HPPSC Pattern 2024: Detailed Prelims, Mains, and Interview Exam Pattern

HPPSC Pattern 2024: The Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission conducts the HPAS, or Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services exam annually. The exam is held to select candidates for class 1 job posts to work within the Himachal Pradesh government. The exam is divided into three rounds, which are the Prelims and Mains phases. Applicants who clear these rounds are then called for an interview.

It is crucial for applicants to understand the HPPSC exam pattern in order to maximize their results. Candidates will perform better on the test day if they are aware of the test format such as the types of questions that will be asked, the total number of questions, and the time that would be provided to solve them. Further, aligning the preparation with the aligned HPPSC syllabus is also recommended. Hence, in this article, applicants can read about the HPPSC pattern for the prelims and mains round along with other significant details. 

HPPSC Pattern 2024

The pattern of the exam for the preliminary and main exams varies. Each exam has a different number of papers, the weighting of the marks, and the marking system. The preliminary exam will have questions of the objective kind, while the main exam will contain questions of the explanatory type. Although the test pattern may vary depending on the job post one is being recruited for. The general exam pattern will remain the same and students can read about it below.

HPPSC Exam Pattern Highlights

Check below to know some exam pattern highlights

• Prelims, Mains, and the Interview are the three stages of the HPPSC Allied Services exam. To be qualified for the Main exam, candidates must pass the Preliminary exam
• The exam for the HPPSC Administrative Services is for Class 1 officer recruitments for positions like  Tehsildar, Block Development Officer, and Treasury Officers HP Policy Service,  amongst others
• Almost 20 times as many applicants as vacancies will be admitted to the main exam
• 1/3 of the total marks will be deducted for each incorrect response. Multiple answers will be seen as incorrect answers. No points will be deducted if a question is left blank

HPPSC Prelims Pattern 2024

HPPSC Prelims exam is the first round of the entire selection process and all the registered and eligible candidates are qualified to attempt this round of the test. This will include two major sections, which are:

• Both the sections in the exam will be objective in nature
• A duration of 2 hours will be given for each section, making it a total of 4 hours
• There will be two 200-mark papers totalling 400 points on the test

HPPSC Mains Pattern 2024

This is the second round of the HPPSC exam, and as stated above, those who qualify for the first round will only be eligible for the Mains exam. Unlike Prelims, the mains exam is vast and requires more knowledge. There will be a total of 9 papers in this round. Language papers such as English and Hindi, along with different general and elective papers will be presented. 

• Hindi (Paper-II) and English (Paper-I) are the qualifying exams 
• Applicants will have the option of selecting from different elective subjects
• For the English, Hindi, and Essay, applicants will get 3 hours to solve each subject
• General Studies 1, 2, and 3 will be the next three papers, each of these three papers will be worth 200 points. Each paper will take three hours to complete.
• The optional subjects for the following two exams, Papers 7 and 8, will carry 100 marks, and the candidate will have three hours to finish each paper.

HPPSC Personality Test

The final round of the examination process is the Viva-Voce also referred to as the interview round. The viva-voce is conducted by the Commission for 150 marks. The state's central issues, the local languages used there, as well as other key local 

and basic knowledge, must be familiar to candidates as it will be tested. The official list of candidates shortlisted for the HPAS post is based on the Mains Exam and the Viva-Voce.