercial Tax Officer, Asst Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent of Excise, Assistant Director, Labour Officer |
Website of the exam |
Kpsc.kar.nic.in |
Latest Updates
- One of the new reforms introduced in the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) examination has been that the Board must state in writing the reason for awarding any student less than 20 marks or more than 40 marks out of 50 in the Personality Test.
- The Government of Karnataka also said that all papers of the KPSC shall be released in Malayalam as well as in Kannada and Tamil including other minority languages in the future.
KPSC Exam Dates
KPSC 2020 Exam dates
Events |
Dates |
Official notification release date on the website |
January 31st,2020 |
Release of the KPSC KAS application form |
February 6th, 2020 |
Last date for submission of application |
March 6th, 2020 |
Last date for exam fee payment |
March 7th, 2020 |
KPSC KAS Call Letter for Prelims Publication |
To be updated |
KPSC KAS Preliminary Testing |
End of April 2020 |
KPSC Exam Pattern
KPSC 2020 Exam Pattern
The examination is conducted in 3 phases being the preliminary, mains and the interview. The candidate needs to qualify all the 3 phases to reach the final level of the selection process. The pattern for all 3 is mentioned below-
Stage 1: Preliminary Examination (Objective Type)
The first stage of the KPSC examination is known as the Prelims stage, wherein the candidate needs to answer objective type of questions to qualify the round.
- The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers.
- Each of these papers consists of objective type of questions or multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
- The marks obtained in this examination is not counted in merit, the same is only qualifying in nature.
- The medium of the question paper is English.
- Duration of each of these papers is 2 hours.
- Negative marking exists wherein; 0.25 marks are deducted forever incorrect answer.
Papers |
Topics |
Marks |
Paper I- (100 MCQs of 2 marks each) |
General Studies (National and International) |
40 |
Humanities (Indian Constitution, History and Geography of India and Karnataka, Economy) |
60 |
Paper-II- (100 MCQs of 2 marks each) |
General Studies (State) |
40 |
Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology |
30 |
General Mental Ability (Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Problem Solving, Data Interpretation)- 10th Standard level |
30 |
Stage 2: Mains Examination (Descriptive Type Questions)
The second stage is known as the Mains Examination. Only candidates who qualify the Prelims can appear for the Mains. The marks obtained in the Mains are counted in merit during the final calculation of marks.
- The written test consists of question papers of descriptive type out of which the qualifying structure of only one paper;
- Upon clearing the Mains examination with the certification mark requirements, the candidates are called for the personal interview;
- Each paper will be of 3 hours;
- The medium of the question paper will be English. However, the respective language papers will be released in the testing languages.
- The KPSC Mains has a total of 9 papers- 2 qualifying papers, 4 general papers and 2 optional papers.
- The total marks are about 1750.
- The seven papers counted for ultimate merit are the following-
- Essay, General Studies 1,2,3,4 and optional papers 1 and 2.
Stage 3: Final Interview
The last step of the recruitment process for the KPSC is the personal interview. The candidates who qualify both the preliminary and the mains appear for the interview session.
- Basically, the interview is performed to judge the applicants’ cognitive calibre. It is carried out in order to measure the academic skills and social attributes of the prospective candidates.
- Most of the questions asked during the interview are from current affairs or general events of national or international importance. The purpose is to judge the knowledge and interest of the candidates in the current state of the country as well as their alertness and critical thinking abilities.
- Applicants unable to obtain those minimum marks or the cut-off criteria as set by the commission in the first two stages of the examination are not called for the interview round.
KPSC Syllabus
KPSC 2020 Syllabus
Syllabus of Prelims Paper 1
- Current Affairs- National and International Importance
- Indian History- History of Karnataka and Indian National Movement
- Indian and World Geography along with the Geography of Karnataka
- Polity and Indian Economy- Political System of India and Economic Reforms
Syllabus of Prelims Paper 2
- Current affairs and current events related to the state of Karnataka
- Important schemes of the Karnataka State Government
- Broad Understanding of topics from General Science and Technology
- Ecology and Environment- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Health, Ecology, etc.
- General Mental Ability- Basic Numeracy, Data Interpretation, Charts, Graphs, Tables, Comprehension, Logical Reasoning.
Qualifying Papers:
Paper 1 Essay & Paper 2 General Studies Syllabus:
Cultural Heritage of India |
Decentralization of Power |
Modern History of India (beginning of the 19th century onwards) |
Socio-economic system |
Kadambas – Hoysalas |
Rural social system and Rural dev |
The Vijaynagar Empire (1336-1799) |
Indian Economy |
Modern Mysore (1799-1947) |
India and International Economic Relations |
Karnataka Freedom movement and Unification (1885-1956) |
Development Patterns |
Post-Independence Karnataka |
Planning and Planning Goals |
Social Change & Movements |
Decentralisation |
Social Change & Modernisation |
Rural Dev |
Political System and Government |
Rural Development Initiatives |
Data Collection Analysis & Interpretation |
- |
Paper 3 General Studies 2:
Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere |
Distribution of Powers (Legislative) |
Continental physiography and demographic distribution |
Unicameral and Bicameral legislatures |
Indian Physiography |
Important Amendments |
Industrial Planning & Development |
Welfare machinery in India |
Physiographic divisions (Karnataka) |
Union and State services |
Urban land use policy and Urbanisation (Karnataka) |
Public and Private Administration |
Nature of the Indian Constitution |
Organisation structure |
Fundamental Rights |
Organisational behaviour and concepts of management |
Informal and formal organization |
Administrative Reforms |
Management techniques and tools |
UN and Specialised agencies |
Paper 4 General Studies 3:
Basics of Science and Tech |
Biotechnology initiatives |
Space Tech & Science |
Animal Husbandry (dairy, fishery and veterinary sciences) |
Energy Resources |
Development policies (Agriculture), programmes and trade |
Disasters, Pollution and Pests |
Hygiene & health |
Related Perception |
Environment Conservation |
Knowledge society |
Natural Resources |
Rural upliftment and Science & Tech |
Biodiversity & Ecosystem |
Natural Science |
Solid Waste Management & Environmental Pollution |
Agriculture Science |
Role of Information Tech in Environment and Human Health |
Sericulture and Horticulture |
State-community-civil society interface |
Paper 5 General Studies 4
- Ethics – determinants, essence and consequences
- Ethics in public administration
- Accountability and ethical governance
- RTI and concept of public service
- Human values
- Impartiality, integrity and non-partisanship
- Aptitude and foundational values for civil service
- Emotional intelligence and contribution of social thinkers
KPSC Eligibility
KPSC 2020 Eligibility Criteria
The basic eligibility criteria are given below-
- The applicant applying for the test must be an Indian Citizen;
- In order to fit in within the eligibility criteria to be able to take the exam and for the various posts of KPSC – the candidates must be within 21 to 35 years of age;
- The applicants must earn a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree from any accredited university or professional institution.
- KPSC 2020: Application process-
- Access the paper’s official’s website first and tap on the application page to help fill out the Stage-1 exam form.
- Complete the application form with the date of birth, name, name of parents’, a number of aadhar, mobile number, email ID, report of the performance of class 10, name of education board and classification.
- After the registration has been fully achieved, the candidates will submit a registration number along with an OTP on their mobile phone and email address. These are required to log in in the future.
- By signing in their profile again, the candidates can fill in the second stage of the form. It requires filling in the specifics like religion, which gender one identifies with, the requirement for education and anything relevant to the requirements for eligibility.
- After filling in the information, the candidate must upload the required documents which include a photograph, a signature and an SC/ST certificate. Make sure the records are all up to date and accessible.
- Also, choose the language for the exam carefully along with the choice of the centre or region.
- After submitting all the information and documentation, go to the payment page of the form and request for the application fees.
- Candidates will get a message and a page showing the transaction form when the payment is confirmed. For future reference save it or get a printout right away.
KPSC Admit Card
KPSC 2021 Admit Card
- The Admit Card shall be made available on the official website a few weeks before the examination date.
- To download the same one needs to visit their official website i.e. kpsc.kar.nic.in;
- Click for the link to download the KPSC 2020 admit card;
- A page for login will appear where one needs to enter their login credentials;
- The admit card will appear which should be saved or downloaded for future reference;
- If there are any errors in the records printed on the admit card, the same needs to be reported to the authorities immediately;
- It is mandatory for the candidates to carry the admit card along with valid identity proof to the examination centre.
KPSC FAQs
KPSC 2021 FAQs
Ques. What is the KPSC Evaluation 2020 submission fees?
Ans. The application fees for the KPSC examination for the different categories are
- General- INR 500
- OBC and SC/ST- INR 250
- PwD- The candidates belonging to the PwD category are exempted from giving application fees.
Ques. How many papers are there in the KPSC testing process of Mains and what is the length of each paper?
Ans. There are 9 papers in the Mains stage and the duration of each paper is 3 hours.
Ques. How many stages are there in the KPSC Examination?
Ans. There are 3 stages being, the Prelims, Mains and the personal interview.
Ques. What are the basic educational qualifications required for appearing for the KPSC?
Ans. The candidates must possess a Bachelor or a Master’s degree from a reputed University/Educational Institution.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.