State Exams 2026: UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, MP, Haryana and Delhi Compared, with Dates and GK Preparation

State exams at a glance

Each state recruits for its own government through its own bodies. A Public Service Commission holds the state civil services exam for posts such as Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Block Development Officer. This page calls it the PCS-type exam. A staff selection commission or board recruits for subordinate posts such as clerk, patwari, junior assistant and constable. GK24 has a full guide for six states, each written from the latest notices of these bodies. Delhi differs: its guide covers DSSSB, which recruits for the Government of NCT of Delhi, and the Delhi Police Constable exam, which the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts.

Age bands are for unreserved candidates, before relaxation. Each state relaxes the upper limit for its own reserved categories, women, employees or ex-servicemen, as its guide explains. The rows follow the cycles in the state guides: PCS 2025, PET 2026, the 72nd CCE, BSSC Advt. 05/25 and 02/23(A), RAS/RTS 2026, CET 2026 (Rajasthan), SSE 2026, MPESB 2026, HCS 2025, HSSC CET 2025–26, DSSSB 2026 and Delhi Police 2025.

Civil services vs subordinate posts

The PCS-type exams

Five of the six states hold a civil services exam through their Public Service Commission. Each has three stages: an objective Preliminary exam, a descriptive Main exam and an interview. The Prelims is only a screening test in all five. Its marks do not count in the final merit. Final merit is the Mains total plus the interview.

The number called to the next stage differs. UPPSC calls 15 times the vacancies to the Mains, RPSC about 15 times, HPSC 12 times, BPSC 10 times and MPPSC up to 20 times. For the interview, UPPSC, MPPSC and HPSC call 3 times the vacancies and BPSC 2.5 times. One cycle takes long: UPPSC advertised PCS 2025 in February 2025, and its interviews run in September and October 2026.

Eligibility tests and one-stage exams

Subordinate posts are filled in two ways. Three states hold an eligibility test first: UPSSSC's PET, RSSB's CET and HSSC's CET. The score decides who may compete for the posts that follow. The other bodies hold a recruitment exam for a set of posts directly.

A PET or CET score gives no job by itself. It only opens the door to a post's own selection.

Which route suits whom (GK24 guidance)

• A graduate aged 21 or more who wants an administrative post should aim at the PCS-type exam. It asks for descriptive writing, a language paper and an interview.
• A 10th or 12th pass candidate starts with the subordinate route. UPSSSC PET needs Class 10, HSSC's Group D CET needs Matric, and BSSC's Inter Level, RSSB's Senior Secondary CET and Delhi Police Constable need 10+2.
• A graduate preparing for the PCS can also take the eligibility test of the same state. Much of the GK overlaps, and a PET or CET score stays valid for three years.

Common patterns across states

Negative marking, and when a blank costs marks

The lesson is not the same everywhere. In UPPSC, MPPSC, DSSSB and Delhi Police papers, leave a question you cannot answer. In BPSC, RPSC, RSSB and HPSC papers, mark the "not attempted" option instead of leaving the question blank. In HSSC's CET, a wrong answer costs nothing but a blank does, so fill a circle for every question.

CSAT-type qualifying papers

Three commissions add an aptitude paper to the Prelims that only has to be passed. UPPSC's General Studies-II needs 33%. HPSC's Civil Services Aptitude Test needs 33%. MPPSC's General Aptitude Test needs 40%, or 30% for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PwD candidates. In all three, the General Studies paper alone decides the ranking for the Mains. BPSC and RPSC set one Prelims paper, with mental ability or reasoning inside it.

Eligibility tests and score validity

Domicile and reservation

Reservation is for the state's own residents in every guide that addresses it.

• Uttar Pradesh: reservation and age relaxation go only to permanent residents of UP.
• Bihar: reservation is only for permanent residents; the 35% horizontal reservation for women applies only to women domiciled in Bihar.
• Rajasthan: SC, ST, OBC, MBC and EWS candidates from other states apply as General.
• Madhya Pradesh: reservation and age relaxation go only to natives of MP.
• Haryana: reservation benefits go only to bona fide residents of Haryana.
• Delhi: DSSSB gives OBC reservation and relaxation only to OBC (Delhi) candidates.

Candidates from other states may still apply, but they compete as general or unreserved candidates.

The Hindi paper

In UP, Bihar, MP and Haryana, a weak Hindi paper can end a candidacy even with good General Studies marks.

Upcoming state exam dates

These dates were checked against the commissions' official notices on 25 September 2026. "Under way" means the window has already started.

Two clashes stand out. UPSSSC PET and RSSB's Senior Secondary CET share 23 to 25 October 2026. The UPPSC PCS 2026 Prelims (proposed) and the RAS 2026 Prelims both fall on 6 December 2026.

Not announced as of 25 September 2026: the MPPSC SSE 2026 interview, the BPSC 72nd CCE Mains, both BSSC Prelims, HSSC's Group D CET, HCS 2026, DSSSB's ASO Tier-II and the exams of its Advt. 03/2026 posts, and the next Delhi Police Constable exam. MPPSC has not announced its next SSE cycle either.

State GK and national GK

This section is GK24's guidance, built on the syllabuses in the six state guides.

Every state tests itself. Its history, geography, culture, economy and administration appear in the syllabus, sometimes as whole papers.

National GK makes up much of every paper. Indian polity, history and the national movement, geography of India, the Indian economy, general science and current affairs appear in all six syllabuses. In Haryana's CET, for example, the state share is 25%; the other 75% is general awareness, reasoning, quantitative ability, English, Hindi and, for Group C, computer knowledge.

What GK24 covers. GK24 publishes topic-wise national GK notes and daily national and international current affairs, in English and Hindi. It does not have state GK sections for any of the six states. Prepare the state part from the state's own sources: state board textbooks, the state budget and economic survey, the state government's department websites and releases, and the commission's own past question papers.

How to prepare for state exams with GK24

This plan is GK24's guidance, not part of any notice. It assumes you have picked one state and one exam from the tables above and read that state's guide on GK24.

• Every day: read GK24's daily current affairs and take the daily quiz. Add state news from the state government's own releases.
• Every month: take the monthly current affairs quiz and revise the month. Cover at least the 12 months before your exam.
• Practise under your exam's marking rule, as the negative marking table above sets out.
• Give Hindi a fixed slot if your exam has a Hindi paper. GK24 does not cover language, reasoning or maths.
• Write for the Mains. The PCS-type Mains is written in all five states, so write short answers on the week's topics.