Civil Services · Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
UPSC CAPF (AC) — Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandant) Examination
The complete UPSC CAPF (AC) blueprint: tier-wise pattern, topic weightage from previous-year analyses, and free chapter-by-chapter study material.
4 stages — Paper I, Paper II, PST/PET, Interview600 final-merit marks (450 written + 150 interview)5 forces — BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB Free · tutor-verified
UPSC CAPF (AC) at a glance
Conducted byUnion Public Service Commission (UPSC)
CycleOnce a year (notification ~Sep-Oct; Paper I & II ~Aug the following year; PST/PET ~months later; final merit ~a year after notification)
ModePaper I: OMR objective. Paper II: pen-and-paper descriptive (Part A bilingual, Part B English-only). PST/PET: in-person physical tests. Interview: in-person personality test board.
EligibilityBachelor's degree in any discipline; age 20-25 as of 1 August of the exam year (OBC +3, SC/ST +5, PwBD +10 years relaxation); specific height/chest/vision physical standards, relaxed for women candidates and some categories
LanguagesPaper I: English & Hindi. Paper II Part A (Essay): English or Hindi. Paper II Part B (Comprehension & language skills): English only.
Selection intoAssistant Commandant is a Group A gazetted post at Pay Level 10 (₹56,100 basic), equivalent in rank and pay scale to an IPS probationer, rising through Deputy Commandant / Second-in-Command / Commandant to Director General over a career
Forces you can join
BSF — Border Security ForceCRPF — Central Reserve Police ForceCISF — Central Industrial Security ForceITBP — Indo-Tibetan Border PoliceSSB — Sashastra Seema Bal~300-400 vacancies across all five forces in a typical cycle
⚡ What changed recently
- Unlike CSE's 3-stage Prelims/Mains/Interview structure, CAPF AC has no separate Prelims — Paper I and Paper II are both part of one written exam, taken on consecutive papers of the same exam cycle.
- Paper II splits into a bilingual Essay (Part A, 80 marks — English or Hindi) and an English-only Comprehension & language-skills section (Part B, 120 marks — precis writing, counter-argument development, grammar) — Part B alone is the single largest component of Paper II.
- Physical Standards Test (height/chest/vision) and Physical Efficiency Test (races, long jump, shot put) sit between the written exam and the interview, and are gender-specific qualifying hurdles, not scored toward merit.
- This hub's Paper I content is shared with SSC CGL's General Intelligence & Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness subjects, since CAPF's own Paper I syllabus matches that objective-exam format closely; Paper II's Essay-craft chapters are shared with UPSC CSE, with CAPF-specific chapters added for Precis Writing/Comprehension and Human Rights.
How UPSC CAPF (AC) selection works
Know what each stage is for before you spend a single hour preparing.
SCREENING — DECIDES WHO SITS PAPER II
Paper I — General Ability & Intelligence
125 questions · 250 marks · 2 hours · −1/3 per wrong answer. Covers Mental Ability & Reasoning, General Science, Current Affairs, Indian Polity & Economy, History (freedom struggle) and Indian & World Geography.
MERIT — THE REMAINING 200 WRITTEN MARKS
Paper II — General Studies, Essay & Comprehension
6 questions · 200 marks · 3 hours · no negative marking. Part A: Essay (80 marks, English or Hindi) on history/geography/polity/economy/security/human-rights/analytical themes. Part B: Comprehension & language skills (120 marks, English only) — precis writing, counter-arguments, grammar.
QUALIFYING ONLY
PST, PET & Medical Standards
Physical Standards Test (height, chest, vision) and Physical Efficiency Test (100m/800m race, long jump, shot put — gender-specific standards) plus a medical exam. Pass/fail, not scored toward merit.
FINAL 150 MARKS
Personality Test (Interview)
A board interview assessing suitability for a paramilitary command role. Final merit = Paper I (250) + Paper II (200) + Interview (150) = 600 marks.
The exam pattern, tier by tier
Marks, timing and negative marking exactly as per the official notification.
Paper I — General Ability & Intelligence
Screening — decides who sits Paper II250 marks · 125 Q
2 hours (120 min) · −1/3 (0.33) per wrong answer
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning & Mental Ability | ~35–45 | ~70–90 | No sectional limit |
| Quantitative Aptitude | ~15–20 | ~30–40 | No sectional limit |
| General Awareness (History, Polity, Economy, Geography, Science, Current Affairs) | ~60–75 | ~120–150 | No sectional limit |
💡 The only objective paper in the exam. Its marks also count toward final merit (unlike CSE's Prelims, which is a pure screen) — Paper I contributes 250 of your final 600 marks.
Paper II — General Studies, Essay & Comprehension
Merit — the remaining 200 written marks200 marks · 6 Q
3 hours · No negative marking
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (Part A) | 1 essay | 80 | 3 hours for both parts |
| Precis, Comprehension & Language Skills (Part B) | ~5 questions | 120 | 3 hours for both parts |
| Internal Security & Human Rights background | reference reading | — | Feeds Essay & Interview |
Official syllabus units
- Part A — Essay (80): modern Indian history (esp. the freedom struggle), geography, polity, economy, security & human-rights issues, analytical ability
- Part B — Comprehension & language skills (120): comprehension passages, precis writing, developing counter-arguments, grammar — English only
💡 Part A may be answered in English or Hindi; Part B must be answered in English only.
Where your 250 Paper I marks come from
CAPF AC is a single written exam (no separate Prelims/Mains split): Paper I (General Ability & Intelligence, 250 marks, objective) screens candidates, then Paper II (General Studies, Essay & Comprehension, 200 marks, descriptive) plus the Physical Standards/Efficiency Tests and a 150-mark Interview decide final merit out of 600. Here is how Paper I's 250 marks split across subjects — click any block to open its chapters:
General Awareness135 marks · 30%
The largest single block of Paper I — History, Polity, Economy, Geography, General Science, Static GK and Current Affairs all bundled into one SSC-style objective section.
Reasoning & Mental Ability80 marks · 18%
Verbal & non-verbal reasoning — analogy, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, seating arrangement — the same 14-chapter SSC CGL reasoning syllabus.
Quantitative Aptitude35 marks · 8%
A smaller slice than SSC CGL's own quant weight, but the same underlying arithmetic/algebra/geometry syllabus.
Essay & Comprehension (Paper II)200 marks · 44%
Paper II alone outweighs any single Paper I subject — Part B's precis/comprehension/grammar (120 marks) is the single biggest scoring component in the entire written exam.
Subjects in UPSC CAPF (AC)
Chapter-by-chapter study material built to the exam's own blueprint.
Topic-wise weightage — what to study first
Question counts per topic, distilled from previous-year paper analyses. Click any topic with a link to open its full chapter.
| Topic | Qs in Paper I | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Analogy — semantic, number & figural | 3–4 | High |
| Classification (odd one out) | 2–3 | Medium |
| Series — number, alphabet & figural | 3–4 | High |
| Coding-Decoding | 2–3 | High |
| Blood Relations | 2–3 | Medium |
| Direction & Distance | 2–3 | Medium |
| Order & Ranking | 1–2 | Medium |
| Syllogism | 3–4 | High |
| Venn Diagrams | 1–2 | Medium |
| Mathematical Operations | 1–2 | Low |
| Matrix & Word Formation | 1–2 | Low |
| Seating Arrangement & Puzzles | 3–5 | High |
| Statement & Conclusions | 2–3 | Medium |
| Non-Verbal Reasoning — mirror, paper folding, dice & figures | 3–4 | High |
🎯 CAPF's Mental Ability section follows the same SSC-pattern reasoning syllabus as SSC CGL, not UPSC CSAT's puzzle-and-critical-reasoning blend — analogy, classification, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogism, seating arrangement and non-verbal reasoning (mirror/paper-folding/dice) all recur. Drill each pattern to near-automatic recognition; speed matters more here than in CSAT since Paper I has no sectional time limit but a tight overall 2 hours across 125 questions.
| Topic | Qs in Paper I | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Number System & Simplification | 1–2 | Medium |
| Percentage | 1–2 | High |
| Profit, Loss & Discount | 1–2 | High |
| Simple & Compound Interest | 1–2 | Medium |
| Ratio & Proportion | 1 | Medium |
| Partnership | 0–1 | Low |
| Average | 1 | Medium |
| Time, Speed & Distance | 1–2 | High |
| Time & Work | 1–2 | High |
| Algebra | 1–2 | Medium |
| Geometry | 1–2 | Medium |
| Mensuration | 1 | Low |
| Trigonometry | 1 | Low |
| Data Interpretation | 2–3 | High |
🎯 Quant carries less weight in CAPF than in SSC CGL itself, but the underlying syllabus — arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, data interpretation — is identical, so full SSC CGL quant prep transfers directly. Prioritise arithmetic (percentage, profit-loss, time-speed-distance) and data interpretation first, since those question types recur most often within CAPF's smaller quant allocation.
| Topic | Qs in Paper I | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Indian History — Ancient to Modern (esp. the freedom struggle) | 10–13 | Very high |
| Indian Polity & Constitution | 8–10 | Very high |
| Indian & World Geography | 8–10 | Very high |
| Indian Economy | 6–8 | High |
| General Science — Physics | 5–7 | High |
| General Science — Chemistry | 5–7 | High |
| General Science — Biology | 5–7 | High |
| Static GK — Awards, Books, Days, Art & Culture, Sports | 6–8 | Medium |
| Current Affairs — How to Prepare & Score | 8–12 | Very high |
🎯 This is the highest-leverage subject on Paper I by sheer question count, and it matches CAPF's own syllabus statement (General Science, Current Events, Indian Polity & Economy, History, Geography) almost topic-for-topic. Shared with SSC CGL's own General Awareness subject, which splits General Science into Physics/Chemistry/Biology and adds a dedicated Static GK and a 'how to prepare Current Affairs' chapter.
| Topic | Qs in Paper I | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Internal security challenges & institutions | — | Very high |
🎯 Not part of Paper I, but the single most directly relevant subject to the job itself — insurgency, terrorism, left-wing extremism, border management and the security-force architecture recur both as Paper II essay themes and as natural interview territory for a paramilitary-officer candidate.
| Topic | Qs in Paper I | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to crack CAPF Paper II (Part A/B split, timing & scoring) | — | Very high |
| How to write the essay (structure, argument, evidence) | 80 marks | Very high |
| Essay structure, argument & paragraph craft | 80 marks | High |
| Precis writing, comprehension & counter-argument craft | 120 marks | Very high |
| Human rights & security issues | — | High |
🎯 Part B alone (precis writing, comprehension, counter-arguments, grammar — English only) is the single largest scoring component of the whole written exam, yet is the section candidates most often under-prepare relative to its weight. Part A's essay technique is shared with UPSC CSE's own essay-craft chapters, since the underlying skill (structure, argument, paragraph craft) is identical even though CAPF's essay topics lean toward security, history and human-rights themes rather than CSE's abstract/philosophical range.
UPSC CAPF (AC) resources
Everything you need to prepare.
Need structured UPSC CAPF (AC) guidance?
Combine our free study material with a live course or 1-on-1 tutoring.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
No — CAPF has just Paper I and Paper II as one written exam, both sat within the same exam window, unlike CSE's Prelims-then-Mains-months-later structure.
CAPF's own syllabus statement — Mental Ability & Reasoning, General Science, Current Events, Polity, Economy, History, Geography, all in one objective paper — matches SSC CGL's General Intelligence & Reasoning plus General Awareness format far more closely than UPSC's CSAT-style analytical-reasoning-and-puzzles paper.
Part A is a 1,000-1,200-word essay (80 marks) on history/geography/polity/economy/security/human-rights themes, answerable in English or Hindi. Part B (120 marks) is English-only: comprehension passages, precis writing, developing counter-arguments and grammar — testing practical written-English skill rather than subject knowledge.
A Physical Standards Test (height, chest measurement, vision) and a Physical Efficiency Test (100m and 800m races, long jump, shot put, with gender-specific standards), plus a medical exam — all qualifying (pass/fail), not scored toward the 600-mark merit total.
BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP or SSB, based on merit rank and preference. You join as Assistant Commandant, a Group A gazetted post at Pay Level 10 — the same rank and pay scale as an IPS probationer.
A bachelor's degree in any discipline, age 20-25 as of 1 August of the exam year (OBC +3, SC/ST +5, PwBD +10 years relaxation), plus specific height/chest/vision physical standards that are relaxed for women candidates and some categories.
Take the next step
UPSC CAPF (AC) — find a tutor
Pair self-study with a tutor, a live course or a coaching centre.
