Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) conducts the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) Exam 2025 to recruit candidates for the Executive Branch and other Allied Services. The selection process is carried out in three successive stages – Preliminary Examination, Main Written Examination, and Viva-Voce/Personality Test. The Preliminary Exam serves as a screening test, the Main Examination evaluates candidates’ writing skills and subject knowledge, while the Viva-Voce assesses overall personality and suitability for administrative roles. Understanding the detailed exam pattern is crucial for effective preparation, as each stage has a unique structure, marking scheme, and qualifying criteria.

HPSC HCS Exam Pattern 2025

HPSC HCS Exam 2025 is conducted in three stages – Preliminary Examination, Main Written Examination, and Viva-Voce/Personality Test.

HPSC Preliminary Examination Pattern 2025

The Preliminary Exam consists of two objective-type papers. It is qualifying in nature and used only for screening candidates for the Mains.

Key Points

• Both papers are objective type (MCQs) and bilingual (English & Hindi). 
• Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted for each wrong answer. 
• Paper II (CSAT) is qualifying only – candidates must secure minimum 33% marks. 
• The result of Prelims is based only on marks obtained in Paper I (General Studies), provided Paper II is qualified. 
• If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as wrong. 
• Candidates must mark unattempted questions properly, otherwise 0.25 marks will also be deducted. 
• Prelims is only for screening/shortlisting – marks will not be counted in the final merit list.

HPSC HCS Mains Exam Pattern 

HCS Mains Exam Pattern for HCS (Executive Branch) and Allied Services as per the notification (Advt. 11/2023) is structured like this:

Structure Of HCS Main Written Examination

The exam consists of four papers carrying a total of 600 marks:

1. Paper I – English (including English Essay) – 100 Marks 
2. Paper II – Hindi (including Hindi Essay in Devanagari Script) – 100 Marks 
3. Paper III – General Studies – 200 Marks 
4. Paper IV – One Optional Subject – 200 Marks 

HCS Optional Subjects

Candidates must choose one optional subject from a list of 29, including subjects like Agriculture, Law, Public Administration, Political Science, History, Geography, Sociology, etc. (full list given in the notification).

Compulsory Papers

• English (Code 30) 
• Hindi in Devanagari Script (Code 31) 
• General Studies (Code 32)

Note; 

• Each paper is of 3 hours duration. 
• Candidates must write answers in English or Hindi (except language/literature subjects). 
• To qualify for the Viva-Voce/Personality Test, a candidate must secure: 
  • 45% aggregate marks in all written papers 
  • 33% marks in both English and Hindi compulsory papers 
• Use of non-programmable scientific calculator is permitted only in optional papers (wherever required). 
• Final selection will be based on Main Written Examination (600 marks) + Viva Voce (75 marks) = 675 marks. 

Would you like me to also prepare a table format summarizing the Main Written Examination structure (papers, marks, duration, type), so it is easy to include directly in notes or articles?

Optional Subjects For HCS Main Written Examination

Here is the list of optional subjects for the HCS Main Written Examination as given in the notification:

Candidates have to choose only one optional subject at the time of application.

Compulsory Subjects For HCS Main Written Examination

Each compulsory paper is of 3 hours duration. Candidates must secure 33% marks in both English and Hindi papers, and 45% aggregate marks in all written papers to qualify for the Personality Test.

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HCS Exam Pattern 2025