What is the timing structure of the OPSC OCS exam?

One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only. You can move freely between sections and questions at any time. The timer cannot be paused once started. One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only. You can move freely between sections and questions at any time. The timer cannot be paused once started.

Is there negative marking in OPSC OCS?

Yes — General Studies: −0.333 per wrong answer; Civil Services Aptitude Test: −0.333 per wrong answer.

OPSC OCS

Cycle 2025

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

DRAFT — unverified

Unverified — pending official notification check.

Pattern from commission website and official notifications.

Exam pattern

1.Preliminary Examination

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

General Studies Paper I

Main Session

Sections & timing

Section	Timing	Questions	Marks / Q	Negative	Nature
General Studies	Not timed separately	100	2	−0.333	Scored

Start mock test

Timing & navigation rules

One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only.
You can move freely between sections and questions at any time.
The timer cannot be paused once started.

CSAT Paper II (Qualifying)

Main Session

Sections & timing

Section	Timing	Questions	Marks / Q	Negative	Nature
Civil Services Aptitude Test	Not timed separately	80	2.5	−0.333	Scored

Start mock test

Timing & navigation rules

One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only.
You can move freely between sections and questions at any time.
The timer cannot be paused once started.

2.Main Examination

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

Descriptive papers as per OPSC pattern.

3.Interview

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

Personality test.

Notes from the official source

Preliminary Examination · General Studies Paper I · Main Session — qualifying criteria

Merit paper for Mains shortlisting.

Preliminary Examination · CSAT Paper II (Qualifying) · Main Session — qualifying criteria

Qualifying: 33% required.

Main Examination — note

Descriptive papers as per OPSC pattern.

Interview — note

Personality test.

Official syllabus

Source: Official OPSC OCS notification; topic text verified against the official syllabus as reproduced in the OCS notification (via Drishti IAS compilation) — commission website opsc.gov.in · official document

Prelims

General Studies Paper I (200 marks, 2 hours — counts for merit)

Current events of national and international importance
History of India and Indian National Movement
History of Odisha and Odia Nationalism
Odisha and Indian Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World
Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj
Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion
Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization
General Science

General Studies Paper II (200 marks, 2 hours — qualifying, minimum 33%)

Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)
Note: candidates must appear in both papers; missing one paper = disqualification

Mains

Paper I: Odia Language (250 marks, 3 hours — Qualifying, 25% minimum)

Qualifying paper (Matriculation standard)
Not counted for final merit

Paper II: English Language (250 marks, 3 hours — Qualifying, 25% minimum)

Qualifying paper (Matriculation standard)
Not counted for final merit

Paper III: English Essay (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Essay on contemporary topics and issues of regional, national and international relevance

Paper IV: General Studies I (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society; Odisha-specific: Odisha Heritage & Culture, History of Odisha, Odisha National Movement (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper V: General Studies II (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations; Odisha-specific laws e.g. Right to Public Services Act, Lokayukta Act (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper VI: General Studies III (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management; Odisha-specific: Odisha's economy, industrialization, Left-wing extremism (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper VII: General Studies IV (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

Paper VIII: Optional Subject Paper I (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

One optional subject chosen from the OPSC list (honours-degree level)

Paper IX: Optional Subject Paper II (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

One optional subject chosen from the OPSC list (honours-degree level)

Interview

Prelims topics are the verbatim official list (10 topics Paper I, aptitude components Paper II). Mains: 9 descriptive papers — 2 qualifying language papers + 7 merit papers (Essay, GS I-IV, 2 optional). Mains written total 1750 + Interview 250 = 2000. Negative marking in prelims: 1/3 mark per wrong answer. Official syllabus PDF lives inside the OCS advertisement on opsc.gov.in; Odisha-specific GS modules are from third-party summaries of the official syllabus and should be treated as indicative.

Previous cutoffs

Source: OPSC official result/cut-off notices as reproduced by adda247 — official PDFs live in the Results section of opsc.gov.in

OCS 2020-21· Prelims

SC_Female: 67
SC_Male: 82
SEBC_Female: 87
SEBC_Male: 102
ST_Female: 58
ST_Male: 60
UR_Female: 96
UR_Male: 106

OCS 2019-20· Prelims

SC_Female: 75
SC_Male: 89
SEBC_Female: 88
SEBC_Male: 110
ST_Female: 64
ST_Male: 73
UR_Female: 90
UR_Male: 102

OCS 2017-18· Prelims

SC_Male: 81
SEBC_Male: 104
ST_Male: 69
UR_Male: 107

Prelims cut-off is based on General Studies Paper I (out of 200); Paper II (CSAT) is qualifying at 33%. Figures are third-party reproductions of OPSC's official cut-off notices — not re-verified against opsc.gov.in in this pass. Female cut-offs for 2017-18 were not available in the reproduction. No officially published category-wise cut-off was found for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 cycles.

Sources

Untitled document

Exam pattern

1.Preliminary Examination

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

General Studies Paper I

Main Session

Sections & timing

Section	Timing	Questions	Marks / Q	Negative	Nature
General Studies	Not timed separately	100	2	−0.333	Scored

Start mock test

Timing & navigation rules

One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only.
You can move freely between sections and questions at any time.
The timer cannot be paused once started.

CSAT Paper II (Qualifying)

Main Session

Sections & timing

Section	Timing	Questions	Marks / Q	Negative	Nature
Civil Services Aptitude Test	Not timed separately	80	2.5	−0.333	Scored

Start mock test

Timing & navigation rules

One 2 hr overall timer for the whole paper. No sectional locks — the section split is indicative only.
You can move freely between sections and questions at any time.
The timer cannot be paused once started.

2.Main Examination

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

Descriptive papers as per OPSC pattern.

3.Interview

OFFICIAL PARTIAL

Personality test.

Notes from the official source

Preliminary Examination · General Studies Paper I · Main Session — qualifying criteria

Merit paper for Mains shortlisting.

Preliminary Examination · CSAT Paper II (Qualifying) · Main Session — qualifying criteria

Qualifying: 33% required.

Main Examination — note

Descriptive papers as per OPSC pattern.

Interview — note

Personality test.

Official syllabus

Prelims

General Studies Paper I (200 marks, 2 hours — counts for merit)

Current events of national and international importance
History of India and Indian National Movement
History of Odisha and Odia Nationalism
Odisha and Indian Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World
Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj
Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion
Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization
General Science

General Studies Paper II (200 marks, 2 hours — qualifying, minimum 33%)

Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)
Note: candidates must appear in both papers; missing one paper = disqualification

Mains

Paper I: Odia Language (250 marks, 3 hours — Qualifying, 25% minimum)

Qualifying paper (Matriculation standard)
Not counted for final merit

Paper II: English Language (250 marks, 3 hours — Qualifying, 25% minimum)

Qualifying paper (Matriculation standard)
Not counted for final merit

Paper III: English Essay (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Essay on contemporary topics and issues of regional, national and international relevance

Paper IV: General Studies I (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society; Odisha-specific: Odisha Heritage & Culture, History of Odisha, Odisha National Movement (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper V: General Studies II (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations; Odisha-specific laws e.g. Right to Public Services Act, Lokayukta Act (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper VI: General Studies III (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management; Odisha-specific: Odisha's economy, industrialization, Left-wing extremism (Odisha modules per third-party summaries)

Paper VII: General Studies IV (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

Paper VIII: Optional Subject Paper I (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

One optional subject chosen from the OPSC list (honours-degree level)

Paper IX: Optional Subject Paper II (250 marks, 3 hours — Merit)

One optional subject chosen from the OPSC list (honours-degree level)

Interview

Previous cutoffs

Source: OPSC official result/cut-off notices as reproduced by adda247 — official PDFs live in the Results section of opsc.gov.in

OCS 2020-21· Prelims

SC_Female: 67
SC_Male: 82
SEBC_Female: 87
SEBC_Male: 102
ST_Female: 58
ST_Male: 60
UR_Female: 96
UR_Male: 106

OCS 2019-20· Prelims

SC_Female: 75
SC_Male: 89
SEBC_Female: 88
SEBC_Male: 110
ST_Female: 64
ST_Male: 73
UR_Female: 90
UR_Male: 102

OCS 2017-18· Prelims

SC_Male: 81
SEBC_Male: 104
ST_Male: 69
UR_Male: 107