BPSC Prelims: a strategy for 150 questions

BPSC Prelims looks simple on paper: one General Studies paper, 150 questions, 150 marks, two hours. There is no separate CSAT to worry about. Yet every year, the Prelims eliminates the vast majority of candidates. The reasons are predictable — thin preparation on Bihar, careless attempts under negative marking, and too many sources revised too few times.

Know the paper

Subject areas

Classify the last five or six BPSC papers by these areas. You will find the Bihar component — across history, geography, economy and current affairs — is large enough to decide whether you clear the cut-off.

The Bihar edge

Prepare Bihar thoroughly:

• Ancient: Magadha's rise; Vaishali; Buddha and Mahavira; the Mauryas and Ashoka; the Guptas; Nalanda and Vikramshila; the Palas.
• Medieval: Sher Shah Suri; Bihar under the Mughals.
• Modern: the Battle of Buxar; Kunwar Singh; the Wahabi movement; Champaran; Quit India; Swami Sahajanand; Rajendra Prasad; the JP Movement.
• Geography: the Ganga's north and south bank tributaries; the Kosi; physiographic divisions; Valmiki Tiger Reserve; wetlands; crops such as makhana and litchi.
• Economy and polity: state schemes, the caste survey, prohibition, Panchayati Raj with 50 per cent reservation for women.
• Culture: Madhubani painting, Chhath, languages.

Sources

• NCERTs (Classes 6–12) for the national base.
• One standard book per subject.
• A good Bihar general studies book, cross-checked.
• The Bihar Economic Survey summary.
• Monthly current affairs with a Bihar section, plus your own newspaper notes.
• Previous-year BPSC papers.

Revise in cycles

Plan three full revisions before the exam:

1. slow revision after completing the syllabus;
2. faster revision six to eight weeks before;
3. a final revision of short notes, maps and an error log in the last two weeks.

Mental ability

• Number series, coding–decoding, analogies, directions, simple arithmetic (percentages, averages, ratios), data interpretation.
• These are often quick and scorable. Practise 15–20 questions a few times a week.

Attempt strategy

With negative marking and less than a minute per question:

1. Round 1: answer questions you are sure of; mark the rest.
2. Round 2: return to marked questions; use elimination.
3. Round 3: leave those where you have no basis.

Also watch for "More than one of the above" or "None of the above" type options, which BPSC has used — read every option before choosing.

Mock tests

• Sectional tests after each subject; full-length tests in the last three months.
• Analyse every mistake: knowledge gap, misreading, or bad guess?
• Keep an error log and revise it weekly.

Current affairs

Focus on the 12–18 months before the exam — national and international events, and Bihar: new schemes, budget highlights, appointments, awards, infrastructure projects, sports and culture.

The final fortnight

• No new sources.
• Revise short notes, maps and the error log.
• Take two full mocks at the exam time of day.
• Sleep well.

Clear Prelims with a margin, and you can give the Mains the months of attention it needs.