CAPF AC Exam is conducted by Union Public Service Commission, held for recruitment in Police Forces such as Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), National Security Guard (NSG), and Assam Rifles(AR).

Official notification can be accessed through this link here -

UPSC CAPF 2021 Important Dates

Eligibility Criteria for UPSC CAPF 2021

Nationality :

• Citizen of India
• Citizen of Bhutan/Nepal with a valid certificate by the Indian govt.

Sex: Both Male and Female candidates are eligible for appointment to the post of Assistant Commandants.

Age Limit :

• A candidate must have attained the age of 20 years and must not have attained the age of 25 years as of 1st August 2021.
• The upper age limit for the reserved categories will be relaxable as per the government norms.

Relaxation of upper age limit

Application Fee for UPSC CAPF 2021

Candidates are required to pay a nominal fee of ₹ 200.

Female/SC/ST Candidates are exempted from payment of the fee.

How to Apply for UPSC CAPF 2021

1. Visit the website https://www. upsconline.nic.in.
2. Choose the application for desired post.
3. Fill in your particulars carefully.
4. Upload a clear, scanned copy of your photograph and an acceptable photo identity card document along with your signature.
5. Select the Examination Centre and agree to the declaration after reading the terms and conditions.
6. The application fee payment can be made through any one of the modes - online, through the Credit/Debit Card/Net banking facility of any Bank, or by cash challan in SBI bank.
7. Once done, take the printout of the application form.
8. You will receive an auto-generated email message on your registered email-id on the successful completion of your complete application.

UPSC CAPF 2021 Admit Card

UPSC has announced the dates for CAPF AC Written Examination 2021, which 8th August 2021. The examination conducting body usually releases admit cards 15-20 days before the commencement of the exam. The admit card for UPSC CAPF AC 2021 is expected to be released in the second week of July.

If you have applied for UPSC CAPF AC Examination 2021, you can download your admit card from the official website by entering your registration number and password on the portal -

1. Visit the official website here.
2. Under the "What's new" column, you will find the links for the latest updates and releases.
3. You will find the direct link to access UPSC CAPF AC 2021 under this column when it is released.
4. Click on the link, and you will see a page of important instructions for the candidates. Read the instructions carefully and take a printout of the page for reference.
5. After accepting the terms, enter your details into the e-Admit card portal.
6. Enter your registration ID/Roll number and password and submit.
7. The portal will direct you to your e-Admit card page. Verify the validity of your details mentioned in the admit card.
8. Take a printout of your e-Admit card.
9. You will be asked to produce the admit card to enter the CAPF AC 2021 exam hall.

UPSC CAPF 2021 Vacancy

The selection process for UPSC CAPF 2021

The Selection Procedure consists of three stages :

1. Written Examination.
2. Physical Efficiency test
3. Personal Interview

Stage 1: Written Examination

Paper I: General Ability and Intelligence

Description - Objective-type questions include general science and mental ability, logical reasoning, Indian economy, politics, and history for 250 marks.

Duration - 2 hours (Morning shift)

Paper-II: General Studies, Essay, and Comprehension

Description- Essay writing in English/Hindi (language is optional) and precise writing, comprehension components, and other communications/language skills for 200 marks.

Duration - 3 hours (Afternoon shift)

Stage 2: Physical Efficiency Tests and Medical Standards Tests

The candidates who complete the physical standard tests are eligible to undergo medical standard tests to check the standards specified by the central armed police forces.

Stage 3: Personal Interview

Candidates who meet the requirements of medical standard tests will be called for a Personality Test which accounts for a total of 150 marks.

Final Selection :

The preliminary round of selection is based on the evaluation of paper-I. Candidates who clear Paper-I will be eligible to appear for paper II.

If two candidates have equal scores in the final aggregate total, the older candidate will be given preference in the rank.

The merit list will be released based on the candidate's candidate's performance in the Written Examination and Interview/Personality Test.

Exam Pattern for UPSC CAPF 2021

Written exam structure

Syllabus for UPSC CAPF 2021

Syllabus for Written examination

Paper I: General Ability and Intelligence

This section incorporates the following topics-

1. General Mental Ability - logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude, numerical ability, and data interpretation skills are tested.

2. General Science - includes questions from general awareness, scientific thinking, comprehension, and appreciation of scientific phenomena in everyday life, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Environmental Science.

3. Current Events - The questions in this section are designed to test the candidates' knowledge and awareness of current events of national and international importance in various disciplines like culture, music, arts, literature, sports, governance, societal and developmental issues, industry, business, globalization, and major interactions among nations.

4. Indian Polity and Economy - The questions aim to test the candidates' knowledge of the Country's political system, Constitution, social systems, public administration, and economic development. Regional and international security issues, and human rights concerns will also be included.

5. History of India - conceptualization of the Social, economic, and political aspects of Indian history, including the areas of growth of nationalism and freedom movement, is expected.

6. Indian and World Geography - The questions cover the physical, social and economic aspects of the geography of India and the World.

Paper-II: General Studies, Essay, and Comprehension

Part-A – 80 Marks

Description - Essay questions which are to be answered in long narrative form Common topics include - modern Indian history, especially of the freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability.

Part-B – 120 Marks

Description - Comprehension, precise writing, other communications, and English language skills will be assessed.

UPSC CAPF 2021 Results

The CAPF Merit list 2020 is declared after every stage of the exam to announce the candidates who have succeeded in clearing the exam.

After completing stage 1 of the selection process, which is the written examination, the UPSC will discover the Answer key for objective-type questions.

UPSC will release cut-off marks for paper-I and paper-II of CAPF AC Written examination on the official website under the "Examination" section. Candidates who score greater or equal to the cut off marks in each paper will be eligible for the next round of selection.

A person who is selected for CAPF (AC) can join any one of the following forces

1. Border Security Force
2. Central Reserve Police Force
3. Central Industrial Security Force
4. Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force
5. Sashastra Seema Bal

The candidates making it to the merit list for written examination qualify for Physical efficiency tests. A few weeks after the physical efficiency tests are conducted, the UPSC will release a list of candidates clearing the medical standard tests. These candidates will qualify for the final round of selection.

The Final Merit list will comprise the names of the candidates who have qualified in the interview and made it to the office.

UPSC CAPF 2021 Cut off

The minimum qualifying marks in Paper-I is 25%, and in Paper-II, it is 20% for Gen/OBC/SC/ST candidates. The minimum qualifying percentage for ex-servicemen is 10%. Candidates are required to score more than the minimum qualifying marks to be eligible for the next round. The UPSC will release the cut-off marks for CAPF AC 2021 after conducting the written exam throughout the country. The list is expected to be released in September. You can find the list on the official UPSC website. Based on this years cut-off, UPSC will draw a merit list of candidates qualifying for the next round.

Analysing the cut-off trends of previous years suggests that the cut-off percentage in written examination for the general and OBC category is 46%, for SC/ST, it is 42%, and for ex-servicemen, it is 16% .

UPSC CAPF Job Profile

There is an opportunity for growth through every step of this job. The road entails lots of training and challenges. The job profile for various forces under CAPF is given below-

Border Security Force (BSF)

The BSF provides security to the population living near the border areas. The responsibilities of a BSF Cadet include

• Prevention of trans-border crimes
• Prevention of entry of unauthorized people across the border and other illegal activities
• During Wartime, challenges arise exceptionally. The assistant commandments carry out intelligence tasks such as carrying out raids, holding ground in anticipation of an attack, devising a safe evacuation of people in danger, and doing damage control.
• Their duties also include guarding prisoners of war and discharge anti-filtration duties during Wartime.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRP)

The CRPF function in cities and towns and have the following duties.

• control crowds
• counter militancy operations
• deal with left-wing extremism
• Protect vital installations and VIPS.
• In case of a natural calamity, they are expected to undertake rescue operations and triage the injured.
• They maintain order among all levels of organisation in times of aggression.

Indian-Tibetian Border Police (ITBP)

The ITBP are responsible for

• the prevention of illegal smuggling, illegal immigration across the border
• Keeping vigil on the northern borders of the country and maintaining peace.
• Keeping a check on border violations.

Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB)

SSB is responsible for

• Preventing trans-border crimes, smuggling and other illegal activities.
• Ensuring there are no unauthorised movements across the border.
• Conducting civic action programmes.

UPSC CAPF 2021 Salary Information

The salary for the posts of Assistant Commandant will be ₹ 56,100 - ₹ 1,77,500/-.

Preparation tips for UPSC CAPF 2021

• Previous years question papers - link to last year's papers of CAPF AC are given further below in the article. Solve these papers to get an idea of the pattern and type of questions. The UPSC CDS Exam also has similar questions.
• For general awareness, make a habit of reading newspapers every day. The Hindu and Indian Express are recommended. Make a note of important events as you go.
• For social sciences, refer to NCERT textbooks as the topics are given in concise points.
• Essay Writing - this part of paper-II takes a lot of time. You are to write a total of 4 essays with a total of 1200 words. Before tackling an article, make a note of points you want to include in your report. Practise writing essays as you have to complete the rest of the questions in the stipulated time.
• Debate Writing - in this section, you are asked to write for or against a motion. Here again, jot down the pros and cons before structuring the debate. Dedicate the first paragraph for the motion and the next against the motion.
• Report Writing - prepare for report writing while you are preparing for essay writing. Allot 30 minutes during the test for report writing.
• Precise Writing - this section entails writing a summary of the given paragraph. Read the paragraph carefully and note down the important points mentioned. It would be best if you captured the essence of the paragraph in a few lines. Pick out a suitable title for the paragraph. Spend no more than 25 minutes on this section.
• Comprehension - questions will be asked based on a passage. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions based only on the given passage. Do not include your opinions or knowledge about the subject. This section should not take more than 15 minutes.

Question Papers

Study plan for UPSC CAPF 2021

Syllabus: Covering all the topics in the syllabus is very important. The list is your guide. Keep the list of topics always with you and cross off the items on the list as you proceed.

Making notes: make notes as you proceed through the list. These notes should be crisp and to the point. Include mindmaps and flowcharts wherever appropriate. Use these notes for revision.

Practice: Questions on general English, history, geography, politics etc., are usually repetitive. Solve old question papers and get plenty of course with such questions.

Selecting the suitable study material: recommended books for the UPSC CAPF AC are given in the article. Refer to the books for your preparation. NCERT textbooks cover most of the topics for the CAPF AC exam. For other topics and practice, refer to the books recommended below IES and ISS examination are given below in this article. Refer to your textbooks and materials from grad school for fundamentals, as you'll already be familiar with the structure and concepts.

Revision: dedicate the last five days before the exam to go through your notes and practise more questions.

Recommended books for UPSC CAPF 2021

Economics

Politics and International Relations

History

Geography

English Language and Comprehension

Hope you found all the information you were looking for about UPSC CAPF AC Examination 2021. Stay updated with the latest news about the exam and plan your preparation accordingly. All the best!