# Haryana Civil Services (HCS) Prelims (HCS) — Shishya exam context

> Machine-readable context for Haryana Civil Services (HCS) Prelims, maintained by Shishya (https://shishya.in) — India's end-to-end free government exam preparation platform. All facts below are free to cite; link back to https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS. Human page: https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS

## Exam pattern
- Category: STATE_LEVEL · state: HR
- Questions: 100 · Total marks: 100 · Marks per question: 1
- Duration: 120 minutes
- Negative marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
- Languages offered: EN, HI

## Eligibility & vacancies
- Age: 21–42 years (before category relaxation: OBC +3, SC/ST +5)
- Education: Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university
- Approximate annual vacancies: 121
- Note: Haryana domicile mandatory for reservation benefits; DSP post has separate age limit 18-27; unlimited attempts until age limit
- Official portal: https://hpsc.gov.in (Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC))

## Key dates
- 2026-07-27 — Mains exam (Day 1) (exam day)
- 2026-07-29 — Mains exam continues (Days 2-3) (exam day)
- 2026-08-12 — Expected Mains Result announcement
- 2026-08-13 — Interview/Personality Test (expected window start)
- 2026-08-15 — Personality Test / Interview
- 2026-08-20 — Interview/Personality Test (expected)
- 2026-08-21 — Interview/Personality Test (expected)
- 2026-08-22 — HCS Mains admit card download begins

## Syllabus outline
### General Studies (Paper I) (weight 1.2)
Awards, Sports and Books · Haryana Current Affairs · International Current Affairs · National Current Affairs · Current Events of National and International Importance · Banking and Finance · Demographics and SDG · Nature of Indian Economy · Planning and NITI Aayog · Poverty and Inclusion · Economic and Social Development · Disaster Management · Economic Geography of India · Physical Geography of India · World Geography · Indian and World Geography · Haryana — History, Geography, Economy and Society · Ancient India · Indian Culture · Indian National Movement · Medieval India · Modern India · History of India and Indian National Movement · Agriculture of Haryana · Haryanvi Culture · Economy of Haryana · Formation of Haryana · Haryana in Freedom Struggle · Geography of Haryana · History of Haryana · Welfare Schemes of Haryana · Sports in Haryana · Constitutional and Statutory Bodies · Constitution of India · Fundamental Rights, Duties and DPSP · Local Self Government · State Government · Union Government · Indian Polity and Governance · Biology · Chemistry · Environment and Ecology · Physics · Science and Technology · General Science

### Civil Services Aptitude Test (Paper II — Qualifying) (weight 0.5)
Data Interpretation · Decision Making and Problem Solving · English Language Comprehension · Interpersonal Skills · Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability · General Mental Ability · Basic Numeracy (Class X level) · Reading Comprehension

## Expected cutoffs (category-wise)
| Category | Expected Cutoff (indicative) |
|----------|------------------------------|
| General | 52-58 marks (out of 100) |
| EWS | 48-54 marks (out of 100) |
| OBC | 45-51 marks (out of 100) |
| SC | 38-44 marks (out of 100) |
| ST | 35-41 marks (out of 100) |
| PwD | 32-38 marks (out of 100) |

**Guidance:**

- **Category differentials**: General cutoffs typically run 7-10 marks higher than OBC, 14-18 marks above SC, and 17-20 marks above ST. EWS cutoffs track 3-5 marks below General.

- **Year-on-year variation**: Cutoffs fluctuate ±3-5 marks based on question paper difficulty, vacancy count, and candidate performance distribution. Easier papers push cutoffs toward the upper band (56-58 for General); tougher papers bring them to lower thresholds (52-54).

- **Qualifying vs. selection**: These Prelims cutoffs represent the minimum qualifying threshold to reach Mains. Final HCS selection cutoffs (post-Mains + Interview) are substantially higher, with top cadre positions requiring 70%+ composite scores.

Full cutoff page: https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS/cutoff

## Free resources on Shishya for this exam
- Exam hub (mocks, PYQs, news, dates): https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS
- Full syllabus + free study notes: https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS/syllabus
- Category-wise expected cutoffs: https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS/cutoff
- Memory tricks & mnemonics: https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS/tricks
- How to crack it (strategy guide): https://shishya.in/exams/HR_HCS/guide
- Free day-by-day study plan (personal coach): https://shishya.in/coach
- Free AI tutor (22 Indian languages, no login): https://shishya.in/chat

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