West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Exam Syllabus – Prelims | 23 Jul 2025

The West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Exam serves as the gateway to a prestigious administrative career in the state. This stage is designed to test candidates’ foundational knowledge across a wide array of subjects, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of their aptitude and awareness.  

Introduction 

  • Included Papers:  
    • General Studies Paper-I 
    • General Studies Paper-II   
  • Type: Objective  
  • No. of Questions & Marks: 200 MCQs in each paper, consisting of 200 marks   
    • GS Paper-II– qualifying in nature, with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33% 
  • Duration: Each paper will be 2 hours 
  • Level of the Examination: The papers will be of the standard expected from a graduate of a recognised university.

Note: It is mandatory for the candidates to appear in both papers for evaluation.  A candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both papers.     

Syllabus of WBCS Prelims GS Paper-I 

SI No.  

Subjects  

Marks Assigned 

i  

English Composition  

20 

ii  

General Science  

20 

iii 

Current Events of National and International Importance  

20 

iv 

History of India 

20 

v 

Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal  

20 

vi 

Indian Polity and Economy  

20+20=40 

vii 

Indian National Movement  

20 

viii 

General Issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-Diversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialization  

40 

Total 

200 

Syllabus of WBCS Prelims GS Paper-II 

SI No.  

Topics 

Marks Assigned 

i  

Comprehension 

60 

ii  

Interpersonal Skills including communication skills  

10 

iii 

Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability 

35 

iv 

Decision Making and Problem Solving  

30 

v 

General Mental Ability 

30 

vi 

Basic Numeracy (Numbers and their relations, Orders of Magnitude, etc.), Data Interpretation (Charts, Graphs, Tables, Data Sufficiency) -  Class X Level  

35 

Total 

200 
  • The Preliminary Examination is meant to serve as a screening test only for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination. Both the papers are qualifying in nature.
  • Only those candidates who will be declared qualified at the Preliminary Examination in a year shall be eligible to appear at the West Bengal Civil Service (Executive), etc. (Main) Examination of that year.