SSC CGL Syllabus – The Combined Graduate Level entrance exam is conducted in four stages across India for 34 different posts in ministries/departments/organisations of the Government of India. Every year, more than 30 lakh students apply for this exam and around 15 lakh appear for the SSC CGL exam. The SSC CGL exam is conducted once a year in both online and offline mode. Tier I exam duration is 60 minutes, Tier II is conducted for a duration of 120 minutes and Tier III is for 60 minutes. The last stage or Tier IV is an interview stage for candidates who qualify for all the previous three stages with the required cut-off.
In this article, you will get familiar with the Tier I and II exam pattern and syllabus, key dates of exam, marking schemes, exam duration and difficulty.
SSC CGL Syllabus – Exam Pattern for Tier I and II Exam
Before we proceed to the syllabus section of each tier, let’s check out the exam pattern. The first two tiers of the exam is computer-based, the third tier is a descriptive paper and the last stage involves a computer skill test and document verification.
To know how to register for this exam, read SSC CGL Registration here.
| Exam Tier | Description |
| I | Computer-based examination |
| II | Computer-based examination |
| III | Descriptive paper, given in Pen and Paper format |
| IV | Computer proficiency test and document verification |
The Tier I exam pattern is shown in the table below. There is a negative marking of 0.5 marks for each wrong answer in the Tier I exam.
SSC CGL Tier I Exam Pattern
| Subject | Questions | Marks | Duration |
| General Intelligence Reasoning | 25 | 50 | 60 mins |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 | 60 mins |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 | 60 mins |
| English Comprehension | 25 | 50 | 60 mins |
| Total | 100 | 200 | 4 hours |
Exam pattern for Tier II Exam
| Subjects | Questions | Marks | Duration | Paper Validity |
| Quantitative Ability | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | Mandatory |
| English | 200 | 200 | 2 hours | Mandatory |
| Statistics | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | Valid only for candidates who apply for the post of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) |
| General Studies (finance and economics) | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | Valid only for candidates who apply for the post of Assistant Audit Officer or Assistant Accounts Officer |
Tier II exam paper’s negative marking scheme
| Quantitative
Ability |
0.50 marks |
| English | 0.25 marks |
| Statistics | 0.50 marks |
| Finance & Economics | 0.50 marks |
SSC CGL Syllabus – Tier I Exam Syllabus
SSC CGL Tier I 20221 exam was conducted in the month of March (3-9) 2021. The answer key for Tier I was released on March 15. Candidates are recommended to prepare each topic of the syllabus nicely to excel in the exam.
To know the latest updates on SSC, check out the official website from time to time.
| Sections | Description |
| General Intelligence & Reasoning | Questions of verbal and non-verbal types |
| General Awareness | Questions in this section test the candidate’s general awareness of the historical, political, cultural, social and economic environment around him/her. |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Questions are designed to test the candidate’s ability of appropriately use of numbers and number sense |
| English Comprehension | Tests candidate’s English comprehension and writing abilities etc. |
SSC CGL Syllabus – Tier II Exam Syllabus
The Tier 2 exam syllabus is mentioned in the table below. For more information, applicants are advised to check the website for a detailed syllabus, when released.
| Paper | Parts | Description |
| Quantitative Ability | – | Questions in this section accesses the ability of appropriately use of numbers and number sense |
| English Language and Comprehension | – | Questions in this section judge the candidate’s understanding and knowledge of the English Language. |
| Statistics | – | Topics include Collection, Classification and Presentation of Statistical Data, Measures of Central Tendency, Measures of Dispersion, Moments, Skewness and Kurtosis, etc. |
| General Studies – Finance and Economics | A (Finance & Accounts) | Questions on Fundamental Principles and Basic Concepts of Accounting. |
| B (Economics & Governance) | Topics to prepare are Comptroller & Auditor General of India – Constitutional provisions, Role and responsibility, Finance Commission-Role and functions, Basic Concept of Economics and Introduction to Microeconomics etc. |
SSC CGL Syllabus – Tier III & IV exam
Tier III exam
- Candidates will have to attempt subjective/descriptive papers in English or Hindi in pen-and-paper mode.
- They need to complete the exam in 60 minutes and the maximum mark that candidates can score in the exam are 100 marks.
Tier IV exam
It covers the data entry skill test (DEST) and computer proficiency test (CPT). Data entry has to be attempted by the candidates who apply for the post of Tax Assistants (Central Excise & Income Tax). The DEST test requires 8000 key depressions per hour whereas the CPT test requires computer knowledge. The skill test will be conducted to test the candidate’s ability to type 2000 words in a duration of 15 minutes.
The computer proficiency test is conducted for the candidates who apply for the posts of Assistant Section Officer (CSS), Assistant Section Officer (MEA), Assistant Section Officer (AFHQ), Assistant in Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) etc under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Generation of Slides are the key modules in the test.
Document verification and physical tests are also carried out. In the document verification step, matriculation certificate, caste certificate, mark sheets of all three years of graduation, and certificate of graduation are required to be presented by the candidates in the given time schedule by SSC.
Physical examinations are required for certain posts like Inspector, Sub Inspector, Central Excise, Examiner, Preventive Officer and Sub Inspector for posting in NIA.
SSC CGL Syllabus – FAQs
Q. What are the posts SSC CGL is conducted for?
SSC CGL is conducted for various Group B and C posts available in the ministries/organisations of the Indian government.
Q. How many vacancies are available through the SSC CGL exam?
10,000+ posts are made available every year by SSC for Group B and C posts.
Q. What is the minimum eligibility criteria to apply for the SSC CGL exam?
Graduates are eligible for applying to the SSC CGL government exam
Q. Is it required to pass the individual tiers to qualify in the SSC CGL exam?
Yes, one has to pass all four tiers of the SSC CGL exam to obtain the required final cut off in the exam and get eligible to be recruited into government posts.
