Pariksha SaathiRPSC RAS 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 RAS 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 → Main Examination → Personality and Viva-voce Examination
- First stage: Questions / Marks / Time
- 150 / 200 / 180 min
- Negative marking
- 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Each question has five circles on the OMR sheet (circle 5 means not attempting). If none of the five is darkened, one-third of the question's marks is deducted, and a candidate who leaves more than 10% of the questions with no circle darkened is disqualified.
- First stage dates
- 6 December 2026
- Tentative vacancies
- 607 (as on 27 May 2026)
Weekly live mock: Sunday, 8 November 2026, 10:00–12:00 IST · 50 questions in 60 minutes, one paper for everyone · Sit it in the Android app →
Exam pattern
Preliminary Examination
Applies to: All posts in the notice
General Knowledge and General Science
| Section | Questions | Marks each | Marks | Time (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge and General Science | 150 | — | — | — |
| Total | 150 | 200 | 180 |
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Negative marking: 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Each question has five circles on the OMR sheet (circle 5 means not attempting). If none of the five is darkened, one-third of the question's marks is deducted, and a candidate who leaves more than 10% of the questions with no circle darkened is disqualified. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.
- One objective multiple-choice paper of 150 questions carrying equal marks, 200 marks in all, at Bachelor's degree level. The scheme gives the total, not the marks per question.
- A screening test only: the marks of those who qualify for the Main examination are not counted in the final order of merit. Candidates equal to 15 times the approximate number of vacancies are admitted to the Main examination, with everyone tied at the last mark included.
Main Examination
Applies to: All posts in the notice; all four papers are compulsory
Paper I: General Studies-I
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 200.
- Descriptive and analytical, with short answers (about 50 words, 5 marks) and medium answers (about 150 words, 10 marks). The Commission says the unit-wise split of questions and marks may vary.
Paper II: General Studies-II
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 200.
Paper III: General Studies-III
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 200.
Paper IV: General Hindi and General English
Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 200.
- Senior Secondary standard. Three units: General Hindi (90 marks), General English (70 marks) and Essay (40 marks).
Personality and Viva-voce Examination
Applies to: All posts in the notice
Personality and Viva-voce Examination
Marks: 100.
- Marks are given for character, personality, address and physique, and also for the candidate's knowledge of Rajasthani culture.
Source: Advt. No. 02/2026-27 for Raj. State and Sub. Services Comb. Comp. Exam - 2026 (dated 27 May 2026), with the Scheme and Syllabus of 9 January 2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Free RPSC 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: Rajasthan history, art and culture
- Pre-historic sites and sources of Rajasthan’s history, major dynasties and rulers, administrative and revenue systems, peasant, tribal and Praja Mandal movements, the integration of Rajasthan, architecture, paintings and folk arts, language and literature, religious life, fairs and festivals, and leading personalities.
- Preliminary: Indian history
- Ancient and medieval India (the Indus and Vedic age, major dynasties, art and architecture, the Bhakti and Sufi movements, the Sultanate and Mughal periods) and modern India up to 2000 (British rule, the revolt of 1857, the freedom struggle and post-independence nation building).
- Preliminary: Geography
- World and India: physical features, rivers, vegetation, agriculture, industry, transport and environmental issues; and Rajasthan: location, physiography, rivers and lakes, climate, soil, agriculture, livestock, irrigation, population, tribes, minerals and tourism.
- Preliminary: Polity, governance and economy
- The Indian Constitution, political system and governance, with Rajasthan’s institutions; economic concepts and the Indian economy; and the economy of Rajasthan.
- Preliminary: Science, reasoning and current affairs
- Everyday science, computers and ICT, defence and space technology, biotechnology, health, environment and biodiversity; reasoning and mental ability with basic numeracy and data analysis; and current affairs with special reference to Rajasthan.
- Main: General Studies-I
- History, art, culture, literature, tradition and heritage of Rajasthan; Indian history and culture; history of the modern world up to 1991; economics (the Indian, world and Rajasthan economies); and sociology, management, accounting and auditing.
- Main: General Studies-II
- Administrative ethics; general science and technology; and earth science (geography and geology) of the world, India and Rajasthan.
- Main: General Studies-III
- Indian polity, governance, India and international affairs and current affairs; concepts, issues and dynamics of public administration; and behaviour and law.
- Main: General Hindi and General English
- General Hindi; General English (grammar and usage, comprehension, translation and précis writing, composition and letter writing); and an essay.
Full syllabus, stage by stage → · Official website ↗
Age limit and qualification
21 years completed and under 40 years as on 1 January 2027 (the notice gives one extra year in the upper limit under the service rules, because the 2024 notice used 1 January 2025). Upper-age relaxation: 5 years for men and 10 years for women of Rajasthan's SC, ST, Backward Class, More Backward Class and EWS categories; 5 years for women of the general category. Non-gazetted employees applying against their reserved posts must be 25 and under 45. Age is counted as on 1 January 2027.
| Posts | Requirement |
|---|---|
| All posts | Degree from a university established by a central or state Act, another institution made a university under the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the government. Candidates in the final year may apply but must show proof of the degree before the Main examination. |
| Posts reserved for non-gazetted employees | Same degree, plus at least five years of service as on 1 January 2027, and the candidate must be a Rajasthan government, Panchayati Raj or Zila Parishad employee as the notice specifies. |
Main examination: at least 10% marks in each paper and 15% in aggregate to be called for the interview, with 5% relaxation for SC and ST. Reservation and age relaxation are for candidates of Rajasthan; candidates of other states are treated as general category.
Source: Advt. No. 02/2026-27 for Raj. State and Sub. Services Comb. Comp. Exam - 2026 (dated 27 May 2026), with the Scheme and Syllabus of 9 January 2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Important dates
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Advertisement published | 27 May 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Online applications | 4 June 2026 to 3 July 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Online edit of applications (paid) | 24 September 2026 to 30 September 2026 | official notice ↗ |
| Preliminary Examination | 6 December 2026 (earlier set for 29 November 2026). | official notice ↗ |
| Main Examination | 1 May 2027 to 2 May 2027 | official notice ↗ |
Source: Advt. No. 02/2026-27 for Raj. State and Sub. Services Comb. Comp. Exam - 2026 (dated 27 May 2026), with the Scheme and Syllabus of 9 January 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, female posts
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 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 69.80 | 97.01 | 79.63 |
| OBC | 69.80 | 97.01 | 79.63 |
| EWS | 69.80 | 97.01 | 79.63 |
| SC | 59.51 | 82.30 | 66.20 |
| ST | 63.98 | 91.49 | 72.22 |
| MBC | 63.98 | 84.60 | 79.63 |
| ST (SA) | 42.51 | 76.32 | — |
| ST (TSP) | — | — | 50.00 |
| UR (SA) | 62.19 | 91.03 | — |
| UR (TSP) | — | — | 72.22 |
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: 2021 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
Prelims, male posts
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 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 71.59 | 100.69 | 84.72 |
| OBC | 71.59 | 100.69 | 84.72 |
| EWS | 71.59 | 100.69 | 84.72 |
| SC | 63.98 | 91.49 | 72.69 |
| ST | 67.56 | 94.25 | 76.85 |
| MBC | 71.59 | 99.31 | 84.72 |
| SC (SA) | 55.48 | — | — |
| SC (TSP) | — | — | 72.22 |
| ST (SA) | 46.98 | 84.60 | — |
| ST (TSP) | — | — | 58.80 |
| UR (SA) | 65.32 | 100.69 | — |
| UR (TSP) | — | — | 80.56 |
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: 2021 result write-up ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error
UR: unreserved. OBC, EWS, SC, ST: reserved categories. 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
English
- Error Spotting 94 questions
- Fill in the Blanks 56 questions
- Sentence Improvement 52 questions
- Cloze Test 38 questions
- Direct and Indirect Speech 30 questions
- One Word Substitution 19 questions
- Degrees of Comparison 13 questions
- Active and Passive Voice 12 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.
- General Awareness (208 pages, 2.3 MB)
- Rajasthan GK (19 pages, 305 KB)
Latest notices
- RPSC RAS 2026: Preliminary Exam Proposed for 6 December 2026; Correction Window Was Open 24-30 Septembernotification · 16 October 2026
RPSC 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 RPSC?
Preliminary Examination → Main Examination → Personality and Viva-voce Examination, as per the RAS 2026 notification.
How many questions are in the RPSC first stage?
Preliminary Examination: 150 questions for 200 marks in 180 minutes, as per the RAS 2026 notification.
Is there negative marking in RPSC?
Preliminary Examination, as per the RAS 2026 notification: 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Each question has five circles on the OMR sheet (circle 5 means not attempting). If none of the five is darkened, one-third of the question's marks is deducted, and a candidate who leaves more than 10% of the questions with no circle darkened is disqualified.
Which parts of the RPSC exam are qualifying?
As per the RAS 2026 notification, these are qualifying: Preliminary Examination: General Knowledge and General Science.
What is the age limit for RPSC?
21 years completed and under 40 years as on 1 January 2027 (the notice gives one extra year in the upper limit under the service rules, because the 2024 notice used 1 January 2025). Upper-age relaxation: 5 years for men and 10 years for women of Rajasthan's SC, ST, Backward Class, More Backward Class and EWS categories; 5 years for women of the general category. Non-gazetted employees applying against their reserved posts must be 25 and under 45. Age is counted as on 1 January 2027.
Can final-year students apply for RPSC?
As per the RAS 2026 notification: All posts: Degree from a university established by a central or state Act, another institution made a university under the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the government. Candidates in the final year may apply but must show proof of the degree before the Main examination.
What are the minimum qualifying marks in RPSC?
Main examination: at least 10% marks in each paper and 15% in aggregate to be called for the interview, with 5% relaxation for SC and ST. Reservation and age relaxation are for candidates of Rajasthan; candidates of other states are treated as general category.
How many vacancies are there in RPSC?
607 tentative vacancies for RAS 2026, as officially published on 27 May 2026.
When is the last date to apply for RPSC?
Online applications: 4 June 2026 to 3 July 2026 (now closed). As per the RAS 2026 notification.
What are the RPSC first-stage exam dates?
Preliminary Examination: 6 December 2026, as per the RAS 2026 notification.
Which subjects does the RPSC exam test?
The official syllabus lists: Preliminary: Rajasthan history, art and culture; Preliminary: Indian history; Preliminary: Geography; Preliminary: Polity, governance and economy; Preliminary: Science, reasoning and current affairs; Main: General Studies-I; Main: General Studies-II; Main: General Studies-III; Main: General Hindi and General English.
Source: Advt. No. 02/2026-27 for Raj. State and Sub. Services Comb. Comp. Exam - 2026 (dated 27 May 2026), with the Scheme and Syllabus of 9 January 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