A golden chance for graduates

Ivninder Pal Singh 

Looking for a Central Government job? Here is an opportunity knocking at your door. You just need to be a simple graduate from a recognised university or equivalent to appear in this exam though there are a few posts for which you will need higher/additional qualification. 

Though serving a state too is a good career option, many students are now targeting Central Government jobs as in many states the initial salary is very less. For example: In Punjab, all new recruits get only basic salary during probation period, which goes on for three long years. Adding to their pain is the fact that even recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, too, have not yet been implemented in Punjab, where as Central Government employees are drawing salary as per the Seventh Pay Commission. So, getting a Central Government job is more lucrative and you get a chance to serve the nation than merely a state.

Often referred to as SSC CGL exam, the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) for the appointment of candidates in Grade "B" and "C" category posts in various government ministries, departments and offices. Every year thousands of candidates realise their dream of getting a government job by clearing this examination. The tentative vacancies for SSC CGL 2019 will be released soon by the Staff Selection Commission. However, as per the last year's notification, a total of 8,089 vacancies were to be filled by the 2017 exam. Hence, this year also, 8,000+ vacancies are expected to be filled by the SSC. 

The CGL Examination for Tier I will be held from March 2-11 next year and will be a computer-based examination. According to the official notification, the Combined Graduate Level Examination-2019 for Tier II and III will be held from June 22-25. The registration link will remain open till November 25.

Study plan

This exam is so designed that you need to have a good hold over quant, general knowledge, language and of course current affairs. One-sided approach won't help you much in tasting success in this examination and one has to be equally good in mathematics, language skills and general knowledge here. And to master current affairs, don't forget to befriend a newspaper. They are the best and most authentic source of information and reading these regularly also helps you honing your language skills. 

Tier III being descriptive in nature, one needs to have good vocabulary and writing expression.

How to excel in all four sections of the Tier I examination? 

The foremost things that you should start with are a proper strategy and a time table that you actually stick to and follow honestly. You need to divide your day into various sections to devote dedicated sessions to various subjects. Consistency is the key. As Dwayne Johnson says: "Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come." 

So, say no to excuses and you need to practice regularly. Self-discipline will help you the most here. As per the demand of this examination, one can't afford to be irregular, non-serious or lethargic. Keep yourself determined and do possess a certain kind of temper that widens your horizons so that you have a smart and intelligent approach towards every task.

Identify your weaknesses and focus on the grey areas. Always make efforts to add to your strengths without forgetting to focus on your weak points also. The more you work on your weak points, the more equipped you will be to crack this exam.

In today's world, hard work alone won't fetch you good results as you need to make a smart approach towards your goal and avoid wasting your energy in any of the insignificant tasks. So we need smart work and not just hard work to make it happen.

And don’t forget to apply the rule of elimination while attempting the first level of examination. When in doubt, apply your mind and knowledge in a manner that if unable to mark the correct option directly, you will at least be able to eliminate irrelevant options. But avoid any guess work as we know there's negative marking in this exam. So attempting blindly with a guess will be complete foolishness. 

If you see the contents of first two levels closely, you will notice that compulsory papers of Tier II also check your quant and language skills (both are also part of Tier-I). But here these are of higher order and need more understanding and accuracy. So emphasise on arithmetic and data interpretation skills along with English grammar and reading comprehension skills. 

All the best!

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Scheme of examination

The exam is conducted in four tiers for various posts of which the first two are computer based, the third is descriptive in nature, while the last one includes computer proficiency test/data entry skill test (wherever applicable). Due to a large number of candidates appearing in this exam, Tier I is conducted in multiple shifts and marks are normalised by the commission to determine the final merit and cut-off marks.

Tier I and Tier II: The first two levels of the exam consist of objective type (multiple choice) questions only. And guess work does not help here while choosing the right option because in Tier I, there is negative marking of 0.50 for each wrong answer. In Tier II, same amount of marks are deducted in all papers except Paper II where a wrong answer invites a penalty of 0.25 marks. 

• Tier I comprises only one paper, which has 100 questions (25 each from four sections - general intelligence and reasoning, general awareness, quantitative aptitude and general English) and the examinee gets 60 minutes to attempt these. Every right answer fetches you two marks while you lose half mark for every wrong answer.
• After clearing the first level, students need to show their skills of higher level in Tier II as it is a more elaborate affair. This level comprises four papers 

Paper I: Quantitative abilities 

Paper II: English language and comprehension

Paper III: Statistics

Paper IV: General Studies (Finance and Economics). 

The first two papers are compulsory for every candidate, while Paper III is only for those who have applied for the post of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Statistical Investigator in the office of Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs while Paper IV is only for those who have applied for Assistant Audit Officer/Assistant Accounts Officer jobs. 

Each paper is of 200 marks and is of two hours each. 

Questions in Paper I are of Class X level, Paper II of Class XII level and Paper III and IV of graduation level. Each of the four papers of Tier II is of 200 marks.

Tier III: Known as Pen-and-Paper mode, this level has only one paper which is descriptive in nature. The candidate needs to show his writing skills (writing of essay/precis/letter/application etc.) and the exam needs to be written either in English or Hindi. This paper is of 100 marks.

Tier IV: It comprises Computer Proficiency Test and Data Entry Skill Test. The former comprises three modules - word processing, spread sheet and generation of slides and is conducted for select posts. The candidates who have applied for the post of Tax Assistants (Central Excise & Income Tax) need to undergo Data Entry Skill Test which is mere qualifying in nature. They need 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes to qualify.

Physical Standards

For some posts, the physical fitness requirements have to be met for getting final selection. Below are the names of those posts:

• Inspector (Central Excise/Examiner/Preventive Officer) 
• Inspector and Sub-Inspector (Central Bureau of Narcotics)
• Sub-Inspector (Central Bureau of Investigation)
• Sub-Inspector (National Investigation Agency)
• Upper Divisional Clerk (Border Road Organisation)

Dates to remember

• Date for submission of online applications: 22-10-2019 to 25-11-2019 
• Last date for receipt of application: November 25 
• Last date for making online fee payment: November 27
• Last date for generation of offline challan: November 27 
• Last date for payment through challan: November 29
• Dates of Tier-I exam: 02-03-2020 to 11-03-2020 
• Dates of Tier-II and Tier-III exam: 22-06-20 to 25-06-2020

Procedure for filing online application

This procedure consists of two parts: One-time registration and filling of online application for the examination. For the former, one need to click on 'Register Now' link provided in the 'Login' section on http://ssc.nic.in. A candidate needs to fill his basic and contact details along with uploading of scanned images of passport size photograph and signature. Your photograph must be in JPEG format (20 kb-50 kb). For applying, login to online system though your registration number and password and click 'Apply' link in 'Combined Graduate Level Examination 2019' section under 'Latest notifications' tab. 

Qualifications for various posts

Assistant Audit Officer 

• Essential qualifications: Bachelor's degree from a recognised university or institute 
• Desirable qualifications: Chartered Accountant or Cost & Management Accountant or Company Secretary or Master's in Commerce or Master's in Business Studies or Master's in Business Administration (Finance) or Master's in Business Economics.

Statistical Investigator Grade-II

Bachelor's Degree in any subject from a recognised university or institute with at least 60% in mathematics in Class XII level or bachelor's degree in any subject with statistics as one of the subjects at degree level.

• Compiler: Bachelor's degree from any recognised university with economics or statistics or mathematics as compulsory or elective subject.
•  All other posts: Bachelor's degree from a recognised university or equivalent.

Questions from previous exams

Section I: General intelligence and reasoning

1 In the following question, select the related word pair from the given alternatives. 

Power: Watt 

1) Pressure: Newton 

2) Force: Pascal

3) Resistance: Mho 

4) Work: Joule

2 In the following question, select the related letters from the given alternatives.

NPBG : OQCH : : AJOT : ?

1) BKPU

2) BUPK

3) BHKP

4) HBKU

3. In the following question, select the related number from the given alternatives.

101 : 10201 : : 107 : ?

1) 10707

2) 10749

3) 11449

4) 11407

4. In the following question, select the missing number from the given series.

2, 5, 12, 27, ?

1) 53

2) 56

3) 57

4) 58

5. Rakhi got engaged 10 years ago. Rakhi's present age is 5/3 of her age at the time of engagement. If the present age of Rakhi's mother is twice that of present age of Rakhi, then what was her mother's age (in years) at the time of her engagement?

1) 50

2) 40

3) 30

4) 60

Section II: General awareness

1. Who was the son of Chandragupta Maurya?

1. Bindusara

2. Ashoka

3. Bimbisara

4. Chandragupta II

2. Which planet is considered as the Dwarf planet?

1. Saturn

2. Pluto

3. Jupiter

4. Mars

3. Wheat is a ______.

1. Herb

2. Shrub

3. Tree

4. Creeper

4. What is the SI unit of Force?

1. Newton

2. Pascal

3. Boyle

4. Watt

5. Which of the following stores data permanently in a computer?

1. ALU

2. Cache Memory

3. ROM

4. RAM

Section III: Quantitative aptitude

1. Mr Sinha distributes a certain sum of money among his five sons, one daughter and his wife in such a way that each son gets double the amount of his daughter and the wife gets double the amount of each son. If each son gets Rs 15000, what was the total amount distributed?

1. Rs 123000

2. Rs. 112500

3. Rs. 138500

4. Rs. 132500

2. Abhishek Jain typed 50 pages at the rate of 30 pages per hour on Sunday. On Monday, he could only type 50 extra pages at the rate of 20 pages per hour. What has his average rate of typing been overall. Calculate in pages per hour?

1. 30

2. 24

3. 48

4. 35

3. In covering a distance of 30 km Amit takes 2 hours more than Suresh, If Amit doubles his speed, he would take 1 hour less than Suresh. Amit's speed is: 

1. 5 km/hr

2. 7.5 km/hr

3. 6 Km/hr

4. 6.25 km/hr

4. What would be the measure of the diagonal of a square whose area is equal to 578 sq cm?

1. 38 cm

2. 32 cm

3. 42 cm

4. 34 cm

5. A discount of 15% on one article is the same as a discount of 20% on a second article. What will be the costs of the two articles?

1. 50 and 60

2. 60 and 80

3. 80 and 90

4. 90 and 100

Section IV: General English

1. In the following question, the sentence given with blank to be filled in with an appropriate word. Select the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it

by selecting the appropriate option: Neha has been crying _____ morning.

1. from

2. of

3. since

4. till

2. In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the word similar in meaning to the word given: Opulent

1. Fake

2. Gloomy

3. Rich

4. Selfish