ECGC PO Exam Pattern 2025-26: Marks, Timing and Marking Scheme

The ECGC PO exam pattern for the 2025-26 cycle has two parts in one online examination: an objective test of 200 marks and a descriptive paper of 40 marks. Shortlisted candidates then face an interview of 60 marks. Every objective test has its own time limit, which changes how you plan your attempt.

This page lists each test, the marking scheme and the final merit rule as printed in ECGC Ltd.'s detailed advertisement. It also turns the numbers into a practical plan. ECGC can modify the structure, so check the current notification before you rely on any figure here.

Table of Contents

• ECGC PO exam pattern

• Objective test pattern

• Descriptive paper pattern

• Marking scheme and negative marking

• What the pattern means for you

• Interview and final merit

• Time management on exam day

ECGC PO exam pattern at a glance

The advertisement describes the online examination as lasting 3 hours, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the scheduled date, and warns that you may need to stay at the venue for 4 hours or more for formalities.

Objective test pattern

Probationary Officer (Generalist)

Probationary Officer (Specialist)

In the 2025-26 cycle the specialist stream was for Rajbhasha (Hindi) officers, with 2 tentative posts. Each test is timed separately in the listing, so treat the time limit of each test as fixed rather than as a pool you can move between sections.

Descriptive paper pattern

The descriptive paper is evaluated only for candidates who qualify the objective test and are placed high enough. ECGC evaluates it for at least 12 times the number of vacancies in each category, subject to the availability of qualified candidates. Its marks count toward the merit list.

Marking scheme and negative marking

Every objective question in the Generalist paper carries 1 mark. For each wrong answer, one fourth of the marks assigned to that question is deducted, which is 0.25 marks. A question left blank carries no penalty. Negative marking applies to the objective test only.

If the exam is held in several sessions, corrected scores are normalised using the equi-percentile method, and scores are taken to two decimal places. Marks are not shared with shortlisted candidates before the interview process is complete.

What the pattern means for you

• Each section has its own clock: time saved in one test does not carry over, so practise finishing every test inside its own limit.

• A wrong guess costs 0.25 marks: a correct answer earns 1 mark, so a guess pays off only when you can eliminate options with reasonable confidence. At random among five options the expected gain is zero or slightly negative.

• Computer Knowledge is a 10-minute sprint: 20 questions in 10 minutes leaves 30 seconds a question, so only attempt questions you can answer by recall.

• Sectional cut-offs can end an attempt: ECGC applies a cut-off on each test and on the total, so a very high score in one test does not protect a weak score in another.

• The descriptive paper is read only after the objective test: its 40 marks count in the merit list, but only for candidates whose objective score is high enough, so protect the objective score first and keep 40 minutes of writing practice in your weekly plan.

Interview and final merit

The interview carries 60 marks and is held at Delhi or Mumbai. The minimum qualifying marks are 40% of 60, which works out to 24 marks, and 35% (21 marks) for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates. The weightage of the online examination and the interview is 80:20. The advertisement does not publish the scaling formula, so do not rely on any online calculator as an official one.

A candidate must qualify both the online examination and the interview and rank high enough in the merit list. If two candidates have the same score, the older candidate is placed higher.

Time management on exam day

1. Start each test with the quickest questions: in Reasoning, take inequalities and syllogisms before long puzzles.

2. Cap time per question: if a question needs more than a minute and a half in the 50-mark tests, mark it and move on while the clock for that test is still running.

3. Keep the last two minutes of each test for review: check marked questions, not every answer.

4. Reserve the full 40 minutes for writing: split it roughly equally between the essay and the precis, with a short plan before you begin each.

You can rehearse this plan with a timed ECGC PO mock test on Testkart and read the section-wise report afterwards. A weekly full-length attempt in the real sequence is the closest practice you can get to the actual pattern.

Older pages may still show a different pattern, so follow the official advertisement on ecgc.in and the information handout issued with your call letter.