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BPSC 7 min readMay 6, 2026

BPSC Prelims – What the PYQ Data Reveals About High-Weight Topics

We analysed years of BPSC Prelims papers to surface the categories and subtopics that keep returning. Here is a data-backed look at where your marks are most likely hiding.

What the PYQs Actually Show

BPSC Prelims (General Studies) is a single-paper exam with 150 questions covering History, Polity, Geography, Economics, Science, Current Affairs, and Bihar-specific GK. The paper has a consistent personality — certain categories carry outsized weight year after year.

Topic Weight: Where the Questions Actually Come From

Across recent BPSC papers, History consistently accounts for roughly 20–25% of questions, with Polity and Geography each contributing around 15–18%. Bihar-specific GK (state history, geography, welfare schemes) is a reliable 10–12% block. Current Affairs has steadily climbed from ~8% to ~14% over five years. Economics and Science fill the remainder.

Subtopic Spotlight: A Preview

Within History, Modern India (freedom movement, social reform) accounts for roughly 40% of all history questions in recent BPSC papers. Ancient Indian civilisations and the Maurya/Gupta periods together contribute about 30%. Medieval India carries less weight — around 15–20% of the history section.

Within Polity, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles together make up nearly 35% of the polity questions. Constitutional bodies (Election Commission, CAG, Finance Commission) appear consistently. Bihar-specific governance — Panchayati Raj, state legislature — is a separate high-frequency cluster.
pscprep.ai tracks subtopic-level frequency for every topic in BPSC — not just which subjects are heavy, but which specific subtopics have appeared most, which are trending up, and which you can safely deprioritise. Sign in free (no credit card) to see the full subtopic breakdown for your exam.

Year-over-Year Trend Shifts

Current Affairs weight has nearly doubled in BPSC over the last five years. Bihar-specific questions have shifted from purely factual (capitals, rivers) to scheme-based and policy-oriented. Science questions increasingly lean towards applied science and technology in daily life rather than textbook theory.

How to Use This in Your Prep

Start with Modern India and Polity fundamentals — they together cover nearly a third of the paper. Allocate dedicated time to Bihar GK weekly, not just before the exam. For Current Affairs, focus on the last 12 months of national and state events. Use PYQ attempts on pscprep.ai to identify your personal weak subtopics, then let the planner adjust your weekly schedule accordingly.

Ready to see the full BPSC subtopic map? Attempt past papers online on pscprep.ai and unlock topic-wise analytics, year-over-year trends, and a study plan that adapts to your weak areas — all free to start.

Every supported State PCS exam has free public pages to preview how previous-year papers are organized, plus topic-weightage trend snapshots derived from the same corpus. Log in to run timed attempts and unlock full post-attempt analytics.

Start free — full PYQ attempts + insights in-app →