Bihar Police ASI Steno Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Applications are scrutinised first. Then there's a written exam of two papers, and an eligibility test of skills.

On written marks, six times the vacancies are called to the eligibility test, category-wise. The Commission can reduce that ratio if there aren't enough successful candidates. The answer sheet has two copies, and the Commission keeps one.

Shorthand

Typing

Both are done on a computer. Type fewer than 300 words in the 10 minutes and you're out, however accurate you were.

Computer knowledge

A practical test of MS-Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and the Internet. Fail it and you're declared ineligible. Candidates with complete visual disability and those disabled in one or both hands are exempt from it.

The Advertisement 01/2024 doesn't print a topic list. It fixes the subject, questions, marks and time of each paper, and the exact skill standards. Here's what each part is worth:

The skill tests don't reward going beyond the standard. Either you meet it or you don't.

Qualification

Besides the academic qualification for the post, you must hold a diploma certificate in computer operation from a government-recognised institution by 1 August 2024.

Age

Reckoned on 1 August 2024 from the date of birth on your matriculation or equivalent certificate.

Age relaxation

• Bihar government servants with at least three years of regular service, moving to a higher pay scale: five years (GAD resolution 2374 of 16 July 2007).
• Ex-servicemen appointed to civil posts: three years plus their defence service, as long as their actual age on the cut-off date is no more than 57.
• Disability: ten years, in every category.

Reservation

• Vertical reservation under the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services Act, 1991 (Bihar Act 3 of 1992), as amended.
• 35 per cent of posts for women, horizontally within each category (GAD resolution of 7 January 2016).
• 2 per cent for the grandchildren of the state's freedom fighters (GAD resolution 13185 of 3 September 2015; roster by letter 2526 of 18 February 2016).
• Transgender candidates are covered: the District Magistrate issues an identity certificate in Form-3 under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (Gazette 483 of 25 September 2020), and your category follows from it.

1. Paper I, General Hindi. Qualifying at 30 marks. Not added to merit.
2. Paper II, General Knowledge and current affairs. 200 marks. This makes the merit list, and six times the vacancies go through to the skill tests.
3. Eligibility test: shorthand, typing in Hindi and English, and computer knowledge. Pass or fail, with document verification alongside.
4. Final merit list, category-wise, on written marks, subject to the minimum qualifying marks.

The skill tests carry no marks, so they can't move you up. Someone taking dictation at a hundred words a minute and someone scraping through at eighty reach the merit list on equal terms.

Minimum qualifying marks for the final list

The 32 per cent covers unreserved women and disabled candidates too, not just the reserved categories.

Ties

1. The older candidate ranks higher.
2. Then the higher educational qualification.
3. Then the English alphabetical order of the name on the tenth board certificate.

The Commission recommends names category-wise in order of merit, against the requisition from the Director General of Police.

The advertisement gives only the level and band. Allowances, and so the monthly take-home, follow Bihar Government rules for the post and the place of posting.

Among BPSSC's other posts, Assistant Sub-Inspector (Operation) in Bihar Police Radio (Wireless) is also Level 5, but needs a B.Sc. with Physics and is decided by a Physics paper.

Apply online on BPSSC's application portal, through the link posted on bpssc.bihar.gov.in.

That cycle has closed, and no new advertisement is open.

Have these ready

• Matriculation or equivalent certificate, for your date of birth.
• The academic qualification and the computer operation diploma, held by the cut-off date.
• Caste and permanent residence certificates for reserved categories; the EWS certificate for EWS.
• The freedom fighter descendant certificate, if claiming that quota.
• Proof of three years' regular service, for serving Bihar employees; discharge papers for ex-servicemen.
• A disability certificate, for the ten-year relaxation or the 32 per cent qualifying mark.

Candidates with disabilities

Any benchmark disability under section 2(r) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 can get a scribe. With or without a scribe, you get 20 minutes extra per hour, up to 60 minutes. Papers shorter than an hour get proportional time, never less than 5 minutes and in multiples of 5. BPSSC posted a separate link to upload scribe details.

BPSSC and CSBC

BPSSC's other recruitments

Each has its own paper and rules: Advt. 04/2025 Assistant Superintendent; Advt. 05/2025 Police Sub-Inspector; Advt. 04/2026 ASI (Operation) and Advt. 07/2026 ASI (Technical), both in Bihar Police Radio (Wireless); Advt. 09/2026 Police Sub-Inspector (General Closed Cadre) in the Special Branch.

BPSSC has posted a notice that its website address changed. The current site is bpssc.bihar.gov.in.

The written exam is held at centres across Bihar. BPSSC publishes a centre list by roll number with the admit card notice, and posts corrections when a centre address turns out to be wrong, so check it again close to the date.

The eligibility test runs at a smaller set of venues with computers, for the candidates shortlisted at six times the vacancies. Document verification happens there too. Bring your originals, including the computer operation diploma.

Advertisement 01/2024

Age and the computer diploma were reckoned on 1 August 2024, about five months before applications closed. A diploma finished after that date didn't count.

Exam dates aren't in the advertisement. BPSSC announces each stage by a separate notice on its website.

Admit cards are online only, through links on BPSSC's portal, announced on bpssc.bihar.gov.in. There was one for the written exam, issued with the centre list by roll number, and another for the eligibility test, issued with instructions on document verification.

If your admit card doesn't show up, check the list of invalid applications (published 4 February 2025 for this cycle). It gives the reason for each rejection.

All of it is on bpssc.bihar.gov.in. BPSSC did the same marks disclosure for its Police Sub-Inspector recruitment under Advt. 02/2023.

BPSSC doesn't publish a closing-mark table. The minimum qualifying percentages are fixed in the advertisement (see the selection process). On the 200-mark ranking paper they work out as:

These are floors. The real closing mark in each category depends on how the 305 posts ran out. Every candidate's marks were released through a search link on bpssc.bihar.gov.in, so that's where the actual scores are.

Build the skills first

A written paper takes months. Hindi shorthand at 80 words per minute takes longer. Train against the exact standard: 5 minutes of dictation, 2 minutes before you start, 20 minutes to transcribe, no more than 10 per cent errors.

For typing, aim at 300 words in 10 minutes in each language. Hindi allows only 5 per cent errors, half the English limit, so work on Hindi accuracy more than Hindi speed. Thirty words a minute is the floor, not a target: run short of 300 words and you're out.

Practise Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet tasks hands-on. The computer test is practical, not multiple choice.

Get the diploma before you apply

The computer operation diploma must be held by the cut-off date. One dated after it doesn't count.

Put your written preparation into General Knowledge

Paper II is your whole rank: 100 questions, 200 marks, two hours. A wrong answer costs 0.2 against 2 for a right one, so ten wrong answers cancel one right answer. If you can narrow a question down at all, attempt it.

Clear General Hindi and move on

You need 30 out of 100. It can't raise your rank, and falling short ends your candidature. Clear it with a margin and spend the rest of your time elsewhere.

Know your target

The qualifying floor on Paper II is 80 marks for General, 73 for Backward Class, 68 for Extremely Backward Class and 64 for SC, ST, women and disabled candidates. The published marks of the last cycle show what actually got selected.

No sample papers or previous year papers are available for this post as of now. BPSSC hasn't published any.

The Advertisement 01/2024 has the exact shorthand and typing standards, which you can practise against with a stopwatch. Every candidate's marks from that cycle are on bpssc.bihar.gov.in. New advertisements appear there too.

• bpssc.bihar.gov.in: BPSSC, the conducting body. Advertisements, application links, rejection lists, admit card notices, centre lists, results of each stage, and the marks search link
• Advertisement 01/2024: vacancies, eligibility, the two papers, skill standards, qualifying marks and tie-break

Who conducts this recruitment?

The Bihar Police Subordinate Services Commission (BPSSC), 5 Harding Road, Patna. Not CSBC, which recruits constables.

How many vacancies were there, and what's the pay?

305 under Advt. 01/2024, at Pay Level 5, ₹29,200 to ₹92,300.

Is a recruitment open now?

No. The 01/2024 cycle is complete, with the final result and all candidates' marks published.

Does the Hindi paper count towards my rank?

No. You need 30 marks in it, but its marks aren't added to merit.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, 0.2 marks per wrong answer in Paper II, where a right answer is worth 2.

What are the shorthand and typing standards?

Hindi shorthand at 80 words per minute for 5 minutes, transcribed in 20, with no more than 10 per cent errors. Typing: 300 words in 10 minutes in Hindi and in English, with at most 5 per cent errors in Hindi and 10 per cent in English.

Do the skill tests affect my rank?

No. They're pass or fail.

Is anyone exempt from the computer test?

Yes. Candidates with complete visual disability and those disabled in one or both hands.

What is the age limit?

18 to 25 for General; 27 for BC and EBC men; 28 for BC and EBC women; 30 for SC and ST. Reckoned on 1 August 2024. Disabled candidates of every category get ten years more.

What are the minimum qualifying marks?

40 per cent General, 36.5 BC, 34 EBC, and 32 for SC, ST, women and disabled candidates of every category.

Can I see my marks afterwards?

Yes. BPSSC published a search link on its application portal for every candidate who sat.