KPSC Exam Pattern & Syllabus

The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) conducts Karnataka Adminstrative Services (KAS) exam for recruitment to various administrative positions in Kerala.

The recruitment process includes 3 stages -

1. Preliminary examination
2. Mains examination
3. Interview/ Personality test

Karnataka PSC KAS Prelims Exam Pattern

The KAS Prelims exam is a screening test used to shortlist candidates for the Mains. It includes two objective-type papers.

KAS Prelims exam Syllabus
Paper I

• Current Affairs- National and International Importance
• Indian History- History of Karnataka and Indian National Movement
• Indian and World Geography along with the Geography of Karnataka
• Polity and Indian Economy- Political System of India
• Economic Reforms

• Current Affairs of State and Local Importance
• Important State Government Schemes
• General Science & Technology
• Broad Understanding
• Contemporary issues/developments and implications.
• Environment and Ecology.
• Understanding of issues on biodiversity, climate change, ecology, health with no subject specialization.
• General Mental Ability
• Basic numeracy
• Data interpretation
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Comprehension

KAS Mains Exam Pattern
The Karnataka Adminstrative Services Mains Exam consists of 9 descriptive papers.

Total marks : 1750
KAS Mains Exam Syllabus
Paper I: English (35% Qualifying criteria)

• Comprehension – 25 marks
• Precis – 25 marks
• Usage- 25 marks
• Vocabulary – 25 marks
• Short Essay – 25 marks
• Communication Skills – 25 marks

Paper II: Kannada (35% Qualifying criteria)

• Comprehension – 25 marks
• Precis – 25 marks
• Usage- 25 marks
• Vocabulary – 25 marks
• Short Essay – 25 marks
• Communication Skills – 25 marks

Paper III: Essay
This paper requires candidate to write two essays in either English or Kannada on following topics -

• National and International issues
• State or Local Issues

• History and Cultural Heritage of India & Karnataka
• Cultural Heritage of India
• Modern History of India (beginning of the 19th century onwards)
• Kadambas – Hoysalas
• The Vijaynagar Empire
• Modern Mysore
• Karnataka Freedom movement and Unification
• Political and Social Perspective
• Post-Independence Karnataka
• Social Change & Modernisation
• Political System and Government
• Decentralization of Power
• Socio-economic system
• Rural social system and development
• Planning, Indian Economy, Rural Development- Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation
• Indian Economy
• India & International Economic Relations
• Development Patterns
• Planning and planning goals
• Decentralization
• Rural Development Initiatives
• Data Collection Analysis & Interpretation

• Physical Features and Natural Resources
• Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere
• Continental physiography and demographic distribution
• Indian Physiography
• Industrial Planning & Development
• Physiographic divisions (Karnataka)
• Urban land-use policy and Urbanisation (Karnataka)
• Overview of the Indian Constitution
• Nature of the Indian Constitution
• Fundamental Rights
• Distribution of Powers (Legislative)
• Unicameral and Bicameral legislatures
• Important Amendments
• Welfare machinery in India
• Union and State services
• Public Administration and Management – International Relations
• Public and Private Administration
• Organization structure
• Organizational behavior and concepts of management
• Informal and formal organization
• Management techniques and tools
• Administrative Reforms
• UN and Specialised agencies

• Role/ impact of Science & Technology in Indian Development, Information Technology in Public Domain
• Basics of Science and Tech
• Space Tech & Science
• Energy Resources
• Disasters, Pollution, and Pests
• Related Perception
• Knowledge society
• Rural upliftment and Science & Tech
• Advancement and Modern Trends in Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, Agricultural Science
• Sericulture and Horticulture
• Biotechnology initiatives
• Animal Husbandry (dairy, fishery and veterinary sciences)
• Development policies (Agriculture), programs and trade
• Hygiene & health
• Challenges and Issues in Development on Environment & Ecology
• Environment Conservation
• Natural Resources
• Biodiversity & Ecosystem
• Solid Waste Management & Environmental Pollution
• Role of Information Tech in Environment and Human Health
• State-community-civil society interface

• Ethics
• Determinants, Essence, and Consequences
• Ethics in public administration
• Accountability and ethical governance
• RTI and Concept of public service
• Human values
• Integrity
• Impartiality, Integrity, objectivity, and non-partisanship
• Aptitude
• Aptitude and foundational values for civil service
• Emotional intelligence and contribution of social thinkers
• Case studies of the above issues.

Any one Optional subject is to be chosen from the following subjects -

• Agriculture, marketing, sericulture, and agriculture cooperation
• Animal husbandry, fisheries, and veterinary sciences
• Anthropology
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Commerce and Accountancy
• Economics
• Electrical engineering
• geography
• geology
• History
• Law
• Management
• mathematics
• Mechanical engineering
• Physics
• Political science and International relations
• Psychology
• Public Administration
• Sociology
• Statistics
• Zoology
• Rural development and cooperation
• Literature (English, Hindi, Kannada, or Urdu).

• The interview or Personality test is the final stage of the Karnataka Adminstrative Services examination process.
• This stage carries 200 marks.
• Candidates' overall personality, communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and general awareness are evaluated.
• The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of candidate. In broad terms, this is really an assessment of not only the intellectual qualities but also social traits and interest in current affairs including the knowledge of customs, manners and dialects of Karnataka.
• Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, care, and logical exposition, the balance of judgments, variety, and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity
• The marks obtained in the interview (out of 200) are added to the Mains marks (out of 1750) for the final merit ranking (out of 1950).