DSSSB ASO Syllabus 2026: Tier I and Tier II Topics

The DSSSB ASO syllabus covers the subjects tested in the two-tier exam for Grade-II (GNCTDSS), or Assistant Section Officer, conducted by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board. For the 2026 cycle (Advertisement No. 01/2026, Post Code 804/26), Tier I tests five objective subjects, and Tier II adds Computer Proficiency and a descriptive English paper.

DSSSB's notification names the sections and marks, but it gives only broad subject heads rather than a detailed chapter list. The topic lists below are built from the official scheme and from the questions DSSSB has asked in previous Grade-II and ASO papers. Use them as a working checklist, not as an official list. This page also shows what to start with, what overlaps between tiers and how to plan your coverage week by week.

Table of Contents

DSSSB ASO Syllabus at a Glance

Key Points to Know Before You Start

• Hindi appears only in Tier I: It carries 40 marks there and is dropped in Tier II. Many candidates neglect it and fall short of the Tier I cut-off.

• Computer Proficiency appears only in Tier II: It replaces Hindi in Tier II Part I with the same 40 marks.

• The descriptive paper is in English: Essay, letter and precis are all written in English, and they carry 100 of the 300 Tier II marks.

• Negative marking applies: Each wrong answer in the objective sections costs 0.25 mark, so accuracy matters as much as coverage.

• Tier II decides the merit: Tier I is a screening test. Plan your preparation so that you are ready for Tier II, not just Tier I.

Older pages may still show a single-stage pattern or mix up the Tier I and Tier II subject lists. Follow the scheme in the 2026 advertisement and any corrigendum on the official DSSSB website.

DSSSB ASO Tier I Syllabus

General Awareness

• Current affairs: National and international events, government schemes, appointments, awards, sports, summits, reports and indices.

• Indian history: Ancient, medieval and modern India, with focus on the freedom movement and important personalities.

• Geography: Physical geography of India and the world, rivers, soils, climate, minerals and important places.

• Indian polity: Constitution, fundamental rights and duties, Parliament, President, judiciary, local government and constitutional bodies.

• Economy: Budget basics, banking, RBI, inflation, GDP, five-year plans and economic schemes.

• General science: Everyday physics, chemistry and biology, the human body, diseases and nutrition, environment and ecology.

• Delhi GK: History and monuments of Delhi, its administrative set-up (NCT, Lieutenant Governor, Assembly, MCD), Delhi government schemes, rivers and geography, and culture.

• Static GK: Books and authors, important days, national symbols, firsts in India and organisations with headquarters.

General Intelligence and Reasoning Ability

• Verbal reasoning: Analogy, classification (odd one out), number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction and distance, ranking and order, alphabet test.

• Logical reasoning: Syllogism, statement and conclusion, statement and assumption, Venn diagrams, data sufficiency.

• Analytical reasoning: Seating arrangement, puzzles, calendar, clock, mathematical operations.

• Non-verbal reasoning: Figure series and classification, mirror and water images, paper folding and cutting, embedded figures, counting of figures.

Arithmetical and Numerical Ability

• Number system and simplification: Divisibility, LCM and HCF, fractions and decimals, surds and indices, BODMAS.

• Core arithmetic: Percentage, ratio and proportion, average, profit, loss and discount, simple and compound interest, partnership, mixture and alligation.

• Time-based problems: Time and work, pipes and cisterns, time, speed and distance, boats and streams, trains.

• Mensuration: Area and perimeter of 2D figures, surface area and volume of 3D shapes.

• Data interpretation: Tables, bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts.

• Basic algebra and geometry: Simple equations, identities, lines, angles, triangles and circles at a basic level.

Hindi Language and Comprehension

• Vyakaran (grammar): Sandhi, samas, upsarg and pratyay, sangya, sarvanaam, visheshan, kriya, ling, vachan, kaal and karak.

• Shabd gyan (vocabulary): Paryayvachi (synonyms), vilom (antonyms), anekarthi shabd, tatsam and tadbhav, ek shabd (one-word substitution).

• Usage: Muhavare and lokoktiyan, vakya shuddhi (sentence correction), vartani (spelling) and fill in the blanks.

• Apathit gadyansh: Passage-based comprehension questions.

English Language and Comprehension

• Grammar: Tenses, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, subject-verb agreement, voice and narration.

• Vocabulary: Synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, spelling.

• Sentence skills: Error detection, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, sentence rearrangement and para jumbles.

• Comprehension: Reading comprehension passages and cloze tests.

The quickest marks to secure are usually polity and recent current affairs in General Awareness, coding and series in Reasoning, and percentage-based chapters in Arithmetic, because they follow predictable question types. Get these right first, then move to puzzles, data interpretation and advanced vocabulary.

DSSSB ASO Tier II Syllabus (Part I, Objective)

Tier II Part I has five sections of 40 marks each. Four of them repeat Tier I subjects, so your Tier I preparation carries straight over. The difference is depth: Tier II questions tend to be more application-based and less formula-driven.

Repeated subjects: what changes

Computer Proficiency

This is the only new objective subject in Tier II. It is practical in nature and can be covered in three to four weeks with steady effort.

Since an ASO works on files, letters and spreadsheets every day, questions on MS Word and Excel features are a reliable scoring area. Practise on a computer rather than only reading notes.

Tier II Part II: Descriptive English Syllabus

Part II carries 100 marks and tests how well you can write in clear, formal English. It has no topic list in the usual sense. What DSSSB tests is your ability to structure ideas, follow formats and write correctly within a limit.

Essay themes to prepare

• Governance and administration: Digital governance, transparency, citizen services and public administration.

• Society: Women's empowerment, education, health, urbanisation and migration.

• Environment: Air pollution, waste management, water conservation and climate change, with Delhi examples.

• Technology: Artificial intelligence, cyber security, social media and digital payments.

• Economy: Employment, entrepreneurship and skill development.

Letter and precis practice

• Letters: Practise formal letters and applications to government officers, complaints on civic issues, requests and office communication. Learn one standard format and use it every time.

• Precis: Reduce a passage to about one-third of its length, keep the main argument, remove examples and repetition, and write a short title.

Overlap Between Tier I and Tier II

Roughly 160 of the 200 Tier II objective marks come from subjects you already study for Tier I. That is why an integrated plan works better than preparing each tier separately.

How to Cover the DSSSB ASO Syllabus

1. Weeks 1 to 6, foundations: Cover the core arithmetic chapters, basic reasoning, English grammar rules and Hindi vyakaran. Read a newspaper daily and start monthly current affairs notes.

2. Weeks 4 to 10, General Awareness and Delhi GK: Finish polity, history, geography and science. Keep a separate Delhi GK notebook and add to it every week.

3. Weeks 6 to 12, topic and sectional tests: Take topic-wise tests after each chapter and 20 to 25-minute sectional tests. Start Computer Proficiency and one essay plus one letter or precis every week.

4. Weeks 10 to 14, advanced practice: Move to puzzles, data interpretation, longer passages and harder vocabulary. Solve previous year DSSSB papers to check the real difficulty.

5. Final phase, full-length mocks: Take full mocks in the Tier I and Tier II pattern, analyse each one on the same day and revise from your error log.

Topic-wise practice is where the syllabus turns into marks. You can attempt DSSSB ASO online tests on Testkart chapter by chapter, then move to full-length mocks and use the section-wise analysis to find the topics that still cost you marks. Pair them with DSSSB previous year papers to see which areas the Board repeats.

Common syllabus mistakes to avoid

• Leaving Hindi for the last week: Grammar rules such as sandhi and samas need repeated practice. Forty Tier I marks are too many to risk.

• Waiting for the Tier I result to start Tier II topics: The gap between tiers is usually short. Computer Proficiency and writing practice should already be under way.

• Ignoring Delhi GK: Questions on Delhi's administration, schemes and landmarks are easy marks for prepared candidates and hard guesses for others.

• Reading without testing: With 0.25 negative marking, you need to know which topics you can attempt with confidence. Only tests show you that.

Books and Sources to Use

• Official notification: Read the scheme of examination in Advertisement No. 01/2026 and any corrigendum on the official DSSSB website.

• NCERT books: Classes 6 to 10 for history, geography, science and basic polity give a strong General Awareness base.

• Standard practice books: One book each for arithmetic, reasoning, English grammar and Hindi vyakaran is enough if you practise it fully.

• Delhi government sources: Official Delhi government portals and budget highlights help with Delhi schemes and administration.

• Short notes: Keep formula sheets, a vocabulary list and an error log.