SSC CGL Syllabus 2026: Tier-1 & Tier-2 Exam Pattern, Subject-Wise Topics & Marking Scheme

Exam Snapshot / परीक्षा अवलोकन

Important Dates & Event Schedule / तिथियां

Selection Stages & Exam Pattern / परीक्षा पैटर्न और विषय

Important Marking Rules & Qualifying Criteria / महत्वपूर्ण नियम

Syllabus Overview & Preparation Guidance / पाठ्यक्रम विवरण

SSC CGL 2026 is conducted in two tiers: Tier-1, a qualifying CBT with four sections, and Tier-2, the score-deciding stage with a compulsory paper plus optional papers for specific posts. Both tiers now carry a new 15-minute sectional timer. Check the full subject-wise syllabus and marking scheme below.

Preparing for SSC CGL means preparing for a genuinely two-stage filter, and understanding how those two stages differ in purpose is arguably more important than memorising the syllabus itself, because a candidate who studies Tier-1 and Tier-2 as though they carry equal weight toward final selection is preparing with the wrong mental model. Tier-1 is a single 60-minute, 100-question objective Computer-Based Test worth 200 marks, split evenly across four sections of 25 questions each — General Intelligence & Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension — with every question carrying 2 marks and a flat 0.5-mark deduction for each incorrect response, while unattempted questions carry no penalty. The most significant change for the 2026 cycle, and one every returning CGL aspirant needs to internalise before exam day, is the introduction of a 15-minute sectional timer: rather than the single free-flowing 60-minute window that allowed candidates in earlier cycles to spend, say, 25 minutes on Quantitative Aptitude and only 10 on English if that suited their strengths, each of the four sections in 2026 now runs on its own fixed 15-minute clock, after which that section automatically locks and cannot be revisited regardless of how much of the overall 60 minutes remains unused elsewhere. This is a genuine strategic shift, not a cosmetic one — candidates need to practice each section as an independent, time-boxed sprint rather than relying on the flexible cross-section time management that used to be a viable strategy for candidates strong in some areas and weaker in others. Within General Intelligence & Reasoning, expect a mix of verbal and non-verbal reasoning: analogies, classification, series completion, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms, matrix-based and figure-based puzzles, and basic Venn-diagram logic. General Awareness draws on static general knowledge — Indian history, polity, geography, the Constitution, art and culture — layered with current affairs covering government schemes, appointments, awards, sports and science-and-technology developments from roughly the twelve months preceding the exam, which means candidates preparing for an August-September 2026 exam should be tracking current affairs through at least mid-2026 closely. Quantitative Aptitude covers number systems, percentages, ratio and proportion, average, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time-speed-distance, time and work, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, and basic data interpretation from tables, bar graphs and pie charts. English Comprehension tests grammar fundamentals, vocabulary, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, spotting errors, sentence improvement, cloze passages, and reading comprehension. Clearing Tier-1 only qualifies a candidate for Tier-2, the actual score-deciding stage, and this is where SSC CGL's structure genuinely branches by post. Every candidate who clears Tier-1 sits the compulsory Paper-I, which itself covers mathematical abilities and reasoning in one module and English language plus general awareness in another, generally including a data analysis and interpretation component for posts where that skill is directly relevant to the job, such as Junior Statistical Officer or Statistical Investigator Grade-II roles. Candidates who have specifically opted for Junior Statistical Officer or Statistical Investigator Grade-II posts additionally sit Paper-II, a dedicated Statistics paper covering data collection and classification, measures of central tendency and dispersion, correlation and regression, probability theory, sampling theory, statistical inference, analysis of variance, time series analysis and index numbers — genuinely graduate-Statistics-level content that candidates without a Statistics or closely related academic background should not underestimate. New for the 2026 cycle, candidates who have opted for the newly introduced Assistant Audit Officer or Assistant Accounts Officer posts additionally sit Paper-III, a general studies paper oriented toward finance, accounts and economics — covering fundamental accounting principles, financial administration concepts, and basic Indian economy and budget-related general studies — reflecting the specific administrative and financial-oversight nature of those roles under the CAG and CGA respectively. Both Tier-1 and Tier-2 carry negative marking, though candidates should confirm the exact per-paper marking scheme for Tier-2 in SSC's official notice closer to that exam, since deduction rates can vary slightly by paper and have occasionally been revised between cycles. Once Tier-2 concludes and results are declared, candidates proceed to Document Verification, where educational qualification, age, category and domicile documents are checked against the details originally submitted at the application stage, and — for specific posts such as Inspector-level roles under CBIC and Sub-Inspector positions in the CBI — a physical standards or medical examination confirming the post's specific fitness requirements. Only after clearing every one of these sequential stages does a candidate's Tier-2 score, combined with their submitted post preferences and confirmed eligibility, determine their final post allocation, which is precisely why serious CGL preparation has to treat Tier-1 as a hurdle to clear efficiently under the new sectional-timer format, while reserving the deepest, most sustained preparation effort for Tier-2, since that is genuinely the stage on which final selection and post allocation actually rests. It's worth grounding this preparation guidance in how question weightage has actually trended across recent CGL Tier-1 papers, since generic "study everything equally" advice wastes time candidates don't have. Within General Intelligence & Reasoning, analogies and classification questions have consistently carried 4 to 5 marks per shift, non-verbal and figure-based reasoning another 4 to 5, series completion 3 to 4, and coding-decoding along with blood relations and direction sense typically contributing 2 to 3 questions each — meaning verbal-and-non-verbal pattern recognition together usually outweighs pure logical-puzzle content in this section. General Awareness has shown a genuine shift over recent cycles: current affairs, including government schemes and recent appointments, has trended toward 6 to 8 questions per shift, edging up relative to pure static GK — history, polity and geography together still contribute the largest static share at 8 to 10 questions, with science and technology adding another 4 to 5 and economics/finance basics rounding out the section at 2 to 3. Quantitative Aptitude consistently rewards arithmetic fundamentals most heavily: percentage, ratio, profit-loss, and time-work-distance style problems together have accounted for 10 to 12 of the section's 25 questions in recent papers, meaningfully more than algebra and geometry combined (6 to 8), with mensuration/trigonometry and data interpretation making up the remainder. English Comprehension leans on grammar and error-spotting most heavily (6 to 8 questions), followed closely by vocabulary-based questions like synonyms, antonyms and one-word substitution (5 to 6), with cloze tests and reading comprehension passages splitting the rest fairly evenly. It's worth being clear that none of this constitutes an official SSC-published weightage table — SSC does not commit publicly to a fixed topic-wise question count, and any individual shift can and does deviate from this pattern — but it reflects a genuinely consistent trend independently reported across multiple exam-analysis platforms over several recent CGL cycles, making it a reasonable basis for allocating study time even though it can't be treated as a guaranteed blueprint for the 2026 paper specifically.

एसएससी सीजीएल दो चरणों में आयोजित होती है — टियर-1 (क्वालीफाइंग) और टियर-2 (मुख्य, मेरिट-निर्धारक)। टियर-1 में 100 प्रश्न (200 अंक, 60 मिनट) होते हैं — सामान्य बुद्धि व तर्कशक्ति, सामान्य जागरूकता, मात्रात्मक अभियोग्यता, तथा अंग्रेजी बोधगम्यता — प्रत्येक खंड में 25 प्रश्न (50 अंक)। 2026 का सबसे बड़ा बदलाव यह है कि अब प्रत्येक खंड के लिए 15 मिनट का अलग सेक्शनल टाइमर लागू है — समय को खंडों के बीच स्वतंत्र रूप से स्थानांतरित नहीं किया जा सकता। प्रत्येक गलत उत्तर पर 0.5 अंक कटते हैं। टियर-1 पास करने के बाद उम्मीदवारों को टियर-2 देना होता है — पेपर-1 (अनिवार्य), पेपर-2 (केवल सांख्यिकी अधिकारी पदों के लिए), तथा इस वर्ष नया पेपर-3 (केवल सहायक लेखा परीक्षा अधिकारी/सहायक लेखा अधिकारी पदों के लिए, वित्त व अर्थशास्त्र पर आधारित)। अंतिम मेरिट पूरी तरह टियर-2 के अंकों पर आधारित होती है, टियर-1 केवल क्वालीफाइंग है। इसके बाद दस्तावेज़ सत्यापन और कुछ पदों के लिए चिकित्सा परीक्षण होता है।

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