SSC stands for Staff Service Commission, which is a body under Central Government entrusted with the job of recruiting suitable candidates for several Group B and Group C posts, which are generally or say normally of non gazette nature and destination. These jobs are spread across all the ministries/ministries/departments/organizations of the Government of India or in general, the central government. Once a year SSC conducts various exams for recruiting or shortlisting candidates with different educational requirements and age requirements for different types of posts.
The various exams conducted by SSC are as follows :
- SSC CGL
- SSC CHSL
- SSC JE
- SSC GD Constable
- SSC MTS
- SSC CPO
- SSC JHT
- SSC Stenographer
- SSC CPO (SI CRPF/CISF/DELHI POLICE )
In this post, we would be discussing the pan India level exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for the graduates or the candidates whose results are awaited or the last year graduating students, who are deemed to be graduates before the date of documents verification and submission. Here, the CGL stands for Combined Graduate Level exam. The exam is conducted to induct appropriate candidates for the various Group B and Group C posts. The posts include Assistant Audit Officer, Assistant Section Officer, Inspector of Income Tax, Sub-Inspector, Junior Statistical Officer, Auditor, Accountant, Tax Assistant, Upper Division Clerk, etc
About the SSC CGL exam
Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (SSC CGL) is a 3 tier exam conducted across the country with examination centers in all major cities of India with infrastructure to conduct online exams. The first two tiers of the exam are conducted in online mode and the last or third-tier is conducted in offline and pen and paper mode. The candidates who get shortlisted after the third round are called for Documentation or Documents Verification ( DV ) and the successful ones are selected for various Group-B and -C jobs which consist of posts like Assistant Audit Officer, Assistant Section Officer, Inspector of Income Tax, Sub-Inspector, Junior Statistical Officer, Auditor, Accountant, Tax Assistant, Upper Division Clerk, etc.
If we talk about volumes of candidates appearing and candidates getting inducted is around 2 million or more ( more than 20 lakhs ) candidates are in the fray for a mere 8000 to 10,000 vacancies.
Stages of SSC
- TIER 1 – The first tier of this exam is more of an elimination round than a selection one. Around 40,000 of the total applied candidates are shortlisted here. All candidates have to go through this round which is an online exam lasting for an hour. 1 hour and 100 questions, each question carrying 02 marks each, thus making it 200 marks overall. For every correct answer, 02 marks would be awarded and for every incorrectly answered question, 0.5 marks would be deducted for answering questions incorrectly. But no marks would be deducted if one doesn’t attempt the question. The lot of 100 questions consists of 25 questions from English, 25 questions from Quantitative Aptitude ( Mathematics ), 25 questions from reasoning, and 25 questions from General Awareness ( or General Knowledge or General Studies ) respectively. There’s no time limit for any of the sections, the only time limit is one hour or 60 minutes overall. Yes, persons with disabilities ( more specifications in the notification ) are allotted 20 minutes of extra time. The mode of the exam would be online (before 2016, it was online and the number of questions was 200 and the time allotted was 2 hours in total ).
- Tier 2 – The candidates who are shortlisted from Tier 1 are called for the second round of the exam. This round consists of two papers in general and 2 extra papers for the ones who have opted for Statistical and Accountant posts. Generally, the first paper is of Quantitative Aptitude consisting of 100 questions and each question carries 2 marks for a correct answer and deducts 0.5 marks for answering it incorrectly. Yes, no marks are deducted if one doesn’t attempt. The second paper is of English which comprises 200 questions and each question carries 1 mark, thus making 200 marks in total. For every correct answer, 01 marks are awarded whereas 0.25 mark is cut down for an incorrect answer while no deduction for not attempting. So these two papers are mandatory for all and makeup 400 marks overall. The ones who have opted for Statistical Officer posts have to appear for a paper of statistics whereas the ones who aspire for Accountant posts have to appear for a paper of accountancy. The nomenclature of these 02 papers is the same as the paper on Quantitative Aptitude with 100 questions and 200 marks in total. 02 marks for each correctly answered question and 0.50 mark is canceled for the incorrect ones and no penalty for not answering. Though papers 3 and 4 aren’t mandatory for all whereas the first two are mandatory for all. Lastly, this round too would be conducted in an online mode. Now, after this round, the total marks obtained in Tier 1 & Tier 2 are taken into account, and based on it, the candidates are again shortlisted for the 3rd round or Tier 3.
- Tier 3 – Now this is the last round and is a subjective round. This is an offline exam consisting of 100 marks. This exam is a test of English or Hindi writing proficiency where we are asked to write descriptively. The paper may ask oneself to write an essay/letter/precise/application etc. which keeps on changing yearly in either English or Hindi language one may feel comfortable at. The time allotted is 01 hour or 60 minutes.
Now, a final merit list would be prepared based on marks obtained overall in all three rounds of the exam. The total marks to be taken into account would be 700 marks minimum for all the general posts whereas the additional paper marks would be taken into account for other aforementioned posts of Statistical Officer and Accountants. After these rounds, the skills would be tested through Computer Proficiency Tests (CPT) or the skill tests whichever is found necessary for different posts.
Frequenlty Asked Questions
Yes, there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Tier-I and Tier-II exams of SSC CGL.
The SSC CGL application process is online. Candidates need to visit the official SSC website during the application period and fill out the online application form. They must provide necessary details, upload scanned documents, and pay the application fee online.
To be eligible for SSC CGL, candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university. The age limit varies for different posts, usually between 18 to 32 years, with age relaxations for candidates from reserved categories.
60 minutes of Duration
100 Questions
Instant Report
4 Dimensions
500+ Career Options
1M+ Test Taken
