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UPSC ADVT. NO. 52/2026 · OFFICIAL SYLLABUS
UPSC EPFO APFC 2026
Syllabus & Exam Pattern
The syllabus of the Test broadly comprises nine topics. Open each official head for the study breakdown. Recruitment Test: 120 questions, 2 hours, 20 December 2026.
Questions120Objective · English & Hindi
Duration2 hoursPen and paper
Negative marking1/3Of the marks for that question
Merit400RT 300 (75%) + Interview 100 (25%)
Exam pattern
How the APFC test is conducted
Pattern used with Special Advertisement No. 52/2026. Confirm live instructions on upsconline.nic.in/ora.
| Stage | What it is | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment Test | One objective paper covering the nine official topics. 120 questions. 2 hours. English and Hindi. 1/3 negative marking. 20 December 2026, pen and paper. | 300 · 75% |
| Interview | Personality test after the written shortlist. | 100 · 25% |
| Final merit | Combined Recruitment Test and Interview score. | 400 |
Official notification wording
The syllabus of the Test broadly comprises the following topics
Heads i–ix are quoted from the notification. Everything inside a dropdown is a study breakdown of that head — not a second official list. UPSC does not publish a topic-wise mark split. All dropdown text stays in the HTML so search engines and AI crawlers can read it when the details are open or closed.
i. General EnglishTo evaluate a candidate’s understanding of English language & workman-like use of words.
Comprehension and use
- Reading comprehension and unseen passages
- Theme, tone and conclusion
- Cloze test and fill in the blanks
- Sentence completion and passage completion
- Sentence rearrangement / para jumbles
- Précis — compressing a passage without losing sense
Grammar
- Parts of speech and sentence structure
- Subject–verb agreement
- Tenses and modals
- Verbs, adverbs, adjectives, determiners
- Articles, prepositions, conjunctions
- Active and passive voice
- Spotting and correcting errors
Vocabulary
- Synonyms and antonyms
- Idioms and phrases
- One-word substitution
- Word formation
- Confusable pairs used in office English
ii. Indian Culture, Heritage and Freedom MovementsArt, architecture, thought, reform and the national struggle.
Culture and heritage
- Stone Age and Harappan / Indus Valley Civilisation
- Early and Later Vedic society
- Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha
- Mauryan state; Ashoka and Dhamma
- Post-Mauryan phase: Shungas, Kanvas, Satavahanas, Kushanas
- Gupta age — literature, science, art
- Sangam and early Tamilakam
- Delhi Sultanate and Mughal cultural imprint
- Vijayanagara and temple architecture, including Nagara
- Sculpture, painting, Hindustani and Carnatic music, dance
- Languages, literature and early Buddhist iconography
- Bhakti and Sufi streams; Kabir; Guru Nanak
Freedom movements
- Advent of Europeans and British expansion
- Revolt of 1857
- Socio-religious reform: Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj and later reformers
- Rise of nationalism and the Indian National Congress
- Moderate and extremist phases
- Gandhian mass movements
- Revolutionary strands; role of women; the press
- Peasant and tribal movements
- 1940–47, Independence, Partition, integration of states
iii. Developmental Issues and Present Trends in Indian EconomyGrowth, inclusion, labour markets, fiscal and social policy.
Developmental issues
- Meaning of development and human development
- GDP, GNP, NNP and measurement of growth
- Poverty, inequality, inclusive growth
- Unemployment and labour-market trends
- Human Development Index
- Regional imbalance
- Population: fertility, mortality, migration, ageing
- Agriculture, MSME, industry and services as constraints
- Education, health and skilling
Present trends
- Demand, supply and elasticity
- Inflation — CPI, WPI
- Fiscal policy, Union Budget, deficits
- Monetary policy and RBI instruments
- Banking, NBFCs, financial system
- Finance Commission
- 1991 reforms and opening of the economy
- Balance of payments, FDI / FII, IMF–World Bank–WTO
- Financial inclusion, digital public infrastructure, gig work
- Economic history in outline; colonial land revenue
iv. Governance and Constitution of IndiaConstitutional scheme, rights, federalism and public institutions.
Constitution
- Making and sources of the Constitution
- Preamble
- Union and citizenship
- Fundamental Rights (Articles 12–35)
- Directive Principles of State Policy
- Fundamental Duties
- Amendment process and basic structure
- Constitutional developments before 1950
Organs of the state
- Union Executive
- Parliament — structure, sessions, devices
- State Executive and State Legislature
- Judiciary
- Centre–State relations
Governance
- Constitutional bodies: UPSC, Election Commission, Finance Commission, CAG and others
- Statutory and executive bodies in governance questions
- Local government and Panchayati Raj
- Public policy cycle
- Accountability, transparency and RTI
- Public administration themes tied to development
Preamble · Fundamental Rights · Finance Commission · Public administration
v. General Science and Basic Knowledge of Computer ApplicationsEveryday science and office-level computing.
General science
- Physics: units, motion, force, gravitation, work and energy, heat, waves, light, electricity and magnetism, atoms and nuclei, semiconductors
- Chemistry: matter, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, metals and non-metals, bonding, environmental chemistry, chemistry in daily life, energy sources
- Biology: cell and tissue, food and nutrition, organ systems, health and disease, immunity
- Applied headlines: space programme, nuclear and bio-technology, ICT
vi. Elementary Mathematics, Statistics and General Mental AbilityArithmetic, data and reasoning under time pressure.
Elementary mathematics
- Number system, LCM, HCF, fractions, decimals
- Simplification
- Percentage, ratio and proportion, average
- Mixture and alligation
- Profit and loss
- Simple and compound interest
- Time and work; pipes and cisterns
- Time, speed and distance; boats and streams
- Mensuration (2D and 3D)
- Data interpretation
Statistics
- Collection and display of data
- Mean, median, mode
- Dispersion and standard deviation
- Elementary probability
- Correlation at a basic level
General mental ability
- Analogy, classification, series
- Coding–decoding
- Blood relations
- Direction sense and seating
- Ranking and order
- Syllogism and Venn diagrams
- Clock, calendar, dice, cube
- Mathematical operations and arithmetical reasoning
Percentages · Interest · Time and work · TSD
vii. Industrial Relations, Labour Codes and Social Security in India High weightCodes, EPF, ESI, industrial relations and social security.
Industrial relations
- Meaning of IR; Indian labour force
- Trade unions — history, recognition, role
- Collective bargaining
- Disputes, strikes, lockouts, grievance machinery
- Workers’ participation in management
- Labour welfare, wages, industrial health and safety
- ILO conventions ratified by India
Labour Codes
- Code on Wages, 2019
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Code on Social Security, 2020
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
- What each Code subsumed from older Central Acts
Older Acts used to read the Codes
- Trade Unions Act, 1926
- Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
- Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
- Payment of Wages Act, 1936; Minimum Wages Act, 1948
- Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
- Factories Act, 1948; Mines Act, 1952; Plantation Labour Act, 1951
- Contract Labour Act, 1970; Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
- Child Labour Act, 1986; Bonded Labour Act, 1976
Social security in India
- Idea of social security and its constitutional backing
- Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
- EPF Scheme, EPS, EDLI
- Role and functions of EPFO
- Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 and ESIC
- Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
- Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
- Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923
- Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008
- Pension and retirement scheme types
- Schemes for women, elderly, PwD, tribals, gig and unorganised workers
Labour Laws in India · Social Security Code · EPF Act · Labour MCQs
viii. Principles of Accountancy, Auditing and Insurance High weightFirst principles, then company accounts, audit and insurance.
Accountancy
- Meaning, objectives and branches of accounting
- Accounting as a financial information system
- Principles, conventions, terminology
- Fundamental accounting assumptions (AS-1)
- Capital versus revenue; profit, loss, depreciation
- Accounting equation; journal, ledger, cash book
- Trial balance and errors
- Bills of exchange
- Final accounts: trading, P&L, balance sheet
- Partnership accounts
- Company accounts and share capital
- Ratio analysis
- Cash-flow and fund-flow statements
- Accounting Standards; Ind AS / IFRS in outline
Auditing
- Meaning, objectives and usefulness of audit
- Internal and external audit
- Internal control
- Audit procedures and evidence
Insurance
- Idea of insurance and risk
- Principles: utmost good faith, insurable interest, indemnity, subrogation, causa proxima
- Life and general insurance
- Insurance as a social-security instrument
- EDLI and related EPFO insurance in outline
ix. Current Events of National and International ImportanceLabour, economy, governance and world affairs with an APFC bias.
National
- Labour Ministry, EPFO, ESIC and Code-implementation news
- Union Budget and Economic Survey headlines
- Social-security and employment schemes
- Constitutional and institutional appointments
- Major court holdings on labour and social security
- Reports that feed economy and labour questions
International
- ILO, IMF, World Bank, WTO items that touch India
- Globalisation and labour-mobility headlines
- Climate and development summits when they change policy at home
High-weight labels on topics vii and viii follow CrackTarget’s existing APFC analysis. They are not official mark shares.
Read the official head. Open the dropdown. Practise.
Tag every miss to one of the nine topics. Then take a free mock on the 120-question pattern.
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