How To Prepare State PSC

Rajasthan Public Service Commission

The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) was established in August 1949. The RPSC is located at Ajmer.

The merger of princely states meant that any PSCs (or similar bodies) pre-existing in the constituent states were abolished once the RPSC came into effect.

Official Website – https://www.rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in/

One of the exams conducted by RPSC is the RAS/RTS Combined Competitive Exam which is also known as the Rajasthan State and Subordinate Services Combined Competitive Exam.

The RPSC RAS Exam is conducted to fill Group A and Group B vacancies in the state of Rajasthan.

You can find the posts, eligibility details, exam pattern etc. in the official recruitment notification.

RAS Exam

Notification Date – (tentative) July
Vacancies – Will be given in the notification
Last Date of Application Submission – (tentative) August
Admit Card – (tentative) September
Date of Pre Exam – (tentative) September
General Science.

Candidates should regularly check the official website for the latest RPSC news.

The eligibility criteria for the RAS exam:

Citizens of India
Domicile of Rajasthan (for claiming reservation benefits)
Minimum Age – 21 years
Maximum Age – 40 years
Educational Qualification – Graduate Degree
No. of Attempts – No restriction till the age criteria is satisfied

To read in detail about the eligibility criteria and Age Limit Relaxation for various categories, check Official Website.

The RAS exam pattern is modelled loosely on the UPSC IAS exam. The RAS exam comprises three stages:

Prelims - One Paper – Objective Type – 200 Marks
Mains - 4 Papers – Theory/Descriptive – 800 Marks Total
Interview/Personality Test - Interview/Personality Test/Viva-voce – 100 Marks

The first stage is the RAS Pre Exam. In this stage, there is only one paper for 200 marks. There are 150 MCQs in the paper and the time duration is of 3 hrs.

The RAS syllabus for Prelims consists of History, Geography, Polity, Economy and Current Affairs related to both India and Rajasthan in particular. Few questions on Reasoning and Mental Ability are also part of the Prelims Exam. Candidates who clear the RAS Pre reach the Mains stage of the examination.

In RAS Mains, there are 4 theory papers for a total of 800 marks.

Paper	Subject	Marks	Duration
Paper I	General Studies – I	200	3 hours
Paper II	General Studies – II	200	3 hours
Paper III	General Studies – III	200	3 hours
Paper IV	General Hindi and General English	200	3 hours

For e.g., if candidates are preparing for RPSC, then they also need to study History, Economy, Geography, Polity, and Current Affairs related to Rajasthan state as mentioned in the RAS Syllabus.

RPSC RAS Prelims Syllabus

The RAS Pre Exam is a screening test and marks are not counted for the final merit list.

RAS Pre Syllabus and Pattern is as follows:

One Paper
Subject Name – General Knowledge and General Science
Max Marks – 200
Duration – 3 Hrs.
Negative Marking – Yes (1/3rd of the marks allocated for the question)
Number of Question – 150
RAS Pre Exam Date – (tentative) September
Syllabus – The syllabus can be subdivided into topics/section focusing on Rajasthan and general topics

RAS Syllabus – Prelims (Simplified)

Rajasthan Specific Parts	General Topics
Literature, Tradition, Culture, Art, History and Heritage of Rajasthan Geography of Rajasthan Administrative and Political System of Rajasthan Economy of Rajasthan Current Affairs – Rajasthan	Indian History – Ancient, Medieval, Modern Geography – Indian. World Indian Political System, Constitution and Governance Economic Concepts and Indian Economy Science and Technology Reasoning and Mental Ability Current Affairs

RPSC Syllabus for RAS Mains

The RAS Syllabus for Mains comprises 4 theory papers of 200 marks each. The papers consist of short, medium and long answer questions.

There are no optional papers in the syllabus for RAS Mains, unlike the UPSC Mains Syllabus Marks in the RAS Mains along with the Interview marks are counted for the final merit list.

Paper	Subject	General Topics
Paper I	General Studies I	Unit 1 – History Unit 2 – Economics Unit 3 – Sociology, Management, Accounting & Auditing
Paper II	General Studies II	Unit 1 – Administrative Ethics Unit 2 – General Science & Technology Unit 3 – Earth Science (Geography and Geology)
Paper III	General Studies III	Unit 1 – Indian Political System, World Politics and Current Affairs Unit 2 – Concepts, Issues and Dynamics of Public Administration and Management Unit 3 – Sports and Yoga, Behaviour and Law
Paper IV	General Hindi and General English	Grammar and Usage Comprehension, Translation and Precis Writing Composition & Letter Writing

After the Mains stage, comes the Personality Test. It is conducted by the RPSC panel and is for 100 marks. The interview aims to check the candidate’s suitability for the administrative career.

To understand the exam pattern and the difficulty level of the RAS exam, aspirants can go through the previous years’ question papers.