BPSC announces 72nd CCE prelims 2026, introduces mandatory ‘E’ option, unanswered questions to attract penalty | Education News
2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 5, 2026 07:33 PM IST
The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has released the 72nd Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) 2026 preliminary notification. The Commission has introduced a change in the preliminary exam pattern. As per the official notification, candidates will now be required to select option ‘E’ if they wish to leave a question unanswered; failure to choose any option will invite negative marking, with one-third marks deducted for such questions, in addition to penalties for incorrect answers.
As per the official notice, the commission will fill around 1,230 vacancies through this recruitment drive. The online application process will begin on May 7, 2026, and conclude on May 31, 2026. The official website to apply for BPSC CCE 72nd preliminary exam is bpsc.bihar.gov.in.
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Prelims exam pattern, negative marking
The preliminary examination will be objective in nature, comprising questions from the General Studies paper. The exam will carry 150 marks and candidates will be given two hours to complete it.
Each question will have five options (A, B, C, D, E), and candidates must select the correct answer. If the candidate does not wish to answer the question, it will be mandatory to select option (E). In any case, only one answer is to be chosen for each question. If a candidate does not select any of the five options (A, B, C, D, E), then negative marking will be done for each such unanswered question and one (one-third) mark will be deducted.
The prelims exam will be qualifying in nature, and candidates shortlisted for the mains examination will be up to 10 times the number of vacancies, subject to category-wise cut-offs.
To qualify, candidates must secure the minimum prescribed marks: 40 per cent for unreserved category, 36.5 per cent for backward classes, 34 per cent for extremely backward classes, and 32 per cent for women and candidates from SC/ST categories.
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The General Studies paper will cover a wide range of topics, including current affairs of national and international importance, Indian history and Bihar’s history, geography, polity, economy, general science, and questions related to Bihar’s development and administrative structure.