BPSC 72nd Syllabus 2026: Prelims and Mains Syllabus, Exam Pattern and How to Track It
The BPSC syllabus is short on paper but wide in practice. The Prelims syllabus fits in a single paragraph, yet it covers science, history, geography, polity, economy, current affairs and reasoning, with a separate Bihar angle in almost every subject. This guide sets out the full BPSC 72nd syllabus for Prelims and Mains, the latest exam pattern, and a practical way to track what you have finished so you are not guessing how much is left.
The syllabus below follows the BPSC CCE pattern used from the 68th to the 71st exams, which continues for the 72nd. Always cross-check with the official notification on bpsc.bihar.gov.in.
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BPSC Exam Pattern 2026 at a Glance
The BPSC Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) has three stages: Prelims, Mains and Interview.
| Stage | Papers | Marks | Counted in final merit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | General Studies (objective, 150 questions, 2 hours) | 150 | No, screening only |
| Mains | General Hindi (qualifying) | 100 | No, 30% needed to qualify |
| Mains | General Studies Paper 1 | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | General Studies Paper 2 | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | Essay | 300 | Yes |
| Mains | Optional subject (objective, qualifying) | 100 | No, must qualify |
| Interview | Personality test | 120 | Yes |
The final merit is out of 1,020 marks: 900 from GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2 and Essay, plus 120 from the interview.
BPSC Prelims Syllabus 2026
The Prelims is one General Studies paper of 150 multiple-choice questions for 150 marks, in 2 hours. One-third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer. The paper is available in Hindi and English. Here is the official syllabus, topic by topic:
| Topic | What it covers |
|---|---|
| General Science | General understanding of physics, chemistry and biology from everyday life and observation, at the level expected of an educated person, not a specialist |
| Current events | Events of national and international importance |
| History of India and of Bihar | A broad view of Indian history in its social, economic and political aspects, and the salient features of the history of Bihar |
| Geography | General geography and the geographical division of Bihar and its major river systems |
| Indian Polity and Economy | The country’s political system, panchayati raj, community development and planning in India, and major changes in Bihar’s economy after independence |
| Indian National Movement | The nature and character of the 19th-century resurgence, the growth of nationalism and the attainment of independence, and the part played by Bihar in the freedom movement |
| General Mental Ability | Reasoning and basic numerical ability questions |
How Much Weight Does Each Topic Get?
BPSC does not publish a topic-wise weightage, and the split changes from year to year. In recent papers, history (including Bihar), current affairs, polity and geography have together made up a large share of the paper, while science and mental ability have each been a steady block. The best way to know what BPSC asks is to solve the last five years of Prelims papers topic by topic. Our guide on BPSC cut off explains how many marks you need to aim for.
BPSC Mains Syllabus 2026
Mains is a written (descriptive) exam, except the optional subject, which is objective. All papers are 3 hours long except the optional paper.
General Hindi (100 marks, qualifying)
The paper is set at the secondary (Class 10) level. You need at least 30 marks to qualify, and these marks are not added to your merit.
| Section | Marks |
|---|---|
| Essay (Nibandh) | 30 |
| Grammar (Vyakaran) | 30 |
| Sentence construction (Vakya vinyas) | 25 |
| Summary writing (Sankshepan) | 15 |
General Studies Paper 1 (300 marks)
- Modern history of India and Indian culture: broad history of the country from the middle of the 19th century, including the freedom movement, the role of Bihar in it, and the main features of Indian culture from ancient times.
- Current events of national and international importance.
- Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams: drawing conclusions from statistical, graphical or diagrammatic information, and spotting deficiencies in it.
General Studies Paper 2 (300 marks)
- Indian polity: the Constitution and political system of India, including Bihar’s polity and administration.
- Indian economy and geography of India: planning and the economy of India and of Bihar, and the physical, economic and social geography of India and Bihar.
- Role and impact of science and technology in the development of India and Bihar.
Essay (300 marks)
The essay paper has three sections. You write one essay from each section, so three essays in all. Topics usually range across social issues, the economy, governance, science, culture and Bihar-specific themes. Using Bihar examples in your essays is one of the easiest ways to stand out.
Optional Subject (100 marks, qualifying)
Since the 68th CCE, the optional paper is an objective test of 100 marks. It is qualifying only: you must score the minimum marks set by BPSC, but the marks are not added to your merit. BPSC offers more than 30 optional subjects, including:
- Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Zoology
- Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
- Anthropology, Commerce and Accountancy, Economics, Geography, History, Labour and Social Welfare, Law, Management, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology
- Language and literature papers such as Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali and Maithili
Check the 72nd CCE notification for the final list before you choose.
How Prelims and Mains Overlap
You do not need to prepare twice. Most of the Prelims syllabus feeds directly into Mains:
| Prelims topic | Where it appears in Mains |
|---|---|
| Indian National Movement, Bihar’s role | GS Paper 1 (modern history) |
| Current events | GS Paper 1 and Essay |
| Indian Polity, Panchayati Raj | GS Paper 2 (polity) |
| Economy, Bihar economy | GS Paper 2 (economy) |
| Geography of India and Bihar | GS Paper 2 (geography) |
| General Science | GS Paper 2 (science and technology) |
| Mental Ability | GS Paper 1 (statistics, graphs and diagrams) |
Study each topic once at Mains depth, then practise objective questions on it for Prelims.
How to Track the BPSC Syllabus in the ExamYaari App
Most aspirants print the syllabus, tick topics with a pen and lose track after a few weeks. The ExamYaari app has the syllabus built in, broken down into subjects, sections and topics, so you can tick off each topic as you finish it and always see how much is left.
- Pick your exam. Open ExamYaari, choose BPSC as your exam and tap Syllabus.
- Open a subject. Each subject opens into sections (for example, Modern History) and then individual topics.
- Mark topics as complete. Tap the circle next to a topic when you finish it. Each section shows how many topics you have completed out of the total, with a percentage and a progress bar.
- Read the PYQs for that topic. Tap any topic and choose Read PYQs to see the previous year questions asked from it. This is the quickest way to know what BPSC expects from a topic before you study it.
- See the full picture with Premium. With ExamYaari Premium (₹29 a month, less than ₹1 a day), your syllabus progress appears in exam analytics alongside your strong and weak subjects from mock tests, and you can attempt topic PYQs as a practice quiz.
The syllabus, topic ticks, section progress and reading PYQs are free. Mock test analytics, PYQ attempts and premium mocks are part of Premium. Premium can be bought on Android and on the web.
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A Simple Way to Finish the BPSC Syllabus
- Start with Bihar. Bihar history, geography and economy appear in both Prelims and Mains, and are where many non-Bihar sources fall short.
- Read PYQs before each topic. Ten minutes of PYQs tells you which parts of a topic BPSC actually asks. See our BPSC PYQ topic-wise collection for real 71st Prelims questions.
- Finish one subject section at a time and mark it complete, instead of reading five subjects in parallel.
- Revise every Sunday. Go back over the topics you marked complete that week.
- Test yourself with mocks once a subject is done, and go back to the topics where you lose marks.
- Keep current affairs running daily alongside the static syllabus. Our guide to the best current affairs app for BPSC can help.
For a full month-by-month plan, read how to prepare for BPSC at home. For the latest exam date, see our BPSC 72nd exam date update.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the BPSC 72nd Prelims syllabus?
The BPSC 72nd Prelims syllabus covers General Science, current events, history of India and Bihar, general geography and the geography of Bihar, Indian polity and economy including Bihar’s economy, the Indian National Movement and Bihar’s role in it, and general mental ability.
How many papers are there in BPSC Mains?
BPSC Mains has five papers: General Hindi (100, qualifying), GS Paper 1 (300), GS Paper 2 (300), Essay (300) and an optional subject (100, objective and qualifying). Only GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2 and Essay count towards merit.
Is the BPSC optional subject still counted in merit?
No. Since the 68th CCE, the optional subject is a 100-mark objective paper that you only need to qualify. Its marks are not added to your final merit.
Is there negative marking in BPSC Prelims?
Yes. One-third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer in the Prelims.
How can I track my BPSC syllabus progress?
In the ExamYaari app, open BPSC, tap Syllabus and mark each topic complete as you finish it. Each section shows how many topics are done and the percentage completed. This is free. Premium (₹29 a month) adds syllabus progress to your exam analytics.
Is the BPSC syllabus the same for Hindi and English medium?
Yes. The syllabus is the same, and papers are available in both Hindi and English. Only General Hindi is in Hindi for everyone.
💡 Track your BPSC syllabus topic by topic in the ExamYaari app. Get ExamYaari on Google Play or download on the App Store.