CISF ASI Exam Pattern: Marks, Timing and Selection Stages

The CISF ASI exam pattern depends on the route. ASI (Stenographer) is a direct-recruitment post with a 100-mark objective paper, a qualifying skill test and physical and medical stages. ASI (Executive) is filled through the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, which has a longer 200-mark paper followed by physical tests and a medical examination.

This page lays out both patterns, the qualifying rules reported so far, how marks are used in merit and how to manage time in the paper. Every figure is from the last reported cycle and third-party summaries, because we could not open the official recruitment site while preparing it. Check the current notice before you finalise your strategy.

Table of Contents

• CISF ASI exam pattern at a glance

• ASI (Stenographer) written test pattern

• ASI (Executive) LDCE written test pattern

• Marking scheme and negative marking

• Qualifying marks

• What the pattern means for you

• Skill test, physical tests and medical examination

• How final merit is decided

• Time management and exam-day strategy

CISF ASI exam pattern at a glance

The order of stages can differ between notices. For example, some Steno cycles are reported to call candidates for physical standards before the written test, and others after it.

ASI (Stenographer) written test pattern

The paper is objective, in English and Hindi, with a duration of 2 hours, and is reported to be at the Class 12 level. It was described as OMR or computer-based in the last reported cycle, so the mode is something to confirm in the notice.

ASI (Executive) LDCE written test pattern

The paper is a single objective paper of 3 hours 30 minutes. The 2020 cycle was reported as offline. Later cycles have used online applications, but we have not verified the mode of the paper itself.

Marking scheme and negative marking

• Marks per question: one mark each for the Steno paper, which has 100 questions for 100 marks. For LDCE, 200 questions for 200 marks implies one mark each, as reported.

• Negative marking: the last reported Steno notice had no negative marking. For LDCE we could not find a verified statement, so check the notice.

• Unattempted questions: no deduction is reported for leaving a question blank.

If the current notice has no negative marking, attempting every question is the correct strategy. If a deduction is added, a guess is only worth it when you can eliminate options.

Qualifying marks

These are qualifying thresholds, not selection marks. The LDCE sectional rule matters most: a strong total can still fail if you drop below the sectional minimum in even one section.

What the pattern means for you

• Steno gives you about 72 seconds per question. Reasoning and maths should take less, so you can spend more time on awareness and language.

• LDCE gives about 63 seconds per question. The paper is long, so stamina matters. Practise three-and-a-half-hour mocks at least a few times.

• Equal weight for each section. Each of the four parts carries the same marks, so ignoring one subject costs as much as ignoring any other.

• Sectional minimums raise the risk of one weak subject. Aspirants strong in reasoning but weak in English should fix the English section before polishing the strong one.

Older pages may still show Constable or Head Constable patterns under the ASI heading, so follow the official notification for the post you are applying to.

Skill test, physical tests and medical examination

Skill test for Stenographer

Candidates who clear the written test are called in merit order for dictation and transcription. Dictation is 10 minutes at 80 words per minute. Transcription is 50 minutes in English or 65 minutes in Hindi on a computer. This test is qualifying and does not add marks.

Physical Standard Test

The Steno standards reported are a height of 165 cm for men and 155 cm for women, relaxable to 162.5 cm and 150 cm for certain groups, and a chest of 77 to 82 cm with 5 cm expansion for men. For LDCE, earlier cycles report 170 cm for men and 157 cm for women in the unreserved category.

Physical Efficiency Test for LDCE

These are from the 2020 LDCE notice as reported by a third-party source and are not verified for the current cycle.

Medical examination

Candidates on the category-wise merit list, matched to the vacancies, are called for a detailed medical examination by a medical board. Fitness failure at this stage ends the candidature, so get routine checks done early, especially eyesight and hearing.

How final merit is decided

For LDCE, final merit is reported to depend on the written score and performance in the later stages against vacancies, category-wise. For Steno, qualifying stages such as the skill test and medical examination do not add marks, and merit is based on the written score. CISF has not published a worked weightage example that we could verify, so we do not give one. Treat the written test as the single most important lever.

Time management and exam-day strategy

1. Take your best section first. Early confidence helps, and you can bank marks quickly.

2. Set section time caps. For the Steno paper, aim for about 20 minutes for reasoning, 25 for maths, 20 for awareness and 20 for language, which leaves 35 minutes to revisit marked questions.

3. Do not stay stuck. Mark a question and move on after 90 seconds.

4. Use the final 10 minutes for checking. Check OMR bubbling or the review screen, not new questions.

5. Practise under the real clock. Testkart timed mock tests for CISF ASI let you rehearse these caps and review accuracy by section afterwards.

Official notices and the candidate login are available on the https://cisfrecruitment.gov.in/ website.