Exam pattern
| Stage | Paper | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | Paper I: General Studies | Objective | 100 | 1½ hours |
| Prelims | Paper II, Part A: General Studies | Objective | 50 | 1½ hours for the whole paper |
| Prelims | Paper II, Part B: Malayalam, Tamil or Kannada | Objective | 30 | |
| Prelims | Paper II, Part C: English | Objective | 20 | |
| Mains | Papers I to III | Written | 100 each | 2 hours each |
| Interview | Personality test |
The Preliminary examination decides who goes on to the Main examination. Main answers may be written in English, Malayalam, Tamil or Kannada. The ranking adds the three Main papers and the Interview.
Prelims: Paper I
- History: India, Kerala and the world from the middle of the 18th century.
- Cultural heritage of Kerala.
- Indian Constitution, public administration and the political system.
- Geography of India and Kerala.
- Reasoning, mental ability and simple arithmetic.
Prelims: Paper II
- Part A: economy and planning, science and technology, and current affairs.
- Part B: the chosen language: vocabulary, grammar and usage, and comprehension.
- Part C: English: grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure and comprehension.
Mains: Paper I
- History of the world, India and Kerala.
- Cultural heritage of Kerala.
Mains: Paper II
- Indian Constitution, public administration, the political system and governance.
- Science and technology.
- Current issues.
Mains: Paper III
- Economy and planning.
- Geography.
- Current issues.