KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process | Stage 1, 2 and 3 Complete details

The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) conducts the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) recruitment examination for different posts in the state civil services. KPSC conducts these exams to fill the vacancies in Groups A and Group- B. The KPSC KAS recruitment process involves three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interview/ Personality test. KPSC Prelims exam is a qualifying test, and candidates clearing the Prelims will have to appear for the KPSC KAS Mains exam followed by a personal interview. The official website of the commission is http://kpsc.kar.nic.in/ 

This article will provide you with relevant details of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process | Stage 1, 2, and 3 Complete details, posts under the Karnataka Administrative Services, and other necessary information.

Name of Posts for both Group A and Group B in various Government Departments of Karnataka

  • Assistant Commissioner (KAS)
  • Assistant Commissioner Commercial Taxes
  • Treasury Officer
  • Executive Officer Panchayat Raj
  • Deputy Superintendent of Police
  • District Social welfare Officer
  • Tahsildar
  • Commercial Tax Officer
  • Deputy Superintendent of Excise
  • Asst. Director
  • Labour Officer

KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process 

The candidates wishing to apply for the KPSC KAS recruitment should be familiar with the selection process before applying. Following are the stages of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process 

  • Preliminary Examination 

Stage 1 in the selection process for KPSC KAS recruitment is the Preliminary examination. This examination consists of two objective-type papers. Candidates who clear the Preliminary Examination are eligible for the next stage of the recruitment, i.e., the Mains. 

  • Mains Examination 

This is the second stage of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process. It is a written examination consisting of 9 papers, and they are essay/ descriptive type papers. All the candidates qualifying for the mains exam will be eligible to appear for the interview. 

  • Interview 

Those candidates who clear the Mains examination are called for the interview. The interview is a qualifying round, and the Merit list is released after the interview. The marks for the interview are allotted out of 200 marks. 

  • Document Verification

Candidates who are selected from the interview are called for the document verification process.  

Documents Required for KPSC KAS Recruitment

Document verification is an important stage in the recruitment for the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process. The list of the document to be submitted for verification is mentioned below:

  • Educational qualification certificates of both 10th, 12th, and Graduation.
  • Caste certificate (If applied under a reserved category)
  • Passport size photographs of the candidate.
  • Domicile certificate stating candidate is a resident.

Number of Attempts for KPSC KAS Recruitment

Details of the number of times a candidate can attempt the KPSC KAS Recruitment examination is provided below:

  • General Category- 5 attempts
  • Scheduled Caste (SC)- No limit
  • Scheduled Tribes (ST)- No limit
  • CAT-1- No Limit
  • Other Backward Classes (OBC)- 7 attempts

KPSC KAS Prelims Examination Pattern

The following table shows the examination pattern of the KPSC KAS Preliminary examination:

Paper INo. Of QuestionsTotal Marks
General Studies4080
Humanities60120
Paper IINo. Of QuestionsTotal Marks
General Studies4080
Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology 3060
General Mental Ability 3060
  • The KPSC Preliminary examination will consist of two papers.
  • It will have 200 objective-type MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions). 100 questions per paper.
  • Paper I has two sections, and Paper II has 3 sections.
  • Each question carries 2 marks.
  • The total marks of the examination are 400.
  • The time duration for each paper is 2 hours (120 minutes)
  • Negative marking is applicable. 0.25 marks are deducted for every incorrect answer.
  • The marks obtained in the preliminary examination are not counted in merit, and they are only qualifying in nature.

KPSC KAS Syllabus: Preliminary Examination 

ExaminationSyllabus
Paper-1General Studies, Current Affairs of National & International Importance, Humanities, Indian History, Indian and World Geography, Indian Polity and Economic
Paper-2General Studies, Current Affairs of State and Local Importance, Important State Government Schemes, General Science & Technology, Broad Understanding, Contemporary issues/developments and implications, Environment and Ecology, Understanding issues on biodiversity, climate change, ecology, health with no subject specialization, General Mental Ability, Basic numeracy, Data interpretation, Logical reasoning and analytical ability, Comprehension

KPSC KAS Mains Examination Pattern 

The examination consists of 9 papers.

The examination is descriptive.

Negative marking is not applicable.

KPSC Mains has 9 papers: 2 qualifying papers, 4 general papers, and 2 optional papers.

Mains PaperDurationMarks
English2 hours150 (35 percent qualifying criteria)
Kannada2 hours150 (35 percent qualifying criteria)
Paper 1 – Essay3 hours250
Paper 2 – General Studies I3 hours250
Paper 3 – General Studies II3 hours250
Paper 4 – General Studies III3 hours250
Paper 5 – General Studies IV3 hours250
Paper 6 – Optional paper I3 hours250
Paper 7 – Optional paper II3 hours250

The Stage II of the KPSC recruitment process is the Mains Examination. The candidates who clear the Preliminary Examination are called for the Mains Examination. The marks obtained in the Mains Exam are counted for merit. Candidates clearing the Main examination are called for the interview. 

KPSC Mains Syllabus 

Paper-1 English ExamComprehension
Precis
Usage
Vocabulary
Short Essay
Communication
Paper-2 Kannada ExamComprehension
Precis
Usage
Vocabulary
Short Essay
Communication
Paper-3 EssayTwo essays in Kannada/ English
Essay 1: Topic of National/ International Issues
Essay: Topic of State/ Local Issues

The KAS syllabus for the General Studies papers in the Main exam is given in the table below:

General Studies Paper IMaximum Marks – 250Duration of the Examination – 3 hours (180 minutes)3 Sections:Cultural Heritage and History of Karnataka and IndiaPolitical & Social PerspectivePlanning, Indian Economy, Rural Development- Data Collection, Analysis and InterpretationSyllabus:Cultural Heritage of India (select areas and topics)
Modern History of India (beginning of the 19th century onwards)
Kadambas – Hoysalas
The Vijaynagar Empire (1336-1799)
Modern Mysore (1799-1947)
Karnataka Freedom movement and Unification (1885-1956)
Post-Independence Karnataka
Social Change & Movements
Social Change & Modernisation
Political System and Government
Decentralization of Power
Socio-economic system
Rural social system and Rural dev
Indian Economy
India and International Economic Relations
Development Patterns
Planning and Planning Goals
Decentralisation
Rural Dev
Rural Development Initiatives
Data Collection Analysis & Interpretation
Genera Studies Paper IIMaximum Marks – 250 Duration of the Examination – 3 hours (180 minutes)3 Sections:Natural Resources and Physical FeaturesIndian Constitution – OverviewInternational Relations, Public Administration and ManagementSyllabus:Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere
Continental physiography and demographic distribution
Indian Physiography
Industrial Planning & Development
Physiographic divisions (Karnataka)
Urban land-use policy and Urbanisation (Karnataka)
Nature of the Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights
Distribution of Powers (Legislative)
Unicameral and Bicameral legislatures
Important Amendments
Welfare machinery in India
Union and State services
Public and Private Administration
Organisation structure
Organisational behaviour and concepts of management
Informal and formal organisation
Management techniques and tools
Administrative Reforms
UN and Specialised agencies
General Studies Paper IIIMaximum Marks – 250 Duration of the examination – 3 hours (180 minutes)3 Sections:Role/impact of Science & Technology in Indian Development, Information Technology in Public DomainModern trends and advancements in Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, Agriculture Science, Hygiene and HealthIssues/Challenges of development on Ecology and EnvironmentSyllabus:Basics of Science and Tech
Space Tech & Science
Energy Resources
Disasters, Pollution, and Pests
Related Perception
Knowledge society
Rural upliftment and Science & Tech
Natural Science
Agriculture Science
Sericulture and Horticulture
Biotechnology initiatives
Animal Husbandry (dairy, fishery, and veterinary sciences)
Development policies (Agriculture), programmes, and trade
Hygiene & health
Environment Conservation
Natural Resources
Biodiversity & Ecosystem
Solid Waste Management & Environmental Pollution
Role of Information Tech in Environment and Human Health
State-community-civil society interface
General Studies Paper IVMaximum Marks – 250Duration of the examination– 3 hours (180 minutes)3 Sections:EthicsIntegrityAptitudeSyllabus: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
(case studies on above)

The candidates can opt from the following subjects for the optional papers:

  • Agriculture, Sericulture, Agri Marketing, and Cooperation
  • Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Veterinary Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Botany
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Commerce and Accountancy
  • Economics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Geography
  • Geology
  • History
  • Law
  • Management
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Political Science and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Public Administration
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • Zoology
  • Rural Development and Cooperation
  • Literature of any one of the following languages:
  • English
  • Hindi
  • Kannada
  • Urdu

Interview/ Personality Test

After clearing the first two stages of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process- the Prelims and the Mains, the successful candidates have to appear for an Interview. The interview round is of 200 marks. The candidate is keenly assessed for their personality traits, tact, wit, knowledge, the balance of judgment, and leadership qualities. The candidate is judged on other aspects too. The members of the KPSC sit in the interview panel and shortlist the candidates. The final marks awarded to the candidates are an average of the marks by the interview panel members. The shortlisted candidates are then called for document verification.

Conclusion: 

We hope this article has been of help in providing you with complete details of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process | Stage 1, 2, and 3, examination pattern, syllabus, and other relevant information. We also wish to inform the aspiring candidates to first know in detail about the KPSC KAS recruitment’s syllabus and examination pattern before applying. Knowing about both of them is of utmost importance as the syllabus will acquaint you with the study material you have to go through before the examination. Knowledge of the exam pattern will help you to prepare systematically as you will know from the beginning what to expect in the question paper and how to answer them. For detailed information on the KPSC KAS recruitment, visit the official website of the commission.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process?

The KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process has the following stages:
Preliminary Examination:
Stage 1 in the selection process for KPSC KAS recruitment is the Preliminary examination. This examination consists of two objective-type papers. Candidates who clear the Preliminary Examination are eligible for the next stage of the recruitment, i.e., the Mains.
Mains Examination:
This is the second stage of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process. It is a written examination consisting of 9 papers. They are essay/ descriptive type papers. All the candidates qualifying for the mains exam will be eligible to appear for the interview.
Interview:
After clearing the first two stages of the KPSC KAS Exam Selection Process- the Prelims and the Mains, the successful candidates have to appear for an Interview. The candidate is keenly assessed for their personality traits, tact, wit, knowledge, the balance of judgement, and leadership qualities. The candidate is judged on other aspects too. The shortlisted candidates are then called for document verification.
Document Verification:
Candidates who are selected from the interview are called for the document t verification process.

What is the number of attempts a candidate can take for the KPSC KAS Recruitment examination?

Details of the number of times a candidate can attempt the KPSC KAS Recruitment examination is provided below:
General Category- 5 attempts
Scheduled Caste (SC)- No limit
Scheduled Tribes (ST)- No limit
CAT-1- No Limit
Other Backward Classes (OBC)- 7 attempts

From where can I download/ check the KPSC KAS syllabus?

You can download/ check the KPSC KAS syllabus from the official website of the commission.

Is there any negative marking in the KPSC KAS recruitment exam?

Yes, negative marking is applicable. A negative marking of 0.25 mark is done for every incorrect answer or multiple answers to one question in the KPSC KAS Preliminary examination. There is no negative marking in the KPSC KAS Mains examination.

What is the time duration of the KPSC KAS examination?

The time duration of the examination is as follows:
KPSC KAS Preliminary examination consists of 2 papers of 2 hours (120 minutes) each
KPSC KAS Main examination has 9 papers, of which 7 are for 3 hours (180 minutes) each and 2 for 2 hours (120 minutes) each.


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