Bhubaneswar: The Higher Education Department of the Odisha government has issued a guidelines and timeline for selection of aspirants for free UPSC civil services coaching.
According to an official release, the State Selection Board will conduct the pre-qualifying entrance examination to select the 200 candidates on March 26 at Behampur, Jeypore, Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Sambalpur. Candidates are required to apply online at the www.dhe.odisha.gov.in or www.samodisha.gov.in and pay Rs 100 as application fee. The last date for application is March 4.
The examination, which will be conducted in offline mode for 2 hours, will have one paper of objective-type questions, carrying 200 marks, with two sections based on general studies and aptitude. There will be 0.5 negative marking for the wrong answer. The minimum qualifying mark has been fixed at 33%.
A candidate must be a domicile student in the age group of 21-30 years and must possess a graduation degree or equivalent qualification. The age limit is relaxed by five years for SC/ST candidates and by three years for those belonging to OBC. The reservation policy of the state will be followed in the selection of candidates, it added.
The selected candidate will be provided free coaching, food and accommodation in the city.