OPSC OAS Exam Notification | Eligibility Criteria | Selection Procedure | Exam Pattern | Preparation tips

The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) conducts the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) examination to select candidates for various administrative roles in the state. Here’s an overview of the key details:

Eligibility Criteria

OPSC OAS Selection Procedure

Exam Pattern

Preparation Tips

Syllabus Highlights

The whole OPSC OCS examination process will be in offline mode. Following is the detailed exam pattern information regarding all the three stages

OPSC OCS 2025 Preliminary

The candidates must know that there is a negative marking of one-fourth for each wrong answer.

The Preliminary Examination shall consist of two papers of objective type (Multiple choice questions) and each paper shall be of two hours duration –

The Preliminary Examination is meant to serve as screening test only. The marks obtained in Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to main examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination would be 12 times of the total number of vacancies advertised.

Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in Preliminary Examination against a particular advertisement will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination against the said advertisement.

The nature and standard of questions in this paper will be such that a welleducated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test a candidate’s general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in Civil Services.

Paper-

Syllabus-

Paper 1-

Odia Language

Paper 2-

English

Paper 3-

English Essay

Paper 4-

General Studies I

Paper 5-

General Studies II

OPSC OAS Compulsory Papers Syllabus

Odia-	Comprehension of a given passage; Short Essay of approximately 1000 words; Translation from English to Odia; Precis writing with a passage of approximately 1000 words; Grammar, usage and vocabulary; Expansion of an idea.
English-	Comprehension of a given passage; Short Essay of approximately 1000 words; Translation from Odia to English; Precis writing with a passage of approximately 1000 words; Grammar, usage and vocabulary; Expansion of an idea.
English Essay-	Writing an essay on a specific topic
General Studies I-	Constitution of India; Indian Polity; Legal & Environmental Issues; History of Modern India along with the Indian Culture; Indian Geography; Operation of the political system of India; Current national issues and topics which are socially relevant; Demography and Human Resource Development; National Institutions: Role; Relevance; Need for change. Social, behavioral issues and social welfare problems.
General Studies II-	Important Indian and Global events; Indian Economy; International Affairs and Institutions; Statistical Analysis including graphs, pie charts and diagrams; Important events in world and global affairs; Development of Science & Technology along with communication; Odisha Economy; Foreign Affairs; Regional Disparity; External Security and other allied matters.

OPSC OAS Optional Paper 2023

Apart from the compulsory papers mentioned herein, candidates are also required to take optional papers. The subjects from which they are required to choose from are given in the table below:

Paper-

Topics-

Optional Paper-

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science;
Agriculture;
Anthropology Agricultural Engineering;
Botany;
Civil Engineering;
Chemistry;
Commerce and Accountancy;
Electrical Engineering;
Economics;
Education;
Forestry;
Fisheries Sciences;
Geography;
Geology;
History;
Home Science;
Law;
Mechanical Engineering;
Mathematics;
Management;

Indian Language and Literature in any one of the mentioned languages:

Hindi;
Odia;
Sanskrit;
Persian;
English;
Urdu;
Philosophy;
Politics;
Physics;
Public Administration;
Psychology;
Political Science & International Relations;
Sociology;
Statistics;
Zoology.

However, while choosing the optional subjects there are some criteria the candidate is required to follow. The candidates cannot pair the following subjects together:

Any 2 engineering subjects;
Any 2 languages;
Political Science & International Relations with Public Administration;
Anthropology & Sociology;
Mathematics & Statistics;
Agriculture & Agricultural Engineering;
Education & Psychology.

All question papers will be addressed in English barring the language papers of the exam.

The candidate shall be interviewed by a Board to be constituted by the O,P.S.C. for the purpose. The said Board will have before them a record of his career. He will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview will be to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service.

The object of test shall be to judge the mental caliber of a candidate, his intellectual qualities as well as social traits and his interest in current affairs.

Further some of the qualities (to be judged will be) like mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgment, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity, are to be judged by the said Board.