Pariksha SaathiMPPSC 2026: exam pattern, marks, negative marking, age limit and cut-off
Every figure on this page is copied from an official document linked next to it, with the date we last checked it. Pattern, age limit and dates are from the State Service Exam 2026 notification; cut-offs are from the official result write-ups of earlier years. Last verified: 15 October 2026.
At a glance
- Selection stages
- Preliminary Examination (two papers) → Main (Written) Examination → Interview
- First stage: Questions / Marks / Time
- 200 / 600 / 240 min
- Negative marking
- Marks are worked out as 3R minus W: 3 marks for each right answer and 1 mark deducted for each wrong answer.
- First stage dates
- 26 April 2026
- Tentative vacancies
- 156 (as on 20 May 2026)
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Exam pattern
Preliminary Examination (two papers)
Applies to: State Service posts. (The State Forest Service sits the same papers, but its merit list adds the marks of both.)
Paper I: General Studies
| Section | Questions | Marks each | Marks | Time (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Studies | 100 | 3 | 300 | — |
| Total | 100 | 300 | 120 |
Time allowed: 120 minutes. Negative marking: Marks are worked out as 3R minus W: 3 marks for each right answer and 1 mark deducted for each wrong answer. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.
- Objective multiple-choice questions on an OMR sheet, in Hindi and English.
- An eligibility test only. Paper I marks decide who is shortlisted for the Main examination (up to 20 times the vacancies, category-wise, with ties at the last mark included), but the final merit list is made only from Main examination and interview marks.
Paper II: General Aptitude Test
| Section | Questions | Marks each | Marks | Time (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Aptitude Test | 100 | 3 | 300 | — |
| Total | 100 | 300 | 120 |
Time allowed: 120 minutes. Negative marking: Marks are worked out as 3R minus W: 3 marks for each right answer and 1 mark deducted for each wrong answer. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.
- Qualifying only: the marks are not used to rank candidates in the Preliminary result. A candidate must still score at least 40% (unreserved and unreserved women) or 30% (SC, ST, OBC, EWS and persons with disabilities).
- Reading-comprehension questions in Hindi are set in Hindi only.
Main (Written) Examination
Applies to: State Service posts; all six papers are compulsory
Paper I: General Studies (Part A History, Part B Geography)
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.
- Two parts of 150 marks each, answered in Hindi or English. Each part has 15 very short questions (2 marks, 20 words), 10 short (7 marks, 60 words) and 5 long (10 marks, 200 words).
Paper II: General Studies (Part A Political Science, Part B Sociology)
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.
- Two parts of 150 marks each, with the same question pattern as Paper I.
Paper III: General Studies (Part A Economics, Part B Science, Technology and Public Health)
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.
- Two parts of 150 marks each, with the same question pattern as Paper I.
Paper IV: General Studies (Part A Philosophy, Psychology, Public Administration and Case Study; Part B Entrepreneurship, Management, Personality Development and Case Study)
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.
- Two parts of 150 marks each. Each part has 16 very short questions (2 marks), 8 short (7 marks), 4 long (11 marks) and 1 case study (18 marks).
Paper V: General Hindi and Grammar
Time allowed: 120 minutes. Marks: 200.
- Answered in Hindi only.
Paper VI: Hindi Essay and Drafting
Time allowed: 150 minutes. Marks: 100.
- Answered in Hindi only: a first essay (1,000 words, 50 marks), a second essay (500 words, 20 marks), drafting (250 words, 15 marks) and a report (250 words, 15 marks). The 250-word limit for drafting follows the Commission's clarification of 31 July 2026.
Interview
Applies to: State Service posts
Interview
Marks: 185.
- Candidates called for the interview number three times the advertised posts, category-wise, with ties at the last mark included. The final merit list is made on Main examination (1,500) and interview (185) marks, 1,685 in all.
Source: Recruitment Advertisement for State Service Exam 2026 (Advt. No. 29/2025), dated 31/12/2025, with the revised Exam Plan and Syllabus of 21/01/2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Free MPPSC mock tests in this official pattern →
Syllabus: subjects tested
The subjects in short, as the official syllabus lists them. The exam body's own notification is final.
- Preliminary Paper I: General Studies
- History of India (ancient and medieval India, reform movements, the freedom struggle and post-independence consolidation); history, culture and literature of Madhya Pradesh; geography of India and of Madhya Pradesh; the constitutional system of India and Madhya Pradesh; the economy of India and Madhya Pradesh; science, environment and health; international, national and Madhya Pradesh current affairs; information and communication technology; and the tribes, heritage, folk culture and folk literature of Madhya Pradesh.
- Preliminary Paper II: General Aptitude Test
- Comprehension; communication skills; logical and analytical ability; decision-making and problem-solving; general mental ability; basic numeracy (number relations, magnitudes, data interpretation, Class X level); and Hindi comprehension (Class X level), set in Hindi only.
- Main Paper I: History and Geography
- Indian history from the Harappan civilisation to the freedom movement and the post-independence period, with Madhya Pradesh’s dynasties, princely states and tribal heroes; and the geography of India and Madhya Pradesh: physical features and climate, agriculture and water, natural resources and industries, and disasters.
- Main Paper II: Political Science and Sociology
- The Indian Constitution and governance, constitutional and statutory bodies, Indian political thinkers, and Madhya Pradesh’s political and administrative structure; sociological concepts, diversity and challenges in Indian society, rural and urban sociology, industrialisation and globalisation, population and social welfare schemes.
- Main Paper III: Economics; Science, Technology and Public Health
- The Indian and Madhya Pradesh economy, taxation and policy, statistics and data analysis; general science, computer science, AYUSH and health systems, national health programmes and the environment.
- Main Paper IV: Philosophy, Psychology, Public Administration, Entrepreneurship and Management
- Indian philosophy and thinkers, nation building and moral concepts, human behaviour and moral values in public administration; entrepreneurship, business organisation and management, administration and overall personality development. Each part ends with a case study.
- Main Paper V: General Hindi and Grammar
- A Hindi-medium language paper testing Hindi usage and grammar.
- Main Paper VI: Hindi Essay and Drafting
- Essays, drafting of official and semi-official letters, circulars, forms, advertisements, orders, endorsements and reminder letters, and report writing, all in Hindi.
Full syllabus, stage by stage → · Official website ↗
Age limit and qualification
21 years completed and under 40 years as on 1 January 2026 for ordinary posts; 21 completed and under 33 for uniformed posts (for example Deputy Superintendent of Police). Relaxation of up to 5 years applies to Madhya Pradesh residents in listed categories such as SC, ST, OBC, women, government and public-sector employees and persons with disabilities; ex-servicemen get their service period deducted. After all relaxations the age cannot exceed 45 years (38 for uniformed posts). Age is counted as on 1 January 2026.
| Posts | Requirement |
|---|---|
| All posts | Bachelor's degree from a university or institution recognised by a central or state Act or the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students may apply but must show proof of passing by the last date for the Main examination application. |
| District/Area Convener posts (Tribal Affairs Department) | Same degree; candidates who studied Sociology as a subject at graduation get preference. |
Preliminary: at least 40% in each paper for unreserved and unreserved women, 30% for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and persons with disabilities. Main: the same 40% and 30% in each paper, both parts of a paper taken together. Reservation and age relaxation are for Madhya Pradesh residents only.
Source: Recruitment Advertisement for State Service Exam 2026 (Advt. No. 29/2025), dated 31/12/2025, with the revised Exam Plan and Syllabus of 21/01/2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Important dates
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Advertisement published | 31 December 2025 | official notice ↗ |
| Online applications | 10 January 2026 to 9 February 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Online applications with late fee | 10 February 2026 to 1 April 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Preliminary Examination | 26 April 2026: Paper I 10:00 to 12:00, Paper II 14:15 to 16:15. | official notice ↗ |
| Preliminary Examination result | 22 May 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Main (Written) Examination | 7 September 2026 to 12 September 2026 | official notice ↗ |
Source: Recruitment Advertisement for State Service Exam 2026 (Advt. No. 29/2025), dated 31/12/2025, with the revised Exam Plan and Syllabus of 21/01/2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Source: Tentative vacancies ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Cut-off marks by year and category
Prelims Paper I, main part
Marks are out of 200. Cut-offs change every cycle and are no promise for the next one; use them to see how competitive each category has been.
| Category | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 160.00 | 162.00 | 160.00 |
| OBC | 156.00 | 158.00 | 154.00 |
| EWS | 154.00 | 158.00 | 154.00 |
| SC | 148.00 | 150.00 | 142.00 |
| ST | 140.00 | 142.00 | 130.00 |
| OH | — | 142.00 | 142.00 |
| HH | 98.00 | 114.00 | 96.00 |
| VH | 122.00 | 140.00 | 116.00 |
| ESM (EWS) | — | 106.00 | 96.00 |
| ESM (OBC) | — | 96.00 | 98.00 |
| ESM (SC) | — | 60.00 | 64.00 |
| ESM (ST) | — | 60.00 | 60.00 |
| ESM (UR) | 118.00 | 130.00 | 116.00 |
| EWS (Female) | — | 156.00 | 152.00 |
| MD | 100.00 | 122.00 | 102.00 |
| OBC (Female) | — | — | 152.00 |
| SC (Female) | — | — | 138.00 |
| ST (Female) | 138.00 | — | — |
| UR (Female) | — | — | 158.00 |
Source: 2024 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Source: 2023 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Source: 2022 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Prelims Paper I, provisional part
Marks are out of 200. Cut-offs change every cycle and are no promise for the next one; use them to see how competitive each category has been.
| Category | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 156.00 | 158.00 | 152.00 |
| OBC | 154.00 | 156.00 | 148.00 |
Source: 2024 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Source: 2023 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Source: 2022 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
UR: unreserved. OBC, EWS, SC, ST: reserved categories. OH, HH, VH: orthopaedic, hearing and visual disability. Labels in brackets, such as (SA), (TSP) or (Female), are the exam body's own sub-lists exactly as printed in its cut-off document.
Practice questions by section
Free questions, each with its answer, in the subjects this exam tests. Every topic opens a list of question pages.
State GK
General Studies
- General Science 480 questions
- Static General Knowledge 240 questions
- Indian Geography 239 questions
- Physical and World Geography 239 questions
- Indian Polity and Constitution 238 questions
- Environment and Ecology 237 questions
- Modern Indian History and Freedom Struggle 235 questions
- Indian Art and Culture 234 questions
Reasoning
- Syllogism 115 questions
- Blood Relations 89 questions
- Coding-Decoding 88 questions
- Analogy 39 questions
- Direction Sense 38 questions
- Seating Arrangement 29 questions
- Calendar 19 questions
- Clock 19 questions
All practice questions by topic →
Free notes (PDF)
Notes for every topic in this exam’s syllabus, one PDF per subject: each lesson ends with a quick-revision box, and each PDF ends with a revision sheet. Written by an AI assistant and not reviewed by a subject-matter expert.
- Quantitative Aptitude (89 pages, 1.1 MB)
- Reasoning (74 pages, 954 KB)
- English (65 pages, 819 KB)
- General Awareness (208 pages, 2.3 MB)
- Madhya Pradesh GK (19 pages, 305 KB)
Latest notices
- MPPSC State Service Exam 2026 (Advt. 29/2025): Prelims held 26 April 2026, 156 posts after the corrigendumnotification · 17 October 2026
MPPSC admit card, result and answer key: every notice →
Recent current affairs for this exam
- Indian Navy frees hijacked fishing vessel 'Azini' from armed pirates off Somalia; all 20 crew members safe3 November 2026
- 5th edition of India-US tri-service HADR exercise Tiger Triumph opens at Visakhapatnam; an NDRF team to take part for the first time3 November 2026
- Aditya-L1's VELC shows a solar eruption expanded asymmetrically, not like a simple symmetric bubble: IIA study3 November 2026
- Health Ministry proposes amending Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945 to add ICDs, an SEZ and Noida International Airport as authorised import gateways3 November 2026
- TRAI releases Telecommunication Interconnection (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026: shift to LSA-level and IP-based interconnection, effective 1 January 20273 November 2026
Prepare
- Exam calendar: official dates across every exam
- Syllabus and subjects tested
- Job profile and salary
- Free lessons
- Start practising
Frequently asked questions
What are the selection stages of MPPSC?
Preliminary Examination (two papers) → Main (Written) Examination → Interview, as per the State Service Exam 2026 notification.
How many questions are in the MPPSC first stage?
Preliminary Examination (two papers): 200 questions for 600 marks in 240 minutes, as per the State Service Exam 2026 notification.
Is there negative marking in MPPSC?
Preliminary Examination (two papers), as per the State Service Exam 2026 notification: Marks are worked out as 3R minus W: 3 marks for each right answer and 1 mark deducted for each wrong answer.
Which parts of the MPPSC exam are qualifying?
As per the State Service Exam 2026 notification, these are qualifying: Preliminary Examination (two papers): Paper I: General Studies; Preliminary Examination (two papers): Paper II: General Aptitude Test.
What is the age limit for MPPSC?
21 years completed and under 40 years as on 1 January 2026 for ordinary posts; 21 completed and under 33 for uniformed posts (for example Deputy Superintendent of Police). Relaxation of up to 5 years applies to Madhya Pradesh residents in listed categories such as SC, ST, OBC, women, government and public-sector employees and persons with disabilities; ex-servicemen get their service period deducted. After all relaxations the age cannot exceed 45 years (38 for uniformed posts). Age is counted as on 1 January 2026.
Can final-year students apply for MPPSC?
As per the State Service Exam 2026 notification: All posts: Bachelor's degree from a university or institution recognised by a central or state Act or the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students may apply but must show proof of passing by the last date for the Main examination application.
What are the minimum qualifying marks in MPPSC?
Preliminary: at least 40% in each paper for unreserved and unreserved women, 30% for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and persons with disabilities. Main: the same 40% and 30% in each paper, both parts of a paper taken together. Reservation and age relaxation are for Madhya Pradesh residents only.
How many vacancies are there in MPPSC?
156 tentative vacancies for State Service Exam 2026, as officially published on 20 May 2026.
When is the last date to apply for MPPSC?
Online applications: 10 January 2026 to 9 February 2026 (now closed). As per the State Service Exam 2026 notification.
What are the MPPSC first-stage exam dates?
Preliminary Examination (two papers): 26 April 2026, as per the State Service Exam 2026 notification.
Which subjects does the MPPSC exam test?
The official syllabus lists: Preliminary Paper I: General Studies; Preliminary Paper II: General Aptitude Test; Main Paper I: History and Geography; Main Paper II: Political Science and Sociology; Main Paper III: Economics; Science, Technology and Public Health; Main Paper IV: Philosophy, Psychology, Public Administration, Entrepreneurship and Management; Main Paper V: General Hindi and Grammar; Main Paper VI: Hindi Essay and Drafting.
Source: Recruitment Advertisement for State Service Exam 2026 (Advt. No. 29/2025), dated 31/12/2025, with the revised Exam Plan and Syllabus of 21/01/2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
How this page is made
These facts are transcribed from the official documents linked above and checked against them on the date shown. If anything here differs from the official notification, the official notification is right. Please tell us through the Contact page. See also our editorial standards. Contact · Editorial standards