Phase I: all streams
| Paper | Content | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I | GA including financial sector, English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning | 100 | 60 minutes |
| Paper II General | Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, Economics | 100 | 40 minutes |
| Paper II specialist | Subject related to the stream | 100 | 40 minutes |
Phase I thresholds
The 2025 notice sets minimum Paper I 30%, Paper II 40% and aggregate 40% cutoffs; Phase I marks are used only for shortlisting. Wrong answers in both Phase I papers attract a one-fourth penalty.
Phase II
| Paper | General stream | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I | English descriptive test | 100 | 60 minutes |
| Paper II | Commerce, Accountancy, Management, Finance, Costing, Companies Act, Economics | 100 | 90 minutes |
Specialist Phase II Paper II
The 2025 notice uses distinct formats: Legal combines MCQs and descriptive questions; IT uses technical tasks; Research uses descriptive economics, financial markets and statistics; Official Language uses translation and drafting; Engineering streams use specialised MCQs. Follow the official stream annexure for the exact paper.
Final merit
Phase II has 85% and Interview 15% weightage in the 2025 notice. Phase II uses one-third Paper I and two-thirds Paper II weighting, with separate paper and aggregate cutoffs. A one-fourth penalty applies to MCQs in Phase II Paper II.