Employees' Provident Fund Organisation Examination
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation Examination

UPSC EPFO Exam Pattern & Syllabus: Check Latest Updates, Interview Qualifying Marks, Negative Marking

EPFO exam pattern and syllabus details are released by UPSC on its official website along with the notification. The EPFO recruitment test is conducted in the pen and paper format. Candidates can check UPSC EPFO syllabus in this article.
UPSC EPFO Exam Pattern 2024

UPSC EPFO Exam Pattern 2024

EPFO Exam Pattern & Syllabus 2024: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) releases the EPFO exam pattern on its official website along with the notification. The EPFO notification contains the exam pattern & syllabus of the recruitment test. The exam is conducted in a pen & paper mode. 

Candidates preparing for the EPFO exam 2024 must be familiar with the syllabus and exam pattern. For the post of EPFO PA, the recruitment test is conducted for a duration of two hours. Objective type questions are asked in the test. The EPFO PA recruitment test consists of the following topics - English Language, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude.  

As per the EPFO syllabus released by UPSC for EO/AO posts, the question paper will have questions from General English, General Accounting Principles, Indian Polity & Economy, Indian Freedom Struggle, Social Security in India, General Mental Ability & Quantitative Aptitude, General Science & Knowledge of Computer Applications, Industrial Relations & Labour Laws, and Current Events & Development Issues.

EPFO Exam Pattern for Personal Assistant

For the selection of candidates for EPFO PA posts, 100% weightage (300 marks) is allocated to the Recruitment Test. Based on the recruitment test, candidates are shortlisted to appear in the Skill Test. The Skill test is mandatory but qualifying in nature. The final selection will be done on the basis of merit in the recruitment test. The exam pattern for the recruitment test is given below.

Particulars

Details

Name of the post

EPFO Personal Assistant 

Total Marks

Recruitment Test - 300 Marks

Negative Marking

⅓ marks allotted to question

Duration of Exam

2 hours

Medium of Exam

English & Hindi

The key highlights for the recruitment test are given below - 

  • The test will be conducted for a duration of 2 hours.
  • All questions will carry equal marks.
  • The test will be objective type questions with multiple choices of answer.
  • The medium of question paper is in English and Hindi except for those questions in English Language.
  • There will be negative marking in the examination. Every wrong answer will carry a deduction of 1/3rd of the marks assigned to that question.
  • No marks will be deducted for an unanswered question.

UPSC EPFO Syllabus 2024 for Personal Assistant 

The syllabus for the EPFO PA recruitment test consists of the topics mentioned below:

i) English Language
ii) General Awareness
iii) Quantitative Aptitude
iv) Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

EPFO Exam Pattern for Enforcement Officers/Account Officers

UPSC conducts the EPFO exam in a pen & paper mode to recruit candidates for the post of Enforcement Officer/Account Officer in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). The EPFO selection process consists of two stages: a written examination and an interview round. The  Candidates can check the EPFO exam pattern in the table below:

Particulars

Details

Number of Questions

120

Total Marks

300 Marks

Marks per question

2.5 marks

Negative Marking

⅓ marks allotted to question, i.e, 0.83 marks

Duration of Exam

120 Minutes

Medium of Exam

English & Hindi

Note: Candidates with a physical disability will be given a compensatory time of 20 minutes in the written examination. They will also be given the facility of a scribe.

Once the written examination is over, EPFO results will be announced by UPSC. The selected candidates are called for the interview round. The weightage for the written examination and interview round for the EPFO exam is in the ratio of 75:25.

Check highlights of the EPFO exam pattern below: 

  • The test will be of two hours duration
  • All questions will carry equal marks.
  • The test will be objective type questions with multiple choices of answer.
  • The medium of the test will be both Hindi and English.
  • There will be penalty for wrong answers. Every wrong answer will carry a deduction of  one-third of the marks assigned to that question. If no answer is marked for a question,  there will be no penalty for that question. 

EPFO APFC Exam Pattern

  • The test will be of two hours duration
  • All questions will carry equal marks.
  • The test will be objective type questions with multiple choices of answer.
  • The medium of the test will be both Hindi and English.
  • There will be penalty for wrong answers. Every wrong answer will carry a deduction of  one-third of the marks assigned to that question. If no answer is marked for a question,  there will be no penalty for that question. 

EPFO Interview Qualifying Marks

The commission has set the minimum qualifying marks for the interview round. This is irrespective of whether the selection is done solely by the interview round or a written examination followed by the interview round. Candidates can check the EPFO interview qualifying marks in the table below:

Categories

Qualifying Marks

General

50

Other Backward Classes (OBC)

45

SC/ST/PH

40

EPFO Syllabus for Enforcement Officer & Account Officer (EO & AO)

There are two parts to the EPFO written exam: Part A and Part B. Part A is General English and has 20 questions. While Part B contains 100 questions covering a variety of subjects, including general science, social security, general accounting principles, Indian politics, the economy, and the freedom struggle in India. The table below summarizes the complete EPFO EO/AO syllabus:

Subjects

Topics

General English

  • Para Jumbles
  • Error Spotting
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Synonyms/Antonyms
  • Phrases/Idioms
  • Cloze Test
  • Sentence Completion

General Accounting Principles

  • Accounting Concepts – Separate Entity Concept
  • Money Measurement Concept
  • Cost Concept
  • Accounting Period Concept
  • Going Concern Concept
  • Consistency
  • Full Disclosure
  • Materiality
  • Dual Aspect Concern
  • Realization Concept
  • Matching Concept
  • Accounting Conventions - Conservatism

Indian Polity & Economy

  • Supreme Court
  • Meaning of Writs
  • Facts about parliament
  • National political parties and their symbols
  • Fundamental Duties
  • Governor and his functions
  • Major Constitutional amendments and their importance
  • State legislature
  • Election of President and his functions
  • Important constitution bodies like CAG
  • Official Language
  • Emergency Provisions

Indian Freedom Struggle

  • Causes of the Rise of Indian National Movement
  • Revolt of 1857 – First War of Independence Against British
  • The Lucknow Pact, 1916
  • Important Indian Freedom Fighter
  • Revolutionaries in the Indian Freedom Movement
  • The Rise of Gandhi in Indian Freedom Struggle
  • Non-Cooperation Movement
  • Indian Independence Act 1947 Home Rule Movement
  • Salt Satyagraha
  • Moplah Rebellion of 1921
  • Simon Commission
  • Swaraj Party
  • Gandhi-Irwin Pact
  • First Round Table Conference 1930
  • Cripps Mission
  • Quit India Movement
  • Indian National Congress Sessions.
  • Indian Nationalism–The Moderate Phase
  • Morley-Minto Reforms
  • The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
  • Partition of Bengal 1905
  • Indian National Movement – Extremist Period

Social Security in India

  • Status of Social security in India
  • Social security schemes for Unorganised Sector
  • New Social Security Schemes launched covering social insurances like Pension, Health Insurance and Medical Benefit, Disability Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Gratuity
  • Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
  • Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana, etc
  • Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)
  • Atal Pension Yojna (APY)

General Mental Ability & Quantitative Aptitude

  • General Mental Ability - Puzzle Test, Statement and Conclusion, Statement and Inferences, Sequence of figures, Series, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Data sufficient, Blood Relations, Directions
  • Quantitative Aptitude – Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Time, Speed and Distance, Problems Based on Ages, Calendar and Clock, Algebra, HCF and LCM, Average, Mixtures and Alligation, Ratio and Proportion, Partnership, Percentage and its application, Probability, Permutations and Combinations

General Science & Knowledge of Computer applications

  • Biology– Human Body, Nutrition in Plants and Animals, Diseases and their causes
  • Physics – Light, Wave, Energy, Electricity, S.I. units, Motion, Sound
  • Chemistry – Chemical Name of substances like Plaster of Paris, etc., Chemical Change and Physical Change, Chemical Properties of Substance and their uses,  Properties of Gases, Surface Chemistry, Chemistry in Everyday Life
  • Computer Applications: Development of computers, Input and Output Devices, MS Office

Industrial Relations & Labour Laws

  • Workers’ provisions
  • Laws for Female workers – Maternity Benefit Act, Vishakha Case, Factories Act, Equal Remuneration Act
  • Labor Laws in India – Workmen's Compensation Act, Employees State Insurance Act, Retirement Benefits, Emigration Act, Unorganised Labour, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Trade Union Act, Minimum Wages Act, Strikes and lockouts, Industrial Disputes Act (IDA), Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals
  • Ministry of Labour in India – Important OFFICES/institutes with Labour Ministry, Work done by offices with labour ministry, Chief Labour Commissioner, Labour Bureau, Welfare Commissioners, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Board of Arbitration

Current Events and Developmental Issues

  • Current Affairs (National & International)
  • Population Census
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Finance and Banking sector
  • Awards and their importance
  • State Animals and Symbols
  • Nobel Prize Winners
  • Inventions and Inventors
  • Books and Writers

EPFO APFC Syllabus

The APFC syllabus of the EPFO exam broadly comprises the following topics:
(a) General English- To evaluate a candidate’s understanding of English language &
workman–like use of words.
(b) Indian Culture, Heritage & Freedom Movements & Current Events
(c) Population, Development and Globalization
(d) Governance and Constitution of India
(e) Present Trends in Indian Economy
(f) Accounting and Auditing, Industrial Relations, Labour Laws, Insurance
(g) Basic Knowledge of Computer Applications, General Science
(h) Elementary Mathematics, Statistics and General Mental Ability.
(i) Social Security in India. 

Conclusion

EPFO exam pattern & syllabus is important to understand for exam preparation. The UPSC EPFO Exam preparation must include thoroughly studying the outlined syllabus, revising it, and solving previous question papers. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is there negative marking in the UPSC EPFO exam?

Yes, there is a negative marking in the UPSC EPFO exam. On attempting the question incorrectly, there is a deduction of 1/3 mark allotted to that question.

How many papers are there in the EPFO exam?

There is only 1 paper in the EPFO exam. The exam paper consists of 120 questions. Selected candidates are called for the EPFO interview round.

Is UPSC EPFO a Group A exam or a Group B exam?

A UPSC EPFO AO/EO is classified as Non-Ministerial, General Central Service Group 'B'.

What is the syllabus for EPFO exam?

The EPFO exam syllabus consists of the following subjects that aspirants must cover:

  • General English.
  • Indian Freedom Struggle.
  • Current Events and Developmental Issues.
  • Indian Polity and Economy.
  • General Accounting Principles.
  • Industrial Relations and Labour Laws.
  • General Science and Knowledge of Computer Applications.

How to cover the EPFO syllabus?

Aspirants must read the books that experts and educators recommend in order to complete the EPFO syllabus. Identify which topics you are interested in and which you are least interested in while studying for the EPFO. Begin your preparation by identifying your strengths and weaknesses and taking steps to improve them.

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