Important Dates          
Last date of receipt of Application Tier I     :     June 7, 2013
Date of Examination     :     August 11, 2013

Staff Selection Commission will hold a Combined All India Open Examination for recruitment to the posts of Stenographer Grade C and Grade D in different Ministries / Departments of Government of India and their Attached & Subordinate Offices for which 12th Standard Pass is the minimum qualification. The Examination will comprise of a Written Objective Type Examination followed by Skill Test in Stenography.

Minimum Essential Qualification: 12th Class pass or equivalent from a recognized Board or University.

Age limit: 18-27

Nationality/Citizenship:

A candidate must be either:
(a) a citizen of India, or
(b) a subject of Nepal, or
(c) a subject of Bhutan, or
(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India, before the 1st January,1962,with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
(e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania(Formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar),Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b),(c),(d) and (e) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by he Government of India.

A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary may be admitted to the examination but the Offer of appointment will be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him by Government of India.

How to apply: Candidates may send application in the prescribed format by post or apply online. The facility of filing on-line applications and payment of fee for on-line applications through challans in SBI branches and on-line payment through SBI will also be available for this examination

Mode of payment: Fee Payable Rs. 100/-(Rupees One Hundred only)
(i) For the candidates sending the application by post: The candidates submitting Paper application should pay the fee by means of "Central Recruitment Fee Stamps(CRFS)"only . CRFS are available at the counter of all Departmental Post Offices of the country. Recruitment Fee Stamps should be pasted on the application form in the space earmarked for the purpose and got cancelled from the Counter of Post Office of issue with the date stamp of the Issuing Post Office in such a manner that the impression or the cancellation stamp partially overflows on the Application Form itself, taking care at the same time that the impression is clear and distinct to facilitate the identification of date and Post Office of issue at any subsequent stage. After getting the Recruitment Fee Stamps cancelled from the Post Office, the candidate must submit their application to the concerned Regional Office/Sub Regional Offices of the Commission in the usual manner after completing other formalities.
(ii) For the candidates submitting their applications on-line: The candidates submitting their applications on-line should pay the requisite fee only through State Bank of India challan or using on-line payment facility of State Bank of India.

For further details and application format, visit SSC website at http://ssc.nic.in/

This time UPSC is trying to make the playing field for everyone. There will be backlashes from the people who have written the exam under old pattern because of their difficulty to adjust. On the whole, the change is going to bring more equality, rationality and simplicity to the Civil Services(UPSC) Exams.

Why in 2013 only and not 2012?

Two successive committees (Alagh committee and 2nd ARC) have recommended the pattern change in clear terms. These reports are already out in public. Since there is very small time gap for the 2012 exam.Moreover, a high level panel has been set-up to finalize the details of new syllabus and pattern in December, 2012.

What will be the magnitude of change?

The details of the subjects have not been finalized yet. The suggestion about removing of optional subjects date back to 2008 when second Administrative Reforms Committee presented its report. Second ARC had suggested that UPSC should only keep two compulsory GS papers and an essay paper for Mains Examination.

Current Mains pattern consists of 2 General Studies Papers and 4 optional subjects Papers (2 each). These 6 papers constitute 1800 marks (300 by 6). there is an Essay Paper and Personal Interview as well of 200 and 300 marks each. These all constitute 2300 Marks. There is also a qualifying paper in an Indian Language.

The estimates say that the pattern will be similar to the General Studies but the number of papers will be increased and every subject of GS will form a separate paper in new format. The table below will give you an idea of the new and old pattern of Mains Exam.