Nagaland overhauls civil services exam pattern
Reported by Bhadra Gogoi
Dimapur: The Nagaland government has effected a major overhaul of the examination pattern and syllabus for Nagaland Civil Service (NCS), Nagaland Police Service (NPS), Nagaland Secretariat Service (NSS) and Allied Services examinations by amending the Nagaland Public Service Commission (State Civil & Other Services) Recruitment Rules, 2008.
The revised rules broadly align the state’s examination structure with the UPSC Civil Services Examination while incorporating Nagaland-specific components.
The amendments titled the Nagaland Public Service Commission (State Civil & Other Services) Recruitment (11th Amendment) Rules, 2026, will come into force prospectively from the next recruitment cycle or advertisement, according to a state personnel & administrative reforms department (Personnel B Branch) notification, dated June 4.
The notification said the Preliminary Examination, under the amended Rule 14(1), will consist of a single objective-type paper carrying 200 marks with 100 multiple-choice questions.
As per the new rules, negative marking has been introduced, with one-third of the marks allotted to a question deducted for every incorrect answer. The examination will be of two hours' duration.
The preliminary examination syllabus covers general science, history of India and Nagaland, geography, Indian polity and economy, the Indian national movement, general mental ability and current events.
The Main Examination has been restructured into six papers carrying a total of 1,200 marks.
A new paper, General Studies-Nagaland, has also been introduced, focusing on the state's history, culture, geography, economy, polity and governance, society, and current affairs.