Q : What is CSS?

Q : Who is eligible to appear for the exam?

Q : Whether females are eligible for the posts announced by the Commission?

Q : What is the fee for the exam?

Q : How many subjects do I need to choose?

Q : How many attempts can I make?

Q : Would my subject combination affect my choice of any occupational group?

Q : How should I select the subject?

Q : What are the compulsory and optional subjects?

Q : At which centers exams are held?

Q : When and for how many groups the exam is held?

Q : What is the format of the exam?

Q : What sort of preparation is required for Psychological and are there any marks for Psychological
Assessment?

Q : What is the Recruitment Policy?

Q : What is the further procedure After selection?

Q : What is CSS?

The Public Service Commission was set up for the first time in British India in 1926. After independence,
the Commission was established in Pakistan in 1947 under the provision of Government of India Act,
1935. At present, the commission is functioning under article 242 of the constitution of Islamic Republic
of Pakistan. It has been provided autonomy under the Rules of Business, 1973 and FPSC Regulations,
1978 in its working. The Commission has also been given administrative as well as, to some extent,
financial autonomy to perform its functions independently.

Q : Who is eligible to appear for the exam?

To apply for CSS Examination, a candidate should be;

A citizen of Pakistan.
Must hold at least a Bachelors Degree with the second division in any Faculty/Discipline from one of the
Pakistani Universities or an equivalent degree or comparable educational qualifications of a foreign
University.

No candidate who has obtained a Third Division (or D grade where result is declared under Semester
System) in his Bachelors Degree will be eligible for the Examination except in cases where he/she has
obtained a higher Division in Masters Degree.

The age limit for admission in CSS Examination is 21-28 years, which is relaxable upto 2 years for those
who are already in Government Service and have completed 2 years service. The relaxation is also
available to candidates belonging to certain remote areas as defined by Government.

Q : Whether females are eligible for the posts announced by the Commission?

For CSS - they are eligible.

Q : What is the fee for the exam?

The current fee is Rs. 1000/.

Q : How many subjects do I need to choose?

Subjects carrying 600 marks are compulsory while you have to choose subjects carrying 600 marks
among optional subjects.

Q : How many attempts can I make?

You can make not more than three (03) attempts for the CSS exam.

Q : Would my subject combination affect my choice of any occupational group?

No, your subject combination does not affect your choice for any specific occupational group. You can
chose any subjects and be considered for any group according to your marks and merit.

Q : How should I select the subject?

For subject selection, keep in mind the following points:

Try to have the subjects that you have studied before.

Dont ever go for that easy subject, try to find out its scoring value.

Previous statistics show that subjects with 100 marks give more score than subjects with 200 marks.

Science subjects are more scoring than their arts counterparts.

People even have scored 2 marks in some subjects like Constitutional Law because they thought it was
too easy.

Languages are usually high scoring subjects.

Indo-Pak History does not usually result in a high score--avoiding it as generally helpful.

However, other history subjects have better scoring averages.

Q : What are the compulsory and optional subjects?

Compulsory Subjects

Marks

1) Essay

100

2) English (precise and composition)

100

3) General Knowledge - 1 (everyday science)

100

General Knowledge - 2 (current affairs)

100

General Knowledge - 3 (Pakistan Affairs)

100
4) Islamiat (optional for only non-Muslims)

100

Subject Code

Optional Subjects

Marks

Rules

11 Accountancy and Auditing 200 Subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 11- 14) can be
choosed.

Note : Business Administration can not be opted in combination with Public Administration.

12 Economics 200

13 Business Administration 100

14 Public Administration 100

15 Political Science 200 Subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 15- 19) can be choosed.

16 Agricultural 100

17 Forestry 100

18 Sociology 100

19 Journalism 100

20 Pure Mathematics 200 Subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 20-23) can be
choosed.

21 Applied Mathematics 200

22 Computer Science 100

23 Statistics 100

24 Physics 200 Science subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 24-29) can be choosed.

25 Geology 200

26 Geography 200

27 Chemistry 200

28 Botany 200

29 Zoology 200

30 Islamic history and culture 200 History subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 30-34)
can be choosed.

31 Indo Pak History 200

32 British History 200

33 European History 200

34 USA History 100

35v Law 200 Law subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No. 35-40) can be opted.

Note : International Law can not be opted in combination with International Relations.

36 Constitutional Law 100

37 Mercantile Law 100

38 Muslim Law and Jurisprudence 100

39 International Law 100

40 International Relations 100

41 Philosophy 200 Philosophy/Psychology subject(s) carrying not more than 200 marks (Code No.41-42 )
can be opted.

42 Psychology 200

43 Sindhi 100 Regional languages not more than one of the 04 subjects (Code No. 43-46) can be opted.

44 Pushto 100
45 Punjabi 100

46 Balochi 100

47 English Literature 200 National/Foreign/Classical languages not more than one of 04 subjects (Code
No. 47-50)can be opted.

Note : Urdu can not be opted in combination with regional languages (Code No. 43-Sindhi, 46-Balochi)

48 Urdu 200

49 Persian 200

50 Arabic 200

NOTE: The candidates must select from the optional subjects carrying a total of 600 marks.

At which centres exams are held?

CSS exams are held by the FPSC simultaneously at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.
There used to be a centre in London as well but it has been abolished.

When and for how many groups the exam is held?

Competitive Examination is held by the FPSC every year in October/November for induction of officers in
Basic Pay Scale 17 into the Civil services of the Federation, for the following 10 Groups/Services under
the Federal Government.

Accounts Group

Commerce and Trade Group

Customs and Excise Group

District Management Group

Foreign service of Pakistan

Information Group

Income Tax Group

Police Service of Pakistan

Postal Group
Railways (Commercial and Transportation) Group

What is the format of the exam?

The Competitive Examination comprises of the following format;

Written Examination

The Written Examination for CSS consists of 1200 marks (600 marks for compulsory subjects and 600
marks for optional subjects). The examination is normally held during the month of October/November
every year in 5 main cities of Pakistan.Qualification marks in written Examination:

The qualification marks in CSS written examination are as under:

a) Compulsory Subjects 40% in each subjects

b) Optional Subjects 33% in each subjects

c) Aggregate Marks 50%

Medical and Psychological Test

The Candidates, who qualify the written examination as per criteria, have to appear for their medical
Test before central Medical Board, according to the schedule prescribed by the Ministry of Health. Then
the medically qualified candidates are given psychological Tests, in individual as well as in Groups, to
access their aptitude and personality traits for different Groups/Services, before the Viva Voce.

Viva Voce

The viva Voce tests consists of 300 marks and minimum qualification marks are 100. No candidate is
considered for appointment to any of the Group/Service for which he/she is declared not suitable by
the Viva Voce Board. The viva voce is conducted by a larger board (mostly five members) headed by the
chairman at Islamabad and at all Provincial headquarters.

What sort of preparation is required for Psychological and are there any marks for Psychological
Assessment?

No preparation is required for Psychological Tests. Express your true feelings, opinions, and judgments as
they are and respond to the questions freely. There are NO MARKS for Psychological Assessment,
however the marks assigned to Viva Voce also reflect the performance on Psychological test.
What is the Recruitment Policy?

The allocation of posts to merit and provincial / regional quota is made according to the existing policy of
the government as under:

Merit 10%

Punjab 50%

Sindh 19% ( Urban 7.6%, Rural 11.4% )

Sindh (Urban) refers only to the city area of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur. Cantonment areas are
counted as part of the city. The areas under the Jurisdiction of the District Councils of these districts are
the rural areas.

NWFP 11.5%

Baluchistan 3.5%

NAFATA 4%

AJK 2%

What is the further procedure After selection?

After selection there is 9-month basic training at the Civil Service Academy, Lahore and after this
departmental training starts. In total this training period is of two years duration. After this period,
candidates are posted as grade-17 officers.

5-years are required for the first promotion i.e. to grade-18 provided there are vacant posts available for
it. Promotion to grade-19 further requires 7 years while promotion to grade-20 requires compulsory
training at national Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) at Lahore,Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.
Five month training is required to be promoted to grade-21. This training is conducted at
AdministrativeStaffCollege,Lahore. Grade-22 is the last rung in this ladder of grades.#admin

A video series for CSS Beginners by Sir Naeem Khan, a brilliant Foreign Service officer currently posted as
Counselor at Pakistan High Commission Ottawa, Canada. It is the least on his part to provide selfless
services to CSS aspirants. Thank you, Sir.

Video 1: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?
story_fbid=1909437869296607&id=100006912374840&fs=4
Video 2:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1910014712572256&id=100006912374840

Video 3:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1920685051505222&id=100006912374840

Others...

Video 4: Improving English Language

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1921285061445221&id=100006912374840&fs=4

Video 5: Essay Writing

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1912692392304488&id=100006912374840

Video 6: Optional Subject Selection https://m.facebook.com/story.php?

story_fbid=1936971066543287&id=100006912374840&fs=4&ref=m_notif&notif_t=like

Video 7: English Precis & Composition

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1927774164129644&id=100006912374840

Video 8: Islamic Studies (CSS)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1934477603459300&id=100006912374840

Video 9: General Science (CSS)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1932010437039350&id=100006912374840
Video 10: Current Affairs (IR) Prep Strategy

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1924698921103835&id=100006912374840

Video 11: Pakistan Affairs Prep Strategy

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1919470921626635&id=100006912374840

Video 12: Why Philosophy as an optional subject?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1937768716463522&id=100006912374840

Video 13: Four Steps of CSS Preparation

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1939134492993611&id=100006912374840

Video 14: Pakistan Affairs 2 (its ideology, the role of Religion, Two nations Theory, Ethnicity and National
Integration, Civil-Military Relations, Military rules and democracy, Extremism and Modernity, Socio-
economic issues and their solution.) https://m.facebook.com/story.php?
story_fbid=1939467429626984&id=100006912374840

Video 15: CSS Occuptional Services

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1940360179537709&id=100006912374840

Regards

Aamir Mahar

P.S. Kindly be frank to comment on his videos. And be careful while writing in English. Avoid mistakes.
Thank You