West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) etc. Examination

Preliminary Examination (200 marks, screening only)

• English Composition (skill test — out of scope)
• General Science
  1. 1.General and Applied Science for Civil Services
• Current Events of National and International Importance (current affairs — out of scope)
• History of India
  1. 1.Ancient India: Civilizations, Religious Movements and Social-Cultural Life from the Mauryas to the Guptas
  2. 2.Medieval India — Political, Administrative and Military History
  3. 3.The Establishment of British Colonial Rule and the Economic Impact of Empire
  4. 4.Anti-British Uprisings, the Revolt of 1857, and Socio-Religious and Anti-Caste Reform Movements
  5. 5.Three Phases of the Indian Freedom Struggle, 1885-1947
• Geography of India with Special Reference to West Bengal
  1. 1.India's Physical Setting: Physiography, Drainage, Climate, Soils, Vegetation, Wildlife and Resources
  2. 2.Agriculture, Industry, Transport and Population Geography of India
  3. 3.West Bengal: Physical and Economic Geography
• Indian Polity and Economy
  1. 1.Evolution of the Indian Constitution: Drafting, Preamble, Salient Features, Basic Structure and Amendments
  2. 2.Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties
  3. 3.System of Government: Union and State — Executive, Parliament and State Legislature
  4. 4.The Judicial System in India: Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Judiciary; Judicial Review, Activism, Independence and Accountability
  5. 5.Federalism, Centre-State Relations, and Local Self-Government in India
  6. 6.Union Governance Machinery and Constitutional Bodies
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  1. 7.State and District Governance
  2. 8.National Income — Concepts, Measurement, and India's Structural Trends
  3. 9.Public Finance and the Union Budget: Tax Structure, Expenditure, Debt and Fiscal-Monetary Policy (2026-27)
  4. 10.Five Year Planning and NITI Aayog
  5. 11.Money, Banking and RBI
  6. 12.National Agriculture, Industry and Services Sectors
  7. 13.Poverty and Unemployment: Concepts, Measurement and Trends
  8. 14.Demography, Population and Policy
  9. 15.Growth, Development and Regional Disparities
• Indian National Movement
  1. 1.Three Phases of the Indian Freedom Struggle, 1885-1947
• General Mental Ability (aptitude — out of scope)

Paper III · General Studies I (200 marks)

• Indian History with Special Emphasis on National Movement
  1. 1.Ancient India: Civilizations, Religious Movements and Social-Cultural Life from the Mauryas to the Guptas
  2. 2.Medieval India — Political, Administrative and Military History
  3. 3.The Establishment of British Colonial Rule and the Economic Impact of Empire
  4. 4.Anti-British Uprisings, the Revolt of 1857, and Socio-Religious and Anti-Caste Reform Movements
  5. 5.Three Phases of the Indian Freedom Struggle, 1885-1947
• Geography of India with Special Reference to West Bengal
  1. 1.India's Physical Setting: Physiography, Drainage, Climate, Soils, Vegetation, Wildlife and Resources
  2. 2.Agriculture, Industry, Transport and Population Geography of India
  3. 3.West Bengal: Physical and Economic Geography

Paper IV · General Studies II (200 marks)

• Science and Scientific and Technological Advancement
  1. 1.General and Applied Science for Civil Services
• Environment
  1. 1.Environment vs Development: Policy, Instruments and the Growth-Ecology Tension
  2. 2.Natural Resources: Forest, Water, Land and Mining in India and Andhra Pradesh
  3. 3.Environment Pollution and Solid Waste Management
  4. 4.Climate Change and Sustainable Development
  5. 5.Ecosystems and Biodiversity
• General Knowledge and Current Affairs (current affairs — out of scope)

Paper V · Constitution of India and Indian Economy (200 marks)

• The Constitution of India
  1. 1.Evolution of the Indian Constitution: Drafting, Preamble, Salient Features, Basic Structure and Amendments
  2. 2.Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties
  3. 3.System of Government: Union and State — Executive, Parliament and State Legislature
  4. 4.The Judicial System in India: Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Judiciary; Judicial Review, Activism, Independence and Accountability
  5. 5.Federalism, Centre-State Relations, and Local Self-Government in India
  6. 6.Union Governance Machinery and Constitutional Bodies
  7. 7.State and District Governance
• Indian Economy including Role and Functions of the Reserve Bank of India
  1. 1.National Income — Concepts, Measurement, and India's Structural Trends
  2. 2.Public Finance and the Union Budget: Tax Structure, Expenditure, Debt and Fiscal-Monetary Policy (2026-27)
  3. 3.Five Year Planning and NITI Aayog
  4. 4.Money, Banking and RBI
  5. 5.National Agriculture, Industry and Services Sectors
  6. 6.Poverty and Unemployment: Concepts, Measurement and Trends
  7. 7.Demography, Population and Policy
  8. 8.Growth, Development and Regional Disparities

Paper I · Bengali/Hindi/Urdu/Nepali/Santali (Qualifying skill test — out of scope)

• Letter Writing, Precis, Composition and Translation (skill test — out of scope)

Paper II · English (Qualifying skill test — out of scope)

• Letter Writing, Precis, Composition and Translation (skill test — out of scope)

Paper VI · Arithmetic and Test of Reasoning (Aptitude — out of scope)

• Arithmetic and Test of Reasoning (aptitude — out of scope)

Optional Subject — 2 papers, 200 marks each

• Bengali
• Hindi
• Sanskrit
• English
• Pali
• Arabic
• Persian
• French
• Urdu
• Santali
• Nepali
• Comparative Literature
• Agriculture
• Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
• Anthropology
  1. 1.Human Biology, Adaptation and West Bengal Folk Culture
  2. 2.Human Evolution, Primates, Hominid Fossils and Prehistoric Archaeology
  3. 3.Nature of Culture and Society; Marriage, Family and Kinship
  4. 4.Economic Organization: Economic Anthropology, the Formalist-Substantivist Debate, and Modes of Exchange
  5. 5.Political Organization and Social Control
  6. 6.Anthropological Approaches to Religion
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  1. 7.Anthropological Theories
  2. 8.Culture, Language and Communication
  3. 9.Research Methods in Anthropology
  4. 10.Human Genetics: Methods and Application
  5. 11.Concept of Human Growth and Development
  6. 12.Fertility, Bioevents, and Demographic Theories
  7. 13.Applications of Anthropology
  8. 14.Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization
  9. 15.Demographic Profile of India: Ethnic-Linguistic Elements and the Structure and Growth of Population
  10. 16.Traditional Social System, Caste, Sacred Complexes and Religious Impact in India
  11. 17.Emergence, Growth and Development of Anthropology in India
  12. 18.Indian Village, Minorities, and Processes of Social Change
  13. 19.Tribal Situation in India: Distribution, Characteristics, and the Problems of Tribal Communities
  14. 20.Development, Displacement and the Rights of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes
  15. 21.Religion, Tribal Societies, and the Tribe–Nation-State Relationship
  16. 22.Tribal Administration, PTGs, NGOs, and Anthropology's Role in Development and Ethnic Understanding
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Commerce and Accountancy
• Computer Science
• Economics
  1. 1.Economics Optional: The West Bengal Economy and Statistics & Econometrics
  2. 2.Advanced Micro Economics
  3. 3.Advanced Macro Economics: Approaches to Employment, Income and Interest Rate Determination
  4. 4.Money, Banking and Public Finance
  5. 5.International Economics
  6. 6.Growth and Development
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  1. 7.Indian Economy in the Pre-Independence Era
  2. 8.Pre-Liberalization Economic Thought and the Agrarian Transformation
  3. 9.Industry, National Income and Poverty in the Pre-Liberalization Economy
  4. 10.The Post-Liberalization Era: Agriculture, WTO and Trade Policy Reform
  5. 11.New Economic Policy: Industry and the Exchange Rate Regime
  6. 12.Fiscal Rules, Monetary Reform and the Retreat of Central Planning after 1991
  7. 13.New Economic Policy and Employment
• Electrical Engineering
• Geography
  1. 1.Geography Optional: Geography of West Bengal
  2. 2.Geomorphology
  3. 3.Climatology
  4. 4.Oceanography
  5. 5.Biogeography
  6. 6.Paper I, Unit 5 — Environmental Geography
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  1. 7.Paper I, Unit 6 — Perspectives in Human Geography
  2. 8.Paper I, Unit 7 — Economic Geography
  3. 9.Population and Settlement Geography
  4. 10.Regional Planning
  5. 11.Paper I, Unit 10 — Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography
  6. 12.Paper II — Geography of India
  7. 13.Resources
  8. 14.Agriculture — Geography of India (Paper II)
  9. 15.Paper II · Geography of India — Module 4: Industry
  10. 16.Transport, Communication and Trade — Geography of India (Paper II)
  11. 17.Cultural Setting
  12. 18.Settlements
  13. 19.Regional Development and Planning
  14. 20.Paper II, Unit 9 — Political Aspects
  15. 21.Paper II, Unit 10 — Contemporary Issues
• Geology
• History
  1. 1.History Optional Paper I — Item 1: Sources
  2. 2.Pre-history and Proto-history
  3. 3.History Optional Paper I — Item 3: Indus Valley Civilization
  4. 4.Megalithic Cultures
  5. 5.Aryans and Vedic Period
  6. 6.Period of the Mahajanapadas
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  1. 7.Mauryan Empire
  2. 8.Post-Mauryan Period (Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas, Western Kshatrapas)
  3. 9.Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas
  4. 10.Regional States during Gupta Era
  5. 11.Themes in Early Indian Cultural History
  6. 12.Early State and Society in Eastern India, Deccan and South India
  7. 13.Early Medieval India, 750–1200
  8. 14.Cultural Traditions in India, 750-1200
  9. 15.History Optional Paper I — Item 15: The Thirteenth Century
  10. 16.History Optional Paper I — Item 16: The Fourteenth Century
  11. 17.History Optional Paper I — Item 18: The Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century - Political Developments and Economy
  12. 18.History Optional Paper I — Item 19: The Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century - Society and Culture
  13. 19.History Optional Paper I — Item 20: Akbar
  14. 20.History Optional Paper I — Item 21: Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century
  15. 21.History Optional Paper I — Item 22: Economy and Society, in the 16th and 17th Centuries
  16. 22.History Optional Paper I — Item 23: Culture during Mughal Empire
  17. 23.History Optional Paper I — Item 24: The Eighteenth Century
  18. 24.History Optional Paper I — Item 17: Society, Culture and Economy in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
• Law
  1. 1.Constitution and Constitutionalism; Fundamental Rights; Directive Principles of State Policy
  2. 2.Constitutional Position of the President and Relation with the Council of Ministers; Governor and His Powers
  3. 3.The Supreme Court and High Courts; Centre, States and Local Bodies
  4. 4.Legislative Powers, Privileges and Immunities; Services Under the Union and the States
  5. 5.Emergency Provisions; Amendment of the Constitution; Principle of Natural Justice
  6. 6.Delegated Legislation, Separation of Powers, Judicial Review of Administrative Action, and the Ombudsman
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  1. 7.International Law: Nature, Municipal Law, State Recognition/Succession, and the Law of the Sea
  2. 8.Individuals as Subjects of International Law; Jurisdiction; Extradition and Asylum; Treaties
  3. 9.The United Nations — Organs, Powers, Reform; Peaceful Settlement of Disputes; Lawful Recourse to Force; International Humanitarian Law
  4. 10.Nuclear Weapons, International Terrorism and the ICC, the New International Economic Order, and the Human Environment
  5. 11.General Principles of Criminal Liability: Mens Rea, Punishment, Attempt, and General Exceptions
  6. 12.Joint and Constructive Liability, Abetment, and Criminal Conspiracy
  7. 13.Offences Against the State, Public Tranquility, Human Body, Property, Women, and Defamation
  8. 14.Prevention of Corruption Act 1988; Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and Subsequent Legislative Developments; Plea Bargaining
  9. 15.Nature of Tort, Fault and Strict/Absolute Liability, Vicarious Liability, General Defences
  10. 16.Joint Tortfeasors, Remedies, Negligence, Defamation and Nuisance
  11. 17.Conspiracy, False Imprisonment, Malicious Prosecution and the Consumer Protection Act
  12. 18.Paper II — Law of Contracts and Mercantile Law: Nature and Formation of Contract / E-Contract; Factors Vitiating Free Consent; Void, Voidable, Illegal and Unenforceable Agreements; Performance and Discharge of Contracts
  13. 19.Quasi-Contracts; Consequences of Breach of Contract; Contract of Indemnity, Guarantee and Insurance; Contract of Agency
  14. 20.Sale of Goods and Hire Purchase; Partnership; the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Standard Form Contracts
  15. 21.Paper II — Contemporary Legal Developments (I): Public Interest Litigation, Intellectual Property Rights, Information Technology Law, Competition Law
  16. 22.Contemporary Legal Developments — ADR, Environmental Law Statutes, RTI Act, Trial by Media
• Mathematics
• Management
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Science
• Philosophy
  1. 1.Plato and Aristotle: Ideas; Substance; Form and Matter; Causation; Actuality and Potentiality
  2. 2.Rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz)
  3. 3.Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume)
  4. 4.Kant
  5. 5.Hegel: Dialectical Method; Absolute Idealism
  6. 6.Moore, Russell and Early Wittgenstein
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  1. 7.Later Wittgenstein: Meaning and Use; Language-Games; Critique of Private Language
  2. 8.Logical Positivism
  3. 9.Phenomenology (Husserl): Method; Theory of Essences; Avoidance of Psychologism
  4. 10.Existentialism (Kierkegaard, Sartre [printed in the syllabus as "Sarte"], Heidegger)
  5. 11.Quine and Strawson
  6. 12.Carvaka: Theory of Knowledge; Rejection of Transcendent Entities
  7. 13.Jainism: Theory of Reality; Saptabhanginaya; Bondage and Liberation
  8. 14.Schools of Buddhism: Pratītyasamutpāda, Kṣaṇikavāda, Nairātmyavāda
  9. 15.Nyaya-Vaisesika
  10. 16.Samkhya
  11. 17.Yoga: Citta, Cittavṛtti, Kleśas, Samādhi, Kaivalya
  12. 18.Mimamsa: Theory of Knowledge
  13. 19.Schools of Vedanta: Brahman, Isvara, Atman, Jiva, Jagat, Maya, Avidya, Adhyasa, Moksa, Aprthaksiddhi, Pancavidhabheda
  14. 20.Aurobindo: Evolution, Involution; Integral Yoga
  15. 21.Part A — Rights: What the Individual Is Entitled to Hold Against the State
  16. 22.Forms of Government — Monarchy, Theocracy, Democracy
  17. 23.Political Ideologies — Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism
  18. 24.Sovereignty — Austin, Bodin, Laski, Kautilya
  19. 25.Development and Social Progress
  20. 26.Humanism, Secularism and Multiculturalism
  21. 27.Caste Discrimination — Gandhi and Ambedkar
  22. 28.Gender Discrimination — Female Foeticide, Land and Property Rights, Empowerment
  23. 29.Crime and Punishment — Corruption, Mass Violence, Genocide, Capital Punishment
  24. 30.Social and Political Ideals — Equality, Justice, Liberty
  25. 31.Notions of God — Attributes, Relation to Man and the World (Indian and Western)
  26. 32.Proofs for the Existence of God and their Critique (Indian and Western)
  27. 33.Problem of Evil
  28. 34.Soul — Immortality, Rebirth and Liberation
  29. 35.Religion without God
  30. 36.Reason, Revelation and Faith
  31. 37.Religious Experience — Nature and Object (Indian and Western)
  32. 38.Nature of Religious Language — Analogical and Symbolic, Cognitivist and Non-cognitive
  33. 39.Religious Pluralism and the Problem of Absolute Truth
  34. 40.Religion and Morality
• Physiology
• Physics
• Political Science
  1. 1.Political Theory — Meaning and the Contest of Approaches
  2. 2.Six Theories of the Modern State — Liberal to Feminist
  3. 3.Justice: Rawls's Theory and the Communitarian Challenge
  4. 4.Equality: Social, Political and Economic Dimensions, its Relationship with Freedom, and Affirmative Action
  5. 5.Rights — Meaning, Theories, Kinds, and the Concept of Human Rights
  6. 6.Democracy: Classical and Contemporary Theories, and the Representative, Participatory and Deliberative Models
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  1. 7.Power, Hegemony, Ideology and Legitimacy in Political Theory
  2. 8.Political Ideologies — Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism
  3. 9.Indian Political Thought — From Dharmashastra to Radical Humanism
  4. 10.Western Political Thought: From the Polis to the Public Realm — Plato to Arendt
  5. 11.Salient Features of the Indian Constitution — Preamble, Rights, Parliamentary Government and the Basic Structure
  6. 12.Making of the Indian Constitution: Colonial Legacies and Contested Perspectives
  7. 13.Union and State Organs: Envisaged Role and Actual Working
  8. 14.India's Fourth Branch: The Constitutional and Statutory Watchdog Commissions
  9. 15.Federalism: Constitutional Design, Centre-State Change, and the Politics of Regional Aspiration
  10. 16.Party System in India: Parties, Coalitions, Pressure Groups and Electoral Change
  11. 17.Grassroots Democracy: Panchayati Raj, Municipal Government and the Politics of Decentralisation
  12. 18.Identity and Democracy: Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics
  13. 19.Planning, Development and Economic Reform in Indian Politics
  14. 20.Rights, Gender and Ecology: Social Movements in Indian Politics
  15. 21.Comparative Politics: Nature, Approaches, and the Limits of Comparison
  16. 22.The State in Comparative Perspective: Capitalist, Socialist, Advanced-Industrial and Developing Formations
  17. 23.Globalisation: Comparative Responses of Developed and Developing Societies
  18. 24.Approaches to the Study of International Relations — Idealism, Realism, Marxism, Functionalism, Systems Theory
  19. 25.Key Concepts in International Relations — National Interest, Power, Balance of Power, Deterrence, Transnational Actors, Collective Security and the World Capitalist Economy
  20. 26.Bipolarity to Unipolarity: The Cold War, Non-Alignment, and the Post-Soviet Order
  21. 27.The International Economic System: Bretton Woods, CMEA, the NIEO Demand, and Globalisation
  22. 28.The United Nations: Envisaged Role, Actual Record, and the Politics of Reform
  23. 29.Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA
  24. 30.Indian Foreign Policy — Determinants, Institutions of Policy-Making, and the Politics of Continuity and Change
  25. 31.Indian Nationalism — Strategies and Historiographical Perspectives
  26. 32.India's Contribution to the Non-Aligned Movement — Phases and Current Role
  27. 33.India and South Asia: SAARC, SAFTA, Look East and the Politics of Regional Non-Cooperation
  28. 34.India and the UN System — Peacekeeping and the Permanent-Seat Demand
  29. 35.India and the Nuclear Question — From Ambiguity to Overt Deterrent
  30. 36.India and the Global South: Africa, Latin America, and the Struggle for a New Economic Order
  31. 37.India and the Global Centres of Power — USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia
  32. 38.Recent Developments in Indian Foreign Policy — Afghanistan, Iraq, West Asia, the United States, Israel and the Vision of a New World Order
  33. 39.Political Parties, Pressure Groups and Social Movements Compared
  34. 40.Philosophical and Constitutional Framework of Government — Salient Features, Constitutionalism, Political Culture, and the Bureaucracy's Place in a Democracy
  35. 41.Administrative Thought: Scientific Management to Participative Management
  36. 42.Administrative Behaviour: Decision-Making, Communication, Morale, Motivation and Leadership
  37. 43.Accountability and Control
  38. 44.Organisations: Theory, Structure and the Regulatory-PPP State
  39. 45.Introduction to Public Administration
  40. 46.Evolution of Indian Administration
  41. 47.Union Government and Administration: Executive, Parliament, Judiciary
  42. 48.Plans and Priorities: Machinery of Planning, the Planning Commission and NDC, Indicative Planning, and Decentralized Planning
  43. 49.State Government and Administration: Union-State Relations, Finance Commission, Governor, Chief Minister, Council of Ministers, Chief Secretary, State Secretariat, Directorates
  44. 50.District Administration since Independence
  45. 51.Civil Services: Constitutional Position, Structure, Conduct, Neutrality and Activism
  46. 52.Financial Management: Budget, Parliamentary Control, the Finance Ministry, Accounting and Audit
  47. 53.Law and Order Administration: British Legacy, Police Reform, and the Central-State Security Architecture
  48. 54.Significant Issues in Indian Administration
  49. 55.Personnel Administration
  50. 56.Public Policy: Models of Policy-Making, the Policy Process, and State Theories
  51. 57.Financial Administration: Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Public Debt, Budgets, and Accountability
  52. 58.Administrative Law: Meaning, Scope and Significance; Dicey on Administrative Law; Delegated Legislation; Administrative Tribunals
  53. 59.Comparative Public Administration: Institutional History, Riggs, and the Limits of the Available Record
  54. 60.Development Dynamics
  55. 61.Public Sector Undertakings
  56. 62.Rural Development: Institutions, Programmes, Decentralization and the 73rd Amendment
  57. 63.Urban Local Government: Municipal Governance, the 74th Amendment, and the Limits of Constitutional Design
  58. 64.Techniques of Administrative Improvement
  59. 65.Administrative Reforms since Independence
• Psychology
• Sociology
  1. 1.Sociology – The Discipline
  2. 2.Sociology as Science
  3. 3.Research Methods and Analysis
  4. 4.Sociological Thinkers: Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Parsons, Merton, Mead
  5. 5.Stratification and Mobility
  6. 6.Work and Economic Life
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  1. 7.Politics and Society
  2. 8.Religion and Society
  3. 9.Systems of Kinship
  4. 10.Social Change in Modern Society
  5. 11.Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society: Indology, Structural Functionalism, Marxist Sociology
  6. 12.Impact of Colonial Rule on Indian Society
  7. 13.Rural and Agrarian Social Structure: The Village Idea and the Evolution of Land Tenure
  8. 14.Rural Development, Cooperatives and Agrarian Transformation in India
  9. 15.Caste System: Perspectives, Features, and Untouchability
  10. 16.Tribal Communities in India: Definitional Problems, Geographical Spread, Colonial Policies, and Issues of Integration and Autonomy
  11. 17.Social Classes in India: Agrarian, Industrial and Middle Classes
  12. 18.Systems of Kinship in India: Lineage, Descent, Family, Household and Patriarchy
  13. 19.Religious Communities in India and the Problems of Religious Minorities
  14. 20.Population Dynamics: Size, Composition, Growth and Policy in India
  15. 21.Industrialization and Urbanisation in India
  16. 22.Politics and Society in India: Nation, Parties, Regionalism and Secularization
  17. 23.Social Movements in Modern India: Peasants, Women, Backward Classes and Dalits, Environment, Ethnicity and Identity
  18. 24.Visions of Social Change in India: Planning, Law and Education
  19. 25.Challenges of Social Transformation
• Statistics
• Zoology

Personality Test (100 marks)

• Personality Test / Interview