Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandant) Examination. Conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Vikram knows this paper from the site's own pattern pages — and reads your scores, your mocks and what you haven't touched before saying a word.
Once a year (notification ~Sep-Oct; Paper I & II ~Aug the following year; PST/PET ~months later; final merit ~a year after notification). Paper 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..
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.
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.
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.
A board interview assessing suitability for a paramilitary command role. Final merit = Paper I (250) + Paper II (200) + Interview (150) = 600 marks.
Screening — decides who sits Paper II
Marking: −1/3 (0.33) per wrong answer
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.
Merit — the remaining 200 written marks
Marking: No negative marking
Part A may be answered in English or Hindi; Part B must be answered in English only.
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.
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.
Verbal & non-verbal reasoning — analogy, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, seating arrangement — the same 14-chapter SSC CGL reasoning syllabus.
A smaller slice than SSC CGL's own quant weight, but the same underlying arithmetic/algebra/geometry syllabus.
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.
The highest-weight chapters in each subject, linked to their notes. Weights are estimates from previous papers where the conducting body publishes none. Your guide weighs these against your own scores.
Prelims, Mains and the interview as one long campaign, for UPSC and the state commissions. Pick one to start, or just talk — Vikram has read your profile either way.
Every fact on this page comes from the exam's blueprint on this site. How the guide uses it: how Guidance works.
Vikram has the pattern and will read your work. Talk it through, and leave with a plan you tick off.
