Odisha cabinet amends Odisha Civil Service Exam rules; number of attempts increased

NEW DELHI: Odisha cabinet on Friday amended the rules of Odisha Civil Service Examination (OCSE) exam. Number of attempts has been increased for all categories and the total number of marks has been reduced for the Odisha Civil Service exam, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra announced.

The decision was taken after comprehensively examining various issues raised from time to time like eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of the OCSE, he said.

In order to reduce the burden on civil service aspirants who are preparing for both Odisha Civil Service exam and CSE exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as the exam pattern and syllabus are different for both the exam, the Odisha government decided to amend the existing provision of the OCSE (Combined Competitive Recruitment Exam) rules 1991, and official statement said.

As per the new rules, the number of marks has been reduced to 2,000 from the existing 2,250 marking scheme. The total marks for both Odia and English is 250 now. Earlier, both the language papers were marked out of 300 marks.

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As changes in the exam pattern will require time for candidates to adapt to, the state has also proposed to revise the number of attempts. Civil service aspirants under unreserved categories will get 6 attempts against the existing 4. While candidates belonging to the other socially and educationally backward classes will get 9 attempts against the 7 attempts earlier. There is no limit for the candidates under the SC, ST categories.

ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସିଭିଲ୍ ସର୍ଭିସେସ୍ ପରୀକ୍ଷାରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀଙ୍କ ସୁବିଧା ନିମନ୍ତେ ନିଆଯାଇଥିବା କ୍ୟାବିନେଟର ଗୁରୁତ୍ଵପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ନିଷ୍ପତ୍ତି ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧରେ ମୁଖ୍ଯ ଶାସନ ସଚିବଙ୍କ ପ୍ରେସ୍ ବିବୃତି: pic.twitter.com/dP5tgP05wQ

— I & PR Department, Odisha (@IPR_Odisha) September 30, 2022