ASRB AO Syllabus: Tier-I and Tier-II Topics for AO and F&AO

The ASRB AO syllabus covers three stages: a qualifying objective Tier-I, four descriptive Tier-II papers and a structured interview. The Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) recruits Administrative Officers (AO) and Finance and Accounts Officers (F&AO) for ICAR institutes, and the two posts share Tier-I and the first two Tier-II papers.

ASRB names the tests and gives a short scope for each in its notification, but it does not publish a topic-wise syllabus. The topic lists below are built from the scope in the 2021 notification (F.No. 2(2)/2021-Exam.II, the latest AO and F&AO advertisement we could verify) and from the kind of questions these papers ask. Use them as a working checklist, not as an official list. You can read the original scope in the official notification.

Table of Contents

Syllabus at a glance

Key changes to know

• Tier-I is qualifying only: its marks are not added to final merit, so it is a hurdle rather than a scoring stage.

• Tier-II is descriptive: every paper needs written answers, not option selection.

• Paper IV differs by post: AO candidates take Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude, while F&AO candidates take Commerce and Business Economics.

• Older pages may mislead: some sites show only the AO papers for both posts, so confirm against the notification.

Tier-I syllabus

Tier-I has four sections of 50 questions each, with one-third negative marking. Language Comprehension can be attempted in Hindi or English, as chosen in the application.

General Knowledge and reasoning decide most Tier-I outcomes for candidates who are comfortable with arithmetic. Keep a separate list of ICAR facts, such as its structure, institutes and major schemes, because these are specific to this exam and easy to miss.

Tier-II syllabus

Paper I: General Awareness (150 marks)

• History and culture: major phases of Indian history, freedom movement, art and culture.

• Geography: physical, economic and social geography with a focus on India.

• Economy and society: basic economic concepts, agriculture and rural development, social issues.

• Science and technology: everyday science and developments relevant to agriculture and research.

Paper II: Constitution, Polity, Governance and Social Justice (150 marks)

• Constitution: Preamble, fundamental rights, directive principles, amendments.

• Institutions: Parliament, executive, Judiciary and constitutional bodies.

• Governance: transparency, accountability, e-governance and public administration basics.

• Social justice: welfare schemes for vulnerable sections and the role of ICAR in rural and farm development.

Paper III: Essay writing

AO candidates write two essays of 75 marks each, for 150 marks. F&AO candidates write essays totalling 100 marks. Topics come from current affairs and social, economic and political themes. Practise a clear structure of introduction, three or four arguments and a short conclusion.

Paper IV for AO: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude (150 marks)

• Ethics and human values: attitude, emotional intelligence, moral reasoning.

• Public service values: probity in governance, integrity, impartiality.

• Case studies: short scenarios that test judgement and decision-making.

Paper IV for F&AO: Commerce and Business Economics (200 marks)

Candidates with a commerce background can finish this paper's coverage quickly, and others should plan extra weeks for accounting practice.

Overlap between stages

Interview

The notification does not publish a syllabus for the structured interview. It is scored out of 100 on heads such as qualification, in-depth subject knowledge, general awareness, personality, working knowledge of computers and aptitude. Prepare your graduation subjects, the work of ICAR, current affairs and basic computer skills.

How to cover the syllabus

1. Weeks 1 to 4: finish the foundation of polity, Constitution and economy, and start a daily newspaper habit.

2. Weeks 5 to 8: cover history, geography and science, and begin arithmetic and reasoning drills for 45 minutes a day.

3. Weeks 9 to 12: start Paper IV for your post and write one essay and two short answers a week.

4. Final phase: take full-length timed tests, analyse each attempt on the same day and revise from an error log.

Educators publish tests, courses and notes on Testkart, and the pages linked here show what is currently available for this exam. The ASRB AO overview page shows how the syllabus fits into the full selection process.