State Civil Services · Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC)
MPPSC — Madhya Pradesh State Service Examination
The complete MPPSC blueprint: tier-wise pattern, topic weightage from previous-year analyses, and free chapter-by-chapter study material.
3 stages — Prelims, Mains (6 descriptive papers), Interview1,400 Mains marks across six papers, plus an interview of about 175All-compulsory Mains — the optional subject has been removed; every GS part carries a Madhya Pradesh unit Free · tutor-verified
MPPSC at a glance
Conducted byMadhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC)
CycleAnnual in intent. The 2026 cycle was notified on 31 December 2025 (Advertisement No. 29/2025), with Prelims on 26 April 2026 and Mains scheduled for 7-12 September 2026 on published schedules. Always confirm the live exam calendar on the Commission's site rather than assuming a fixed rhythm.
ModePrelims: OMR-based objective, two papers on the same day. Mains: pen-and-paper descriptive papers, GS I-IV answerable in Hindi or English. Interview: in-person personality test before a board.
EligibilityA bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university. Age is reckoned on 1 January of the notification year: 21 to 40 for non-uniformed posts and 21 to 33 for uniformed posts such as DSP, with relaxations for reserved categories, women and Madhya Pradesh domiciles as notified. Attempt limits and exact relaxations differ between sources and can change between notifications, so read the current advertisement before relying on any figure here.
LanguagesHindi and English for the GS papers; the two Hindi papers are examined only in Hindi
Selection intoState-service pay follows the 7th Pay Commission matrix as adopted by Madhya Pradesh, with Deputy Collector and DSP among the senior entry posts. Published pay levels and in-hand figures vary across sources and by allowance, so confirm the exact level in the advertisement rather than trusting a cached number.
Where MPPSC leads
Deputy Collector (State Administrative Service) — the flagship executive post, with revenue and law-and-order dutiesDeputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) — the uniformed police entry, with a lower age ceilingCommercial Tax Officer, Assistant Director, Deputy Registrar and other Group A and Group B state postsThe 2026 cycle notified roughly 155 posts across Group A and Group B, with 17 Deputy Collector vacancies reported
⚡ What changed recently
- The 2026 cycle reworked the Prelims marking, as reported by several preparation guides: Paper I is set at 3 marks per question with a deduction of 1 mark for each wrong answer (the first negative marking in recent MPPSC history), and the aptitude paper is qualifying only. Guides disagree on some details (question counts, qualifying percentages), so treat the exact scheme as something to confirm on the current advertisement.
- Optional subjects have been removed from Mains, leaving six compulsory descriptive papers. That makes Madhya Pradesh-specific units a guaranteed share of every General Studies paper rather than a bonus.
- The 2026 Prelims result (May 2026) shortlisted roughly 3,800 candidates for Mains, released in two lists because of a pending court matter on OBC reservation, as reported. The reservation dispute is unresolved, so do not treat any single list as final policy.
- India's criminal-procedure and evidence framework changed on 1 July 2024: the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Evidence Act — relevant wherever law and order appears in the papers.
- Office-holders change, so this hub's content deliberately teaches Madhya Pradesh's institutions, statutes and dates rather than naming a sitting Governor or Chief Minister. Confirm current names independently close to the exam.
How MPPSC selection works
Know what each stage is for before you spend a single hour preparing.
SCREENING GATE ONLY
Prelims — General Studies (Paper I) + aptitude (Paper II)
Two objective papers on the same day. Paper I's marks decide who advances to Mains; Paper II is qualifying only. Prelims marks do not count toward the final merit list.
THE REAL SCORING STAGE
Mains — 6 written papers, 1,400 marks
General Studies I, II and III (300 each) + General Studies IV (200) + General Hindi (200) + Hindi Essay and Draft Writing (100). Each GS paper has a Part A and a Part B of five units, with Madhya Pradesh-specific units in every one of the first three papers.
FINAL MARKS, ABOUT 175
Personality Test (Interview)
A board interview on administrative aptitude, awareness of Madhya Pradesh and general personality. Final merit is the Mains total plus the interview. Some 2026 guides print the interview at 185 marks, so confirm the figure in the advertisement.
The exam pattern, tier by tier
Marks, timing and negative marking exactly as per the official notification.
Prelims — General Studies (Paper I) and aptitude (Paper II)
Screening — Paper I ranks you into Mains, Paper II only needs a qualifying score300 marks
2 hours per paper · Reported for the 2026 cycle: 3 marks per correct answer and −1 for each wrong answer in Paper I. Earlier cycles used smaller per-question marks; confirm the scheme on the current advertisement.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| History & Culture | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Geography | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Polity & Governance | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Economy | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Environment & Ecology | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Science & Technology | — | — | Paper I (General Studies) |
| Reading Comprehension (aptitude) | — | — | Paper II (CSAT, qualifying) |
| Logical Reasoning (aptitude) | — | — | Paper II (CSAT, qualifying) |
| Decision Making (aptitude) | — | — | Paper II (CSAT, qualifying) |
| Numeracy & DI (aptitude) | — | — | Paper II (CSAT, qualifying) |
💡 Paper I decides selection for Mains; Paper II is a qualifying aptitude paper covering comprehension, reasoning, decision-making and numeracy. The General Studies syllabus is the static-knowledge syllabus shared with UPSC CSE Prelims, plus a fixed set of Madhya Pradesh sections (history, culture and literature; geography; constitutional and administrative system; economy; tribes; current events).
Mains — General Studies I to IV
Merit — 1,100 of your 1,400 Mains marks1100 marks
3 hours per paper
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| GS Paper I — History & Geography | 2 parts of 5 units each | 300 | 3 hours |
| GS Paper II — Constitution, Governance & Sociology | 2 parts of 5 units each | 300 | 3 hours |
| GS Paper III — Economics, Science & Public Health | 2 parts of 5 units each | 300 | 3 hours |
| GS Paper IV — Ethics, Psychology, Management & Personality | 2 parts, each ending in a case-study unit | 200 | 3 hours |
💡 GS I: History (Part A) and Geography (Part B). GS II: Constitution and Governance (Part A) and Sociology (Part B). GS III: Economics (Part A) and Science, Technology and Public Health (Part B). GS IV: Philosophy, Psychology and Public Administration (Part A) and Entrepreneurship, Management and Personality (Part B). Units I to III of each part are national (aliased from UPSC CSE); the state-specific units are the hub's own chapters.
Mains — General Hindi & Hindi Essay
Language papers — 300 marks, examined in Hindi only300 marks
General Hindi 3 hours; Hindi Essay and Draft Writing 2 hours
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Hindi (not modelled here) | — | 200 | 3 hours |
| Hindi Essay & Draft Writing (not modelled here) | — | 100 | 2 hours |
💡 General Hindi (comprehension, précis, translation, grammar and official drafting) and Hindi Essay and Draft Writing are language-skill papers, outside this hub's chapter format. Sources differ on whether General Hindi adds to merit or is qualifying, so check the current advertisement, and practise both papers separately from the GS chapters here.
Where your MPPSC score comes from
Prelims (a General Studies paper plus a qualifying CSAT-style aptitude paper) only screens you into Mains. Mains is where merit is decided, and it is an all-compulsory, all-General-Studies design: GS I (History and Geography), GS II (Constitution and Governance, and Sociology) and GS III (Economics, and Science, Technology and Public Health) carry 300 marks each, GS IV (Philosophy, Psychology and Public Administration, and Entrepreneurship, Management and Personality) carries 200, and two Hindi papers add 300 more. Each GS paper is split into a Part A and a Part B of five units, and in every one of the first three papers one or two units are wholly about Madhya Pradesh. That makes the state chapters here unusually valuable: they are not supplementary reading but a fixed share of every paper. Click any block to open its chapters:
GS I-III — the state-and-national General Studies core900 marks · 64.3%
Nearly two-thirds of Mains marks, and the papers where the state chapters of this hub pay off most: every part carries one or two units that are wholly about Madhya Pradesh.
GS IV — ethics, psychology and management200 marks · 14.3%
Half the paper is the national ethics syllabus (aliased from UPSC CSE) and half is entrepreneurship, management and personality, which most candidates have never studied formally.
General Hindi & Hindi Essay300 marks · 21.4%
Language-skill papers outside this hub's chapter format. Given their weight, give them dedicated practice, and confirm whether General Hindi counts toward merit in the current notification.
Subjects in MPPSC
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 | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient & Medieval Administration, Economy & Society | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. This is the all-India frame for Unit I; what happened on Madhya Pradesh's own soil (Unit II) sits in the state-specific dynasties chapter, so learn this chapter for the national picture and that one for the local pairings.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Prehistory & Major Dynasties of Madhya Pradesh | ~30 | Very high |
🎯 No aliased source covers this: every fact is Madhya Pradesh-specific. Learn each dynasty as a four-part card (capital, ruler, monument, date) and keep the Khajuraho temples attributed to Yashovarman, Dhanga and Vidyadhara respectively.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Colonial Economy, Society & the Freedom Struggle | ~15 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. MPPSC pairs the national freedom struggle with the Madhya Pradesh freedom movement in the same unit; the state half (1857 centres, tribal heroes, Tripuri) is in the modern-history chapter of Madhya Pradesh.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Princely States, 1857 & the Freedom Movement in Madhya Pradesh | ~60 | Very high |
🎯 Unit V (Gondwana, Bundeli, Holkar, Scindia, Bhopal and the tribal heroes) is entirely state-specific. Give every hero a date and a place, and never mix Tantya Bhil (1878-89) with Bhima Nayak (1857).
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Integration, Reorganisation & Nation-Building | ~10 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. Madhya Pradesh's own integration story (Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, Bhopal, 1956 and 2000) is in the polity chapter of Madhya Pradesh, which builds on this national account.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Art, Literature & Architecture | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. MPPSC asks for the same heritage "with special reference to Madhya Pradesh", so pair this national chapter with the state heritage chapter and always finish an answer with an MP example.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Cultural Heritage, World Heritage Sites & Tourism of Madhya Pradesh | ~30 | Very high |
🎯 Inscription years (Khajuraho 1986, Sanchi 1989, Bhimbetka 2003) and craft-place pairings are the most reliable marks. In tourism questions, pair every opportunity with a pressure such as conservation against footfall.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Geography, Resources & Geophysical Phenomena | ~60 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. Units I to IV are national geography; the MP-specific Unit V has its own chapter, so do not let the national chapter crowd it out.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Food Security & Farm Policy | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3. Serves two papers: the geography of agriculture in GS I and PM-KISAN, NMSA and farm-policy questions in GS III. State-level crop and price-support detail is in the MP economy chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Management: Framework & Response | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3. MPPSC folds hazards (earthquakes, floods, cyclones) into geography; the national disaster framework here covers the management side.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Geography of Madhya Pradesh: Physiography, Drainage, Forests & Resources | ~30 | Very high |
🎯 The one geography unit with no national equivalent. Organise rivers by system (Ganga, west-flowing, Godavari), pair every mineral with its district, and date every count (forest cover, tigers, Ramsar sites).
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Write GS2 Mains Answers | ~15 | High |
| Constitutional Evolution, Features & Basic Structure | ~15 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Judiciary, Judicial Review & Fundamental Rights | ~15 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur, with benches at Indore and Gwalior) is covered in the state polity chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament, Legislatures & the Executive | ~15 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. For the state, see the Governor, Chief Minister and Vidhan Sabha in the Madhya Pradesh polity chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Federalism, Devolution & Local Governance | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. The national framework of the 73rd and 74th Amendments sits here; the MP Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 1993, PESA and urban bodies are in the state polity chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional, Statutory & Regulatory Bodies | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. MPPSC names its own Commission in this unit, so add its constitutional basis (Article 315) to every bodies answer.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Governance, Transparency & the Civil Services | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. Community organisations, NGOs and self-help groups are named in the syllabus, so use examples from Madhya Pradesh where you can.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Polity, Formation & Administration of Madhya Pradesh | ~60 | Very high |
🎯 Give formation answers as a dated sequence (1948, 1949, 1950, 1956, 2000) and pair every institution with its statute and year. Do not name current office-holders unless you are certain; the institutions and dates carry the marks.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Write GS1 Mains Answers | ~30 | High |
| Indian Society: Diversity, Change & Social Issues | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS1. The syllabus names joint family, kinship, caste, ashram and purushartha; use the tribes chapter of Madhya Pradesh for the state-specific Unit V.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Welfare Schemes, Social Sector & Vulnerable Sections | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS2. MP's own schemes (Ladli Laxmi, Ladli Behna, Teerth Darshan) are in the tribes-and-society chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Tribes, Society & Folk Culture of Madhya Pradesh | ~30 | Very high |
🎯 Few states give tribes this much syllabus weight. Pair each tribe with its region and one marker, quote the 2011 Census as the latest complete count, and never rank Bhil above Gond (or the reverse) without a source.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Write GS3 Mains Answers | ~30 | High |
| Growth, Development & Macroeconomic Policy | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3. The national economy units feed directly into the state-economy analysis: read MP's growth, per capita income and schemes against the all-India picture.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Industry, Infrastructure & Investment Models | ~15 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Economy, Agriculture, Industry & Development of Madhya Pradesh | ~60 | Very high |
🎯 The most current-affairs-driven state unit. Flag every projected figure as an estimate, pair each crop with its belt and each industry with its cluster, and end development answers with a policy response to the gap you named.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Science, Technology & Indigenous Innovation | ~60 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Environment, Conservation & Climate Policy | ~30 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS3. The syllabus asks specifically for the role of the Baiga, Sahariya, Bharia, Bhil and Gond in conservation, which the tribes chapter of Madhya Pradesh covers.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health, AYUSH & National Health Programmes | ~60 | Very high |
🎯 Programme facts carry the marks: learn year, agency and target for each named programme, and keep Panchkarma (Ayurvedic) and Shatkarma (yogic) apart.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Indian & Western Moral Thinkers | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Write GS4 Ethics Answers for Mains | ~10 | High |
| Ethics Fundamentals & Human Interface | ~10 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Attitude, Structure & Emotional Intelligence | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Values for Civil Servants | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Public Service Values & Ethical Dilemmas | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Probity in Governance & Transparency | ~20 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4. Add the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukt and Up-Lokayukt Adhiniyam, 1981 from the state polity chapter.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Write Ethics Case Studies | ~10 | High |
| Worked Ethics Case Studies | ~10 | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Mains GS4.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Entrepreneurship, Startups & Women Entrepreneurs | ~20 | Very high |
🎯 A concept-plus-scheme unit: define the entrepreneur with innovation and risk, organise plans under six sections, and pair every challenge for women entrepreneurs with a matching measure.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Management: Functions, Decision-Making, HRM & Strategy | ~40 | Very high |
🎯 Frameworks are learned by name and applied by example: cite the theorist and year, add a public-sector application, and use one compact table wherever the syllabus lists parallel items.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Personality Development, Stress & Conflict Management, Civic Sense | ~40 | Very high |
🎯 Name the model, then apply it to the case: Selye and coping for stress, the five Thomas-Kilmann modes for conflict, and the Fundamental Duties with named statutes for civic and legal awareness.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack History for Prelims | — | High |
| Ancient India & the Indus Valley Civilisation | — | High |
| Medieval India — Sultanate to Mughals | — | High |
| Modern India — Company Rule to 1857 | — | High |
| Indian Freedom Struggle, 1885–1947 | — | High |
| Indian Art, Culture & Heritage | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims. The Madhya Pradesh history, culture and literature section of the Prelims syllabus is covered by this hub's three state history and heritage chapters.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Geography for Prelims | — | High |
| Physical Geography & Geomorphology | — | High |
| Indian Geography & Natural Resources | — | High |
| World Geography & Map-Based Facts | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims. Add the state geography chapter for the Madhya Pradesh geography section.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Polity for Prelims | — | High |
| Constitution, Preamble & Schedules | — | High |
| Fundamental Rights, Duties & DPSPs | — | High |
| Union Executive & Parliament | — | High |
| State Executive & State Legislature | — | High |
| Judiciary & Constitutional Bodies | — | High |
| Local Governance & Panchayati Raj | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims. Add the state polity chapter for the Madhya Pradesh constitutional and administrative system.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Economy for Prelims | — | High |
| Economic Concepts & National Income | — | High |
| Money, Banking & Inflation | — | High |
| Fiscal Policy, Budget & Taxation | — | High |
| Economic Reforms & Sectors of the Economy | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims. Add the state economy chapter for the Madhya Pradesh economy section.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Environment for Prelims | — | High |
| Ecosystems, Biodiversity & Conservation | — | High |
| Climate Change & Environmental Policy | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Science & Tech for Prelims | — | High |
| Space Technology & Defence | — | High |
| Biotechnology, IT & Health | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims. The public-health and AYUSH chapter covers the health end of this syllabus.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Reading Comprehension for CSAT | — | High |
| Passage Comprehension & Inference | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Logical Reasoning for CSAT | — | High |
| Analytical Puzzles & Critical Reasoning | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Decision Making & Problem Solving | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT.
| Topic | Marks | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| How to Crack Basic Numeracy & Data Interpretation for CSAT | — | High |
| Numeracy & Data Interpretation | — | High |
🎯 Shared with UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT. Serves twice: as the CSAT numeracy skill and as the preparation for GS III Part A Unit V, which tests mean, median, mode, sampling and data presentation.
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FAQs
Frequently asked questions
A large share of the national content: history, geography, constitution and governance, economy, science and technology, environment and ethics follow broadly the same syllabus as UPSC CSE Mains, which is why this hub aliases those chapters directly. What is different is the structure (six compulsory papers, no optional subject) and the fact that each of GS I to III carries one or two units wholly on Madhya Pradesh, which have their own chapters here.
Several preparation guides report that the 2026 cycle introduced negative marking in Paper I, at 3 marks per question with a 1-mark deduction for each wrong answer. Guides disagree on some details, and earlier cycles used a different scheme, so confirm the marking rule on the current advertisement before deciding how to guess.
GS I has a history unit on MP dynasties, a unit on MP's freedom movement, princely states and tribal heroes, a heritage-and-tourism unit and a geography unit on the state. GS II has the formation, government and local governance of MP and the tribes and folk culture unit. GS III has the MP economy unit. The tribes' role in conservation also appears in the environment unit. Each has a dedicated chapter in this hub.
No. General Hindi and Hindi Essay and Draft Writing are language-skill papers, and this hub's chapters are about subject content. They still carry 300 marks in the Mains scheme, so give them dedicated practice, and check the current advertisement for how General Hindi is treated in merit.
Office-holders change, and this content is written to stay accurate across those changes. The chapters teach the institutions, the statutes and the dates that carry the marks. Confirm the current names from a live source close to your exam date.
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