Are you attending OAS coaching in Bhubaneswar? You can attempt both UPSC CSE and Odisha Administrative Services exam with the same preparation. One is for all-India cadre and the other is for recruitment of Odisha government departments and agencies. The same applies to people attending WBCS coaching in Kolkata as they can leverage their preparation for state and central civil services exam. This article discusses how to make the most out of OAS or WBCS preparation.
What is the Odisha Administrative Services Exam?
Odisha Administrative Services is one of the prestigious state-level civil services exams for recruiting group-A and group-B officers in various state government departments in Odisha. In 2023, there were 405 vacancies. State government departments and services recruiting officers through OPSC in 2023 were:
- Odisha Finance Service Group-A (Junior Branch)
- Odisha Employment Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Police Service Group–A (Junior Branch)
- Odisha Co-operative Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Administrative Service Group-A (Junior Branch)
- Odisha Co-operative Audit Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Taxation & Accounts Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Revenue Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Tourism Service (Group-B)
- Odisha Labor Service (Group-B)
Remuneration for OAS officers
As per the latest pay commission data, remuneration for a junior rank OAS officer varies from Rs 44,700/- to 75,000/-. This includes basic pay, along with:
- Dearness allowance
- Grade pay
- Travel allowance
- Medical allowance
- Medical insurance
- Leave travel deductions
Eligibility for appearing in OAS
Almost every state government public services commission follows UPSC in structuring and designing their administrative services, with a few state-specific regulations, like domicile and language restrictions. Candidates who want to appear in Odisha Administrative Services must comply with the following eligibility criteria:
- Bachelor’s degree from a UGC-recognized university
- Indian citizenship
- Odisha domicile
What is the selection process?
OPSC conducts OAS exam and recruits junior officers through a 3-stage selection procedure. These 3 stages are:
- OAS Prelims
- Mains
- Personal interview round
OAS Prelims: The aim of the Prelims is to eliminate candidates. After all, thousands of candidates appear in Prelims for a few hundred vacancies. Besides, conducting exams on Mains papers is a lot more expensive and time consuming. So, the OPSC intends to choose people who are the most suitable for administrative jobs, so that only capable aspirants can appear in Mains. However, a candidate’s failure to clear Prelims does not show a lack of capability. Do you have the right determination, dedication and attitude to work hard? You can definitely clear the OAS Prelims paper. What the OPSC checks at Prelims is candidates’ general awareness and administrative aptitude.
Mains: This stage comprises exams on 9 papers. These include languages (2 papers), compulsory subjects (5 papers) and optional subjects (2 papers). What the OPSC aims to assess through Mains papers is candidates’ critical analysis and language skills. Each of the compulsory and optional papers includes broad answer type questions. A candidate needs to frame answers and write precisely.
Personal Interview: This is the last round, and it tests if a candidate’s personality matches with an OAS officer’s job responsibility.
What is the WBCS exam? What are its features?
Like the UPSC CSE, the Public Service Commission of West Bengal conducts WBCS or The West Bengal Civil Services Exam (WBCS) every year for recruiting to officer-ranking administrative positions in the state government services, like,
- West Bengal Civil Service (Executive)
- West Bengal Co-operative Service
- West Bengal Labor Service
- West Bengal Food and Supplies Service
- West Bengal Employment Service
- West Bengal Police Service
- West Bengal Commercial Tax Service
The key features of WBCS are:
- No mandatory domicile certificate requirement – Many state government public services commissions require candidates to be domicile of the respective states to appear in the provincial civil services exam. However, this is not the case with WBPSC, as candidates willing to appear in WBCS do not have to be a domicile of the state. So, candidates from Odisha, Bihar often attempt the WBCS exam. However, candidates need to have proficiency in any of the Bengali/Urdu/Hindi/Santalithe/Nepali language along with English for Paper-I in Mains.
- UPSC-like exam pattern – Alike OAS, the WBPSC mostly follows the UPSC structure and exam pattern for conducting the West Bengal Civil Services exam. Though there are a few minor differences. So, candidates who are preparing for IAS and attempting UPSC test series can also confidently appear in the WBCS exam. Similarly, candidates who are attending WBCS coaching in Kolkata can easily appear in the IAS with a few additional preparations.
- Eligibility criteria: The WBPSC allows graduate candidates to appear in WBCS till 36 years for Group A, B and C position. For Group-D positions, the age limit is 39 years. So, aspirants can begin their preparation while studying in college and attempt WBCS multiple times. It increases chances of success.
How is both OAS and WBCS preparation different from IAS preparation?
Majority of OAS, WBCS and IAS syllabus are similar. Exam patterns are also similar as the Prelims questions are of objective type, while Mains are made of description answer type questions. If you are attending OAS coaching in Bhubaneswar and want to appear in IAS, it is important to learn extra preparation that you might require.
- Paper-II of UPSC CSE Prelims – Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) is a unique feature of IAS and this is a qualifying paper in Prelims. It means if you cannot score 33%, the examiner will not check your Paper-I. So, you need to prepare by answering aptitude questions to clear IAS Prelims.
- Emphasis on international relations – As IAS is for recruiting to foreign services and other all-India cadre, UPSC gives more emphasis to international relations. Provincial civil services exams do not emphasize so much on these topics.
- Current affairs related global events – Global events with implication to Indian polity, economy and international relations of our country get strong emphasis in UPSC CSE.
- Strong emphasis on Indian heritage – OAS and WBCS exams often restrict history questions to the history of the respective state. The scope of the history question in the IAS is the entire Indian subcontinent.
- More conceptual depth in each subject – For the same subject, you need better conceptual clarity for answering UPSC questions effectively.
Bottom-line
So, if you are dedicated and determined, an OAS coaching in Bhubaneswar can also prepare you for success in the IAS. The best way to handle both the exams is to attempt the respective test series. Check https://aptiplus.in/ for the latest update on OAS, UPSC and WBCS test series programs.