SSC GD Constable
Recruits Constables (General Duty) into the Central Armed Police Forces — BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB — plus the Secretariat Security Force, Narcotics Control Bureau and Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles. It is the largest uniformed-services recruitment in the country by applications.
Eligibility
Matriculation (Class 10) pass from a recognised board. Age 18–23 years as on the notified cutoff date, with relaxations for reserved categories. Candidates must also meet the forces' physical standards (height, chest for men) and medical criteria, tested after the written exam.
Age limit: 18–23 years
Exam pattern
Computer-based exam of 80 questions, 160 marks, in 60 minutes — 20 questions each from General Intelligence & Reasoning, GK & General Awareness, Elementary Mathematics, and English/Hindi; 2 marks per question with minus 0.25 per wrong answer; the paper is offered in Hindi, English and 13 regional languages. Qualifiers then face the Physical Efficiency Test (5 km run in 24 minutes for men; 1.6 km in 8½ minutes for women), Physical Standard Test, detailed medical examination and document verification. Final merit is based on the written marks.
Syllabus at a glance
Matriculation-level throughout: elementary arithmetic (percentages, ratio, averages, mensuration), basic reasoning (analogies, series, coding-decoding), General Awareness with a static-GK core (polity, history, geography, sports, awards) plus everyday current affairs, and simple English or Hindi comprehension and grammar.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Notification (2027 cycle) | 30 Sep 2026 (per official SSC calendar 2026-27; calendar dates have slipped this year) | expected |
| Application window | 30 Sep – 31 Oct 2026 (per calendar) | expected |
| Computer-based exam | Jan–Feb 2027 | expected |
| PET/PST (physical tests) | Mid-2027 | tba |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Lucent's General Knowledge — Binay Karna & Manwendra Mukul
- Fast Track Objective Arithmetic — Rajesh Verma
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning — R.S. Aggarwal
- Kiran's SSC GD Constable Solved Papers — Kiran Prakashan
- Objective General English — S.P. Bakshi
How toppers play it
- Final merit rests on the 60-minute written paper alone (physicals are only qualifying), and cutoffs vary sharply by home state and category because vacancies are state-quota based — study your own state's past cutoffs to set a target score.
- With 2-mark questions and only minus 0.25 per error, the expected value of an educated guess is positive — attempt aggressively after eliminating one option.
- Reasoning and elementary maths are the score-maximising sections; drill them to near-100% accuracy since GK is less controllable.
- Pick your paper language deliberately — the exam is offered in 13 regional languages besides Hindi and English, and comprehension speed in your strongest language buys minutes.
- Start running early: the 5 km/24-minute (men) or 1.6 km/8½-minute (women) PET eliminates a large share of written-exam qualifiers every cycle.