The examination is held once
a year, generally in the month of July.
Blank application forms and other particulars
are published in the Employment News generally
in the month of January. The last date
for submission of applications is usually
3rd week of February.
Age: A candidate must have
attained the age of 21 years and must
not have attained the age of 28 years
on the first day of July of the year in
which examination is held.
The upper age limit may be relaxed in
respect of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and Other Backward Classes and
such other categories of persons as may
from time to time be notified in this
behalf by the Government of India to the
extent and subject to the conditions notified
in respect of each category.
Educational Qualifications: A candidate
must hold a Bachelor's Degree with at
least one of the subjects namely, Animal
Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany,
Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics,
Statistics and Zoology or a Bachelor's
degree in Agriculture, Forestry or in
Engineering of a recognized University
or equivalent.
Examination Fee: Rs. 60/- (Rs. Sixty
only). No fee for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes, etc.
Plan of the Examination:
1. The examination comprises: Written
Examination in compulsory and optional
subjects
2. Interview for Personality Test of such
candidates as may be called by the Commission.
Examination Subjects: The following will
be the subjects for the written examination:
Compulsory:
· General English
· General Knowledge (150 marks each).
Optional: Any two of the following
subjects:
1. Agriculture
2. Botany
3. Chemistry
4. Civil Engineering
5. Geology
6. Agricultural Engineering
7. Chemical Engineering
8. Mathematics
9. Mechanical Engineering
10. Physics
11. Zoology
12. Statistics
13. Forestry
14. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
(200 marks each).
N.B. All the questions papers in the examination
will be of conventional (essay) type.
Syllabus:
General English
Candidates will be required to write an
essay in English. Other questions will
be designed to test their understanding
of English and workmanlike use of words.
Passages will usually be set for summary
or precise.
General Knowledge
General Knowledge, including knowledge
of current events and of such matters
of every day observation and experience
in their scientific aspects as may be
expected of an educated person who has
not made a special study of any scientific
subject. The paper will also include questions
on Indian Polity including the political
system and the Constitution of India,
History of India and Geography of a nature
which candidate should be able to answer
without special study.
Agriculture
Candidates will be required to answer
questions from Sections (A) and (B) or
Sections (A) and (C) below:
(A) Agricultural Economics:
Meaning and scope of agricultural economics,
significance of study and its relationship
with other sciences, importance of agriculture
in Indian Economy, contribution to national
income, comparison with other countries,
study of significant economic problems
in Indian agricultural production, marketing,
Labour, credit, etc.
Nature of study of farm management, it's
meaning and scope, relation to other physical
and social sciences, concepts and basic
principles in farm management. Types and
systems of farming; determining factors.
Planning for profitable use of land, water,
labour and equipment, methods of measuring
farm efficiency, nature and purpose of
farm book-keeping, farm records and accounts,
financial accounting; enterprise accounting
and complete cost accounting.
(B) Agronomy:
Crop Production-Detailed study of KHARIF
crops; Paddy, Maize, Jowar, Bajra, Groundnut,
Til, Cotton, Sunhemp, Moong, Urd with
reference to their introduction, distribution,
seedbed preparation, improved varieties;
sowing and seed-rate inter-culture, harvesting
and physical inputs of production of crops.
Detailed study of important RABI crops;
Wheat, Barley, Gram, Mustard, Sugarcane,
Tobacco, Berseem with reference to their
origin, history, distribution, soil and
climate requirements, seedbed preparation,
improved varieties, sowing and seed-rate
inter-culture, harvesting, storing physical
inputs of crops.
Weeds and Weed Control-Classification
of weeds; habitat and characteristics
of important weeds of India. Injurious
effects and losses caused by weeds, chief
agencies of weed dissemination, cultural,
biological and chemical control of weeds.
Principles of Irrigation and Drainage-Necessity
and sources of irrigation water, water
requirements of crops, common water lifts,
duty of water, prevention of wastage of
irrigation water, system and methods of
irrigation, advantages and limitations
of each method. Measurement of irrigation
water. Soil moisture, different forms
of soil moisture and their importance.
Drainage and its necessity, harm caused
by excessive water, methods of drainage.
(C) Soil Science and Soi1 Conservation:
Definition of soil, its main components,
soil profile, soil-mineral colloids, cation
exchange capacity, base-saturation percentage
ion exchange, essential nutrients for
plant growth, their forms in the soil
and their role in plant nutrition.
Soil organic matter, its decomposition
and its effects on soil fertility. Acid
and alkali soils, their formation and
reclamation. Effects of organic manures,
green manures and fertilizers on soil
properties, properties of common nitrogenous,
phosphatic and potassic fertilizers.
Mechanical composition and soil texture,
soil pore space, soil structure, soil
water, types of soil water; its retention,
movement, availability and measurement
of soil water. Soil temperature, soil
air and its importance. Soil structure,
its forms and their effects on the physio-chemical
properties of soil.
Soil Morphology and Soil Surveying-Earth's
crust; soil forming rocks and minerals;
their composition and importance in soil
formation. Weathering of rocks and minerals,
factors, and processes of soil formation,
great soil groups of the World and their
agricultural importance. Study of Indian
soil. Soil survey and classification.
Principles of Soil Conservation-Soil Erosion,
factors effecting erosion, soil conservation,
soil properties in relation to agronomic
and engineering practices, land drainage,
needs and practices for agricultural lands,
land use classification, soil conservation,
planning and program.
Botany
(1) Survey of the Plant Kingdom: Difference
between animals and plants--Characteristics
of living organisms-Unicellular and multi-cellular
organisms-Viruses, basis of the division
of the plant kingdom.
(2) Morphology:
(i) Unicellular plants-Cell, its structure
and contents: division and multiplication
of cells.
(ii) Multi-cellular plants-Differentiation
of the body of nonvascular plants and
vascular plants; external and internal
morphology of vascular plants.
(3) Life History:
Of at least one member of the following
categories of plants; Bacteria Cyanophyceae,
Cholorophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Rhodophyceae,
Phycomycetes, Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes,
liver-worts, Mosses, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms
and Angiosperms.
(4) Taxonomy:
Principles of classification; Principal
systems of classification of angiosperms;
distinctive features and economic importance
of the following families; Graminea, Scitaminae,
Palmaceae, Liliaceae, Orchidaceae, Moraceae,
Loranthaceae, Magnoliaceae, Lauraceae,
Cruciferae, Rosaceae, Leguminosae, Rutaceae,
Meliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae,
Malvaceae, Apocynaceae Ascleidaceae, Dipterocarpaceae,
Myrtaceae, Umbeliferae, Solanaceae, Rubiceae,
Cucurbitaceae, Verbanceae and Compositae.
(5) Plant Physiology:
Autotrophy, heterotrophy, intake of water
and nutrients, transpirations, photosynthesis,
mineral nutrition, respiration, growth
reproduction; plant/animal relation; symbiosis,
parasitism, enzymes, auxins, hormones,
photoariodism.
(6) Plant Pathology:
Cause and cure of plant diseases; disease
organisms, Viruses, deficiency disease;
disease resistance.
(7) Plant Ecology:
The basic facts relating to ecology and
plant geography, with special relation
to Indian flora and the botanical regions
of India.
(8) General Biology:
Cytology, Genetics, Plant breeding, Mendelism,
Hybrid vigour, Mutation, Evolution.
(9) Economic Botany:
Economic uses of plants, especially flowering
plants, in relation to human welfare,
particularly with reference to such vegetable
products as food grains, pulses, fruit,
sugar and starches, oilseeds, spices,
beverages, fibres, woods, rubber, drugs
and essential oils.
(10) History of Botany:
A general familiarity with the development
of knowledge relating to the Botanical
Science.
Chemistry
(1) Inorganic Chemistry:
Electronic configuration of elements,
Aufbau principle, Periodic classification
of elements. Atomic Number, Transition
elements and their characteristics.
Atomic and ionic radii, ionization potential,
electron affinity and electro negativity.
Natural and artificial radioactivity.
Nuclear fission and fusion.
Electronic theory of valency. Elementary
ideas about sigma and pie-bonds, hybridization
and directional nature of covalent bonds.
Werner's theory of coordination compounds.
Electronic configurations of complexes
involved in the common metallurgical and
analytical operations.
Oxidation states and Oxidation number.
Common oxidizing and reducing agents,
Ionic equations.
Lewis and Bronsted theories of acids and
bases. Chemistry of the common elements
and their compounds treated especially
from the point of view of periodic classification.
Principles of extraction isolation (and
metallurgy) of important elements.
Structures of hydrogen peroxide, diborane,
aluminium chloride and the important oxyacids
of nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorine and
sulphur.
Inert gases: Isolation and Chemistry.
Principles of inorganic chemical analysis.
Outlines of the manufacture of: Sodium
carbonate, sodium hydroxide, ammonia,
nitric acid, sulphuric acid, cement, glass
and artificial fertilizers.
(2) Organic Chemistry:
Modern concepts of covalent bonding. Electron
displacements-Inductive meso-meric and
hyper conjugative effects. Resonance and
its applications to Organic Chemistry.
Effects of structure on dissociation constants.
Alkanes, alkynes and alkenes. Petroleum
as a source of organic compounds. Simple
derivatives of aliphatic compounds. Alcohols,
aldehydes, ketones, acids, halides, esters
and ethers and anhydrides chlorides and
amides. Mono-basic hydroxy, ketonic and
amino acids-Organometallic compounds and
acetoacetic esters. Tartaric citric, maleic
and fumaric acids. Carbohydrates, classification
and general reactions. Glucose, fructose
and sucrose.
Stereochemistry: Optical and geometrical
isomerism concept of conformation.
Benzene and its simple derivatives: Toluene,
xylenes, phenols, halides, nitro and amino
compounds. Benzoic, salicyclic, cinnamic,
mandelic and sulphonic acids. Aromatic
aldehydes and ketones. Diazo, azo and
hydrazo compounds. Aromatic substitution.
Naphthalene, pyridine and quinoline.
(3) Physical Chemistry:
Kinetic theory of gases and gas laws,
Maxwell's law of distribution of velocities.
Van der Waal's equation. Law of corresponding
states, Liquefaction of gases. Specific
heats of gases. Ratio of Cp/Cv.
Thermodynamics: The first law of thermodynamics.
Isothermal and adiabatic expansion. Enthalpy,
Heat capacities. Thermo chemistry-heats
of reaction, formation solution and combustion.
Calculation of bond energies. Kirchhoff
equation.
Criteria for spontaneous changes. Second
law of Thermodynamics. Entropy. Free Energy.
Criteria of Chemical equilibrium.
Solution, Osmotic pressure, lowering of
vapour pressure, depression of freezing
point, elevation of boiling point. Determination
of molecular weights in solution. Association,
dissociation of solutes.
Chemical equilibrium, Law of mass action
and its applications to homogeneous and
heterogeneous equilibrium. Le Chatelier's
principle. Influence of temperature on
chemical equilibrium.
Electrochemistry: Faraday's laws of electrolysis,
conductivity of an electrolyte: equivalent
conductivity and its variation with dilution;
solubility of sparingly soluble salts,
electrolytic dissociation. Ostwald's dilution
law; anomaly of strong electrolytes; solubility
product, strength of acids and bases;
hydrolysis of salts; hydrogen ion concentration
buffer action; theory of indicators.
Reversible cells.
Standard hydrogen and calomel electrodes
and red-ox-potentials. Concentration cells.
Determination of pH. Transport number,
Ionic product of water. Potentiometric
titrations.
Chemical Kinetics: Molecularity and order
of a reaction. First order and second
order reactions. Determination of order
of a reaction, temperature coefficients
and energy of activation. Collision theory
of reaction rates. Activated complex theory.
Phase rule: Explanation of the terms involved.
Applications to one and two component
system. Distribution law. Colloids: general
nature of colloidal solutions and their
classification; general methods of preparation
and properties of Colloids. Coagulation,
protective action, gold number.
Absorption. Catalysis: Homogeneous and
heterogeneous catalysis. Promoters. Poisoning.
Photochemistry: Laws of Photochemistry.
Simple numerical problems.
Civil Engineering
(1) Building material and properties and
strength of materials:
Building materials-Timber, stone, brick,
lime, tile, sand, surkhi, mortar and concrete,
metal and glass-Structural properties
of metals and alloys used in engineering
practice.
Stress and strains-Hook's law-Bending
Torsion and direct stresses. Elastic theory
of bending of beams, maximum and minimum
stresses due to eccentric loading. Bending
moment and Shear force. diagrams and deflection
of beams under static and live loads.
(2) Building construction and water supply
and sanitary Engineering:
Construction-Brick and stone, masonry,
walls, floors and roofs, staircases, carpentry
in wooden floors, roofs, ceiling, doors
and windows, finishes (plastering, pointing,
painting and varnishing, etc.).
Soil mechanics-Soils and their investigations,
bearing capacities and foundations of
buildings and structures principles of
design.
Building estimates-Principal units of
measurement: Taking out quantities for
buildings and preparation of abstract
of costs-specifications and Data sheets
for important items.
Water supply-Sources of water, standards
of purity,
Methods of purification, layout of distribution
system, pumps and boosters.
Sanitation-Sewers, storm water overflows,
house drainage requirements and appurtenances,
septic tanks. Imhoff tanks, sewage treatment
and dispersion trenches-Activated sludge
process.
(3) Roads and bridges:
Survey and alignment-Highway materials
and their placements. Principles of design-width
of foundation and pavement. camber gradient
curves and super-elevation-retaining walls.
Construction-Earth roads, stabilized and
water-bound macadam roads, bituminous
surfaces and concrete roads, draining
of roads. Bridges-Types, economical spans
IRC loadings, designing super-structure
of small span bridge Principles of designing,
foundation of abutments and piers of bridges,
pile and well foundations. Estimating
earthwork for roads and canals.
(4) Structural Engineering:
Steel structures-Permissible stresses,
Design of beams, simple and built-up columns
and simple roof trusses and girders, column
bases and grillages for axially and eccentrically
loaded columns-Bolted rivets and welded
connections.
R.C.C. structures-Specification of materials
used proportioning workability and strength
requirement-I.S.I. standards for design
loads, permissible stresses in R.C.C.
members subject to direct and bending
stress-Design of simply supported overhanging
and cantilever beams, rectangular and
Tee beams in floors, roofs and lintels-axially
loaded columns-their bases.
