Important facts about SSC CGL that you need to know

SSC CGLis a national level online examination which is conducted to recruit employees to numerous posts into the Central government and its various other departments. This includes recruitment in both gazetted and non gazetted posts.

Required Eligibility Criteria

  • One must be a citizen of India or a Tibetian refugee who is planning to permanently settle in India. He can also be a subject of Nepal or Bhutan.
  • The eligibility criteria are different for different posts. Any candidate who wishes to appear for the SSC CGL must possess a bachelor’s degree from any institute recognized by the UGC.
  • The age limit also varies from post to post. The candidate applying must be between 18 to 27 years in age. As per the government rules, the permissible age relaxation is also applicable based on the category to which a person belongs.

Pre-requites for SSC CGL:

A candidate must have the following documents to apply for an SSC CGL examination:

  • An active e-mail ID
  • A valid mobile number
  • Identification certificates
  • Bank details, for online fee payment
  • Marksheets
  • Scanned photograph and signature of the candidate

How to apply:

The candidates have to apply online to register for an SSC CGL examination. The following steps can guide a candidate in applying for the test:

  • Visit the official website- ssc.nic.in to start the registration.
  • Select the option ‘Apply’ and then ‘CGL’.
  • Enter personal details such as name, e-mail ID, contact information, Adhaar number etc.
  • An OTP arrives at the registered mobile number and e-mail ID. Enter the number and click ‘Submit’.
  • The final registration number and password is sent through SMS and e-mail.

Selection process:

The SSC CGL examination is held in four tiers- Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV.

Tier-I: Tier I is a computer-based examination of 200 marks. It contains 100 questions and the candidate gets an hour to finish this test. The subjects that are included in this test are General Awareness, General Intelligence and Reasoning, English Comprehension and Quantitative Aptitude. It tests the candidate’s problem solving and thinking ability and tests the candidate’s general awareness about the environment.

This is a multiple-choice objective-based paper. It includes negative markings where 0.5 marks will be deducted for every question that a candidate attempts and is wrong.

Tier-II: Candidates who pass the Tier-I exams have to then undergo the Tier II exams. This is a computer-based test of 800 marks where 120 minutes are given to a candidate to finish the test. The candidates belonging to the VH and CP category get 160 minutes to pass this test. It consists of 4 papers and includes subjects such as Statistics, Quantitative Ability, English Language and Comprehension and General Studies (Economics and Finance).

This is also a multiple-choice paper where the paper tests the candidate’s understanding of grammar and numbers.

Part III is held only for those candidates who apply for the post of  Junior Statistical Officer and have been shortlisted in Tier I for this paper. Part IV is only for candidates who have applied for the post of Assistant Audit/Account Officer and have been shortlisted in Tier-I for this paper.

Tier-III: Candidates who have cleared the Tier-I and Tier-II examinations have to then appear for the Tier-III test. It is a descriptive type paper and the exam is qualifying in nature. This an offline pen and paper-based test where the candidate has to answer subjective questions such as essay writing, letter writing, precise writing, etc. The candidates are given 60 minutes to answer the test while the candidates belonging to the VH and OH category get 80 minutes to complete the test.

Tier-IV: This is a complete skill-based test which is only for candidates applying for specific posts such as tax assistants. It comprises of a couple of tests based on skill and also the document verification procedure.

Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) and CPT (Computer Proficiency Test) are the two tests that form a part of this paper. While DEST is taken for the post of Tax Assistants, CPT is conducted for the post of CSS, GSI, MEA and SFIO.

SSC CGL 2020 Important Dates

SSC CGL 2020 Tier-I Examination 2020 is to be held between 2nd of March to 11th of March 2020. The Tier II examinations are to be held on the 22nd of June to 25th of June 2020. The examination for the Tier III test is to be held between 22nd to 25th of June 2020.

SSC CGL 2020 Preparation Strategy

The following tips can help a candidate in preparing for the SSC CGL 2020 Examinations considering the syllabus and selection criteria as mentioned above.

  • Time management
  • Regular practice
  • Trying different strategies and choosing the best one
  • Avoiding guess works
  • Building a proper study plan
  • Reading newspaper articles

Recommended Books

Some books which can ace the preparation for an SSC CGL examination and are noteworthy in this aspect are mentioned below:

  • Analytical Reasoning by M.K Pandey
  • Objective General English by S.P Bakshi
  • Quantitative Aptitude by R.S Aggarwal
  • Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning by R.S Aggarwal
  • English Grammar by Wren and Martin
  • Manorama Year Book 2020 for GK
  • Word Power Made Easy

The above article will help a candidate in getting complete knowledge about SSC CGL examinations and update himself about the exams in 2020.

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