SSC CPO 2024 Exam Pattern For SI & ASI (Delhi Police, CAPFs) & CISF Posts

SSC CPO exam pattern is released by SSC along with the official notification. Candidates who want to crack the SSC CPO exam must go through the SSC CPO exam pattern. Paper 1 of SSC CPO comprises 200 objective-type questions on topics from General Knowledge, General Intelligence, English, and Quantitative Aptitude. In Paper 2, candidates are required to answer objective-type questions on English Language and Comprehension. Only those candidates who qualify the Paper 2 exam are called for PET/PST. Candidates qualifying PET/PST are called for Paper 2. Knowledge of SSC CPO exam pattern helps candidates to strategise their preparation.

Some of the important highlights of SSC CPO exam pattern are given below.

All candidates who register successfully for the exam are required to appear in Paper 1. The exam comprises four sections: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. Each section will have 50 questions. The paper will have total of 200 objective-type questions. The test paper will be set in Hindi and English. The duration of the test is 2 hours. Each section of Paper 1 will carry 50 marks. The total mark of the test is 200. Candidates can check the detailed SSC CPO exam pattern for Paper 1. 

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SSC CPO exam is divided into Computer-Based Test, Physical Standard Test (PST)/ Physical Endurance Test (PET), Paper-II and Detailed Medical Examination (DME). Paper 1 as per SSC CPO Exam Pattern comprises four sections: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. The paper will have a total of 200 objective type questions. The duration of the test is two hours. The total marks for the test are 200. The Paper-II comprises objective type questions from English Language and Comprehension. There will be 200 questions in the paper. The PST/PET comprises certain physical activities such as long jump, high jump, shot put, race, etc.

Also Read: SSC CPO Exam Pattern

This paper comprises objective-type questions from English Language and Comprehension. There are 200 questions in the paper. Candidates need to complete the paper within 2 hours. Questions are designed to test the candidates' understanding and knowledge of English Language. 

The marking scheme of SSC CPO has been revised. The revision has been made in the negative marking section. The revised negative marking is given below:

• There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Paper 1 and 2. Earlier, the negative marking was one-third.
• For the correct answer, candidates score one mark
• Marks scored by candidates is normalised to prepare the result

SSC CPO Normalisation of Marks

Marks scored in Computer Based Examination are normalised. Such normalised scores are used to determine the final merit and cut off marks. Normalisation is done since the exam is conducted in multi-shifts and to take into account any variation in the difficulty levels of question papers across different shifts.

Download notice  to check normalisation of marks.

Staff Selection Commission has prescribed SSC CPO syllabus for Paper 1 and 2. The General Intelligence and Reasoning section includes both verbal and non-verbal type topics. The General Knowledge and General Awareness test a candidate’s understanding of current affairs. The Quantitative Aptitude section tests a candidate’s understanding regarding the use of numbers and number sense. English Comprehension test a candidate’s proficiency in English Language, Comprehension and Writing Ability. Questions in Paper 2 are asked from English Language and Comprehension.

PST/ PET will not carry any marks but will be of qualifying/ elimination nature. Those candidates who are declared not qualified in Physical Standards, i.e. height and chest, may prefer an appeal, if they so desire, to the appellate authority present on the PET/ PST ground. The decision of the appellate authority will be final and no further appeal or representation in this regard will be entertained.

For male candidates

• 100 metre race in 16 seconds
• 1.6 Kms race in 6.5 minutes
• Long Jump: 3.65 metre in 3 chances
• High Jump: 1.2 metre in 3 chances
• Shot put (16 Lbs): 4.5 metre in 3 chance

For female candidates 

• 100 metre race in 18 seconds
• 800 metre race in 4 minutes
• Long Jump: 2.7 metre in 3 chances
• High Jump: 0.9 metre in 3 chances

Physical Standard Test (for all Posts)

Medical Exam

Medical exam is conducted for candidates who qualify the Paper 2 exam. Candidates are examined by the medical officer of the CAPF or any other Medical Officer or Assistant Surgeon belonging to Grade I of any Central/State Govt. Hospital or Dispensary. 

Eye sight: The minimum near vision should be N6 (better eye) and N9 (worse eye). The minimum distant vision should be 6/6 (better eye) and 6/9 (worse eye) of both eyes without any correction like wearing glasses or surgery of any kind to improve visual acuity. 

Candidates must not have knock-knee, flat foot, varicose vein, or squint in eyes and they should possess high colour vision.

Finally, selected candidates for the posts of Sub-Inspector and Assistant Sub-Inspector as a part of the training curriculum have to pass seven obstacles:

• Jumping over the Vertical Board
• Holding the rope on jumping from the Board
• Tarzan Swing
• Jumping on the Horizontal Board
• Parallel Rope
• Monkey Crawl
• Vertical Rope

All candidates who register for the exam are required to appear in Paper-I. On the basis of their performance in Paper-I, candidates will be shortlisted for appearing in PET/ PST exam. PET/ PST is mandatory but qualifying in nature. Only those candidates who qualify PET/ PST will be allowed to appear in Paper-II exam. On the basis of their performance in Paper I and II, candidates will be shortlisted for appearing in Medical Examination. Candidates, who are successful in Medical Examination, will be called for detailed Document Verification. Final selection and allocation of Post/Force will be made on the basis of the performance of candidates in Paper I and II and the preference of posts given by them at the time of Document Verification.

SSC CPO syllabus comprises the following topics:

General Intelligence and Reasoning: Questions are asked from analogies, similarities and differences, space visualization, spatial orientation, problem-solving, analysis, judgment, decision making, visual memory, discrimination, observation, relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning and figural classification, arithmetic number series, non-verbal series, coding, and decoding, etc. 

General Knowledge and General Awareness: The test include questions relating to India and its neighboring countries especially pertaining to History, Culture, Geography, Economic Scene, General Polity, Indian Constitution, scientific Research, etc. 

Quantitative Aptitude: Questions are asked from whole numbers, decimals, fractions and relationships between numbers, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Square
roots, Averages, Interest, Profit & Loss, Discount, Partnership Business, Mixture and Allegation, Time and distance, Time & Work, Basic algebraic identities of School Algebra and Elementary surds, etc. 

English Comprehension: This section assesses a candidate's ability to understand basic English, Comprehension & Writing Ability.