NPSC · Exam prep

NPSC Combined Technical Services Examination (CTSE)

Engineering, agriculture, medical, science and other technical posts in state departments. One General English & GK paper plus three papers in your technical subject.

Papers: 4 written papers · 500 marks
Technical MCQ: 100 questions · 200 marks · 2 hours
Negative marking: One-third per wrong MCQ (technical paper)
Subjects: Over 90 technical subjects

From the official NPSC documents, checked 12 Nov 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Overview

The Combined Technical Services Examination (CTSE) is how NPSC fills technical posts across state departments. Every candidate writes a common General English & General Knowledge paper, and three papers in one technical subject - the one that matches the post and your degree or diploma.

NPSC publishes a separate syllabus for each technical subject (over 90 of them, from Civil Engineering to Sericulture) and the actual question papers of past exams. All of them are listed below, grouped and searchable.

Posts: Technical Group A & B posts in state departments - engineers, agriculture, veterinary, medical and allied, science, IT and trade posts

1. Written examination
Four papers: General English & General Knowledge (100 marks, 3 hours), and in your technical subject an MCQ paper (200 marks, 2 hours) and two descriptive papers (100 marks each, 3 hours each). Grand total 500 marks.
2. Further stages
Any later stage (such as an interview) and its marks are announced in each year's advertisement - the pattern document covers the written examination only.

Exam pattern

Written examination

Paper	Marks	Duration
General English & General Knowledge (combined)	100	3 hours
Technical subject - MCQ (100 questions, 2 marks each)	200	2 hours
Technical subject - Descriptive Paper I	100	3 hours
Technical subject - Descriptive Paper II	100	3 hours
Grand total	500

General English & General Knowledge (combined)
Marks
100
Duration
3 hours
Technical subject - MCQ (100 questions, 2 marks each)
Marks
200
Duration
2 hours
Technical subject - Descriptive Paper I
Marks
100
Duration
3 hours
Technical subject - Descriptive Paper II
Marks
100
Duration
3 hours
Grand total500

MCQ paper: negative marking of one-third for each wrong answer.

General English & General Knowledge - components

Component	Marks
General English: Essay	20
General English: Précis writing	10
General English: Amplification	10
General English: Construction of sentences & grammar	10
General Knowledge: current events, general science, mental ability, Indian history, Indian polity, Indian economy, geography - objective type and short descriptive answers	50
Total	100

General English: Essay: 20
General English: Précis writing: 10
General English: Amplification: 10
General English: Construction of sentences & grammar: 10
General Knowledge: current events, general science, mental ability, Indian history, Indian polity, Indian economy, geography - objective type and short descriptive answers: 50
Total: 100

What the 2025 General English & GK paper actually looked like (from NPSC's Question Bank): the cover says MCQs for both General English and General Knowledge are answered in a grid on the answer booklet, with no negative marking in this paper. General Knowledge questions came first as MCQs, then English grammar MCQs (error spotting, fill in the blank), then Q61 an essay on one of four topics in about 250 words (20 marks), Q62 a précis of a passage in 110–115 words with a title (10 marks), and Q63 a paragraph of 100–125 words with a title, written from an outline (10 marks).
For Electrician, NPSC notes that Paper I covers all subjects of Semesters I and II and Paper II all subjects of Semesters III and IV. For Plumber, Paper I covers Semester I and Paper II Semester II.
The syllabus of your subject decides what goes into the MCQ paper and the two descriptive papers - open it from the list below.

Syllabus

Tap a paper to open its full syllabus.

General English & General Knowledge (common to all subjects)100 marks · 3 hours

Essay - 20 marks (in 2025: one essay out of four topics, about 250 words).
Précis writing - 10 marks (in 2025: a passage reduced to 110–115 words, with a title).
Amplification - 10 marks (in 2025: a 100–125-word paragraph with a title, from an outline of points).
Construction of sentences & grammar - 10 marks.
General Knowledge - 50 marks: current events, general science, mental ability, Indian history, Indian polity, Indian economy and geography.

Your technical subjectMCQ 200 marks + Paper I 100 marks + Paper II 100 marks

Each subject has its own official syllabus - find yours in "Subject syllabi" below (search by name). The same syllabus covers the MCQ paper and both descriptive papers.

Previous papers & official PDFs

Each file opens straight from where the recruiter keeps it - no searching on government websites. Sizes help you decide before downloading on mobile data.

Official pattern

Pattern of Examination for Combined Technical Services ExaminationPDF · 216 KB · npsc.nagaland.gov.inScanned, 1 page. Written out in full above.

Subject syllabi (91 subjects)

Official NPSC syllabus for each technical subject. Search for your subject.

CTSE 2025 question papers

Every paper from the 2025 exam, by subject: the MCQ paper (some subjects had Series A and B) and descriptive Papers I and II.

General English & General Knowledge
Question paper3.0 MB
Agriculture Engg. (Degree)
MCQ2.5 MB Paper I692 KB Paper II730 KB
Agriculture Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ2.6 MB Paper I732 KB Paper II697 KB
Agriculture Science
MCQ Series A2.4 MB MCQ Series B2.4 MB Paper I679 KB Paper II628 KB
Automobile Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ2.6 MB Paper I710 KB Paper II713 KB
Biochemistry
MCQ3.0 MB Paper I736 KB Paper II759 KB
Biotechnology
MCQ3.0 MB Paper I656 KB Paper II682 KB
Botany
MCQ1.1 MB Paper I301 KB Paper II308 KB
Chemistry
MCQ1.2 MB Paper I401 KB Paper II807 KB
Civil Engg. (Degree)
MCQ Series A1.4 MB MCQ Series B1.4 MB Paper I363 KB Paper II408 KB
Civil Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ Series A1.4 MB MCQ Series B1.4 MB Paper I404 KB Paper II372 KB
Computer Science (Degree)
MCQ1.8 MB Paper I338 KB Paper II343 KB
Dental Science
MCQ1.2 MB Paper I341 KB Paper II312 KB
Electrical Engg. (Degree)
MCQ1.4 MB Paper I444 KB Paper II492 KB
Electrical Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ1.7 MB Paper I329 KB Paper II562 KB
Electronics Engg. (Degree)
MCQ1.8 MB Paper I485 KB Paper II599 KB
Fishery Science
MCQ1.3 MB Paper I332 KB Paper II347 KB
Forestry
MCQ2.0 MB Paper I341 KB Paper II348 KB
Geology
MCQ1.4 MB Paper I290 KB Paper II303 KB
Horticulture
MCQ1.6 MB Paper I365 KB Paper II369 KB
Information Technology (Degree)
MCQ1.8 MB Paper I308 KB Paper II370 KB
Interior Design (Diploma)
MCQ1.5 MB Paper I395 KB Paper II371 KB
Mathematics
MCQ1.3 MB Paper I375 KB Paper II322 KB
MCA
MCQ1.7 MB Paper I380 KB Paper II331 KB
Mechanical Engg. (Degree)
MCQ1.6 MB Paper I599 KB Paper II667 KB
Mechanical Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ1.6 MB Paper I366 KB Paper II383 KB
Medical Science
MCQ1.5 MB Paper I427 KB Paper II387 KB
Mining Engg. (Degree)
MCQ1.4 MB Paper I397 KB Paper II420 KB
Mining Engg. (Diploma)
MCQ1.3 MB Paper I433 KB Paper II429 KB
Nursing
MCQ Series A1.6 MB MCQ Series B1.6 MB Paper I367 KB Paper II332 KB
Pharmaceutical Science (Degree)
MCQ1.5 MB Paper I377 KB Paper II360 KB
Pharmaceutical Science (Diploma)
MCQ1.4 MB Paper I356 KB Paper II339 KB
Physics
MCQ1.7 MB Paper I367 KB Paper II398 KB
Printing Technology (Diploma)
MCQ1.4 MB Paper I321 KB Paper II336 KB
Sericulture
MCQ1.3 MB Paper I374 KB Paper II380 KB
Statistics
MCQ1.5 MB Paper I412 KB Paper II398 KB
Tourism
MCQ1.6 MB Paper I376 KB Paper II381 KB
Veterinary Science
MCQ1.7 MB Paper I351 KB Paper II355 KB
Zoology
MCQ1.1 MB Paper I305 KB Paper II287 KB

Earlier years (2015–2024)

Complete sets of papers for each year, kept by NPSC on Google Drive.

How to prepare

Our own advice, based on the official pattern and past papers above.

Where the marks are

400 of the 500 marks come from your own technical subject (MCQ 200 + two descriptive papers of 100). Your degree or diploma syllabus is the foundation - the CTSE subject syllabus tells you which parts of it to revise. The common English & GK paper is 100 marks and is the same for everyone, so a strong score there separates candidates with similar technical marks.

The MCQ paper: when to guess

Each right answer earns 2 marks and each wrong one loses a third of that (about 0.67). On average:

Blind guess among 4 options: worth 0 marks - no gain, only risk.
Ruled out 1 option: worth about +0.22 marks per question.
Ruled out 2 options: worth about +0.67 marks per question.
Answer when you can eliminate at least one option; leave pure guesses blank.

Descriptive Papers I and II

Open your subject's syllabus below and see how it is split between Paper I and Paper II - then plan revision by paper.
Solve the 2025 Papers I and II for your subject under exam time (3 hours each). Note which topics had long questions.
Write answers with labelled diagrams, formulas and worked steps where your subject uses them - examiners mark the method as well as the result.
Compare older years (2015–2024, below) to spot topics that come back again and again.

General English & GK in 3 hours

The 2025 paper had about 60 MCQs (GK and grammar) plus an essay, a précis and an amplification. Don't spend so long on the MCQs that the writing questions are rushed - together they are worth 40 marks.
Essay (20 marks, ~250 words): practise one a week on social and current themes - in 2025 the topics were climate change, mental health stigma, school counselling and social-media addiction among youth.
Précis (10 marks): reduce a passage to about one-third, in your own words, and always add a title.
Amplification (10 marks): turn a list of points into a connected paragraph of 100–125 words with a title.
General Knowledge (50 marks): current events of the past 12 months matter most - in 2025, several questions were on events from April 2025, just before the exam. Read a daily newspaper and revise monthly.

Latest notices for this exam

NPSC CTSE 2026 Mechanical (Diploma) Papers Cancelled - Re-exam on 21 Nov
NPSC · 28 Oct 2026

Official sources

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