How can I become an Indian statistical service officer?
India has a public body that holds exams for posts in public services. This body is the Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. The UPSC also conducts a competitive exam for the Indian statistical service to hire Grade IV officers. The UPSC conducts this exam every year. It takes three days to complete.
You can also read our article on Indian Economic Services.
What are the requirements to write the Indian Statistical Services exam?
Citizens can only write the ISS exam of a few nations. For instance, firstly, citizens of India, Nepal and Bhutan can write this exam. Second, this exam can also be written by Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1st January 1962. Third, Indian origin people who migrated from Sri Lanka, Burma and Pakistan who want to settle in India can appear for the test. Fourth, Indian origin people from Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam can appear for it if they intend to live in India. All groups who are not Indian citizens need an eligibility certificate from the Indian government to write the exam.
People above the age of 21 who have not attained the age of 30 years on 1st August of the exam can write the Indian statistical service exam. There are some exceptions to this rule:
- People from scheduled castes and tribes can write the exam till the age of 34
- People from OBC classes can write it till age 32
- Soldiers who had to leave service due to injury can write it till age 32
- Other soldiers who finished their service get an extension of 5 years
- People with disabilities can write the exam till the age of 39
- People eligible under more than one of the above categories will receive an extension that is cumulative of all classes
- Education
People who have a bachelor’s degree with one of the subjects being Statistics, Mathematical Statistics or Applied Statistics can appear for the exam. Those who have a master’s degree in Statistics, Mathematical Statistics or Applied Statistics can also appear for the exam.
The candidate must be physically fit. The rules for the Indian Statistical Services exam mentions these fitness standards.
What is the Exam Pattern for the Indian Statistical Services?
The exam for the ISS has two parts. One is a written component, while the other is a viva-voce exam. There is negative marking for all the objective type questions for every wrong answer attempted.
Part One
This is a written exam that has a total of 1000 marks. All questions will be in English. Candidates are not allowed to write the exam in any other language. It takes a total of 16 hours to write. This paper takes place over three days. The exam takes place from 9 AM to 12 noon on the first day. Then, it resumes from 2 PM to 5 PM. It is held from 9 AM to 11 AM on the second day. In the evening, it is held from 2 PM to 4 PM. The exam is held from 9 AM to 12 noon and then from 2 PM to 5 PM on the final day.
The six main papers are mentioned below:
- General English
- General Studies
- Statistics-I (Objective)
- Statistics-II (Objective)
- Statistics-III (Descriptive)
- Statistics-IV (Descriptive)
General English
This paper will test the English language skills of the candidate. In this paper, you will have to write an essay in English. There will also be other questions to test the candidates’ English skills. All questions are subjective. You might have to make a summary from passages. While this paper is 100 marks, you still get 3 hours to answer all the questions. This will test whether you have the language skills to become an Indian statistical service officer.
General Studies
This paper will test your grasp of common knowledge, as the name shows. There will be basic scientific questions. There will also be some questions about Indian politics. Topics include Indian Constitution, history and geography. This paper has subjective questions. No special preparation is required for this paper. However, you can always score more by doing some preparation for this. Reading newspapers like The Hindu will help you develop your English. In addition, you can also improve your general knowledge from it. This paper has questions worth 100 marks, and you get 3 hours to answer them.
Statistics I and II
These papers are objective type, in the form of multiple-choice questions. Each paper has 200 marks and must be attempted in 120 minutes. There will be 80 questions in total. The portions cover basic statistics portions—for instance, probability, distributions, laws and functions. You can find the syllabus for this exam on the UPSC website.
Statistics III and IV
This is a descriptive type written exam. It is for 200 marks. However, as it is a descriptive type paper, you are given 3 hours to answer it. 50% of the marks, which is 100 marks, will be allotted to short answer problems. On the other hand, the remaining 100 marks will consist of long answer problems and comprehension related questions. However, it is compulsory to answer at least one long and one short question. This part will test whether you have the essential technical skills of an Indian statistical service officer.
Part Two
There will be a second round of exams for all the candidates who are shortlisted after part one. This part is a viva-voce component, where candidates will have to answer questions from examiners. Although all the questions will not be strictly subject related, the examiners will test whether you have the personality to become an Indian statistical service officer. This interview component has 200 marks. Those who pass both components will be appointed as Indian statistical service officers.
What are the rules for the Indian statistical service exam?
- Candidates must apply online. However, after applying, if they do not wish to write the exam, they have the chance of withdrawing from the exam until the stipulated last date for this option.
- For both descriptive questions and MCQs, candidates can use a blue ballpoint pen. Do not write the exam with other tools like ink pens or pencils, for instance.
- If you make any mistake while filling in your details in the OMR sheet, then the answer sheet will be rejected.
- Do not carry any electronics like cell phones, Bluetooth, or pagers into the exam hall. If found with such tools, then you will have a ban from taking this exam in the future.
- There is a cap on the number of candidates allotted to appear in one centre. Therefore, if one centre becomes full, then the remaining candidates will be assigned to centres that are farther away. In this instance, UPSC will not entertain any requests for a change of centre. Therefore, make sure you register early.
- All candidates who wish to write the exam should pay the registration fee of rupees 200. However, women candidates as well as SC, ST and PWD candidates are exempt from this.
Tips for the exam
- Practice writing essays for the General English exam. This is because you will need to write a number of long answers in little time. The only way to get better at this is through practising essay writing.
- To pass the General Studies paper, read the NCERT textbooks from standard 6th to 10th. Also, learn the political science NCERT textbooks from class 12. The 12th standard Indian history textbook will also help you answer the questions on the freedom struggle.
- Make good notes for both the first two papers. This is because good notes will help you very much during the revision process.
- Find previous years’ question papers on the official website of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. Practice solving these papers to know what portions are more important to study.
- Be thorough with all statistical concepts mentioned on the syllabus of the exam.
- Make sure you are aware of the negative marking scheme for the exam. Be strategic in choosing which answers to attempt by making a plan while answering the previous year papers.
- Eat a healthy diet and get enough rest before the exam. Try to remain calm throughout the exam so that you can answer questions clearly.
In conclusion, this article should have informed you about the scope of statistics. You would also have a good idea about the Indian Statistical service exam. These tried and tested tips will help you during the exam. Good luck!
