BPSC 72nd Prelims in Six Weeks: A Week-by-Week Plan for Revision, Bihar Special and Current Affairs

BPSC’s calendar puts the 72nd CCE Preliminary on 25 October 2026 (tentative). From Monday, 14 September that leaves six weeks. Six weeks is not enough to learn subjects from scratch, but it is enough to turn what you have read into marks: revise, fill the gaps in Bihar-specific topics and current affairs, and train your accuracy for a paper with negative marking.

This plan assumes you have read the basic sources at least once. If you are starting fresh, keep the same structure but spend more of each week on school-level basics before you revise.

Know the paper you are preparing for

Feature	What it means for your preparation
150 questions, 150 marks, 2 hours	About 48 seconds a question, so speed comes from recall, not re-reading
One-third of a mark deducted per wrong answer	Blind guessing does not pay; educated guessing does
Qualifying stage	You need a safe score above the cut-off, not a top score
Bihar named across the syllabus	Bihar’s history, geography, economy and current affairs are core, not extra

The six weeks at a glance

Week	Dates	Focus	By the end of the week
1	14 to 20 September	Diagnose, then history of India and Bihar	Two past papers solved and marked; history notes revised
2	21 to 27 September	Geography of India and Bihar, environment	Map work done; rivers, soils, minerals and protected areas revised
3	28 September to 4 October	Polity and economy, with Bihar’s economy and schemes	Constitution, Panchayati Raj and Bihar’s economy revised
4	5 to 11 October	General science, mental ability, current affairs	Science basics revised; current affairs notes complete
5	12 to 18 October	Full mock tests and error correction	Three full-length tests with every mistake reviewed
6	19 to 24 October	Light revision and exam readiness	Short notes read twice; admit card and travel sorted

Keep one hour every day, in every week, for current affairs and one hour for solving questions. The weekly focus is for the rest of your study time.

Week 1: diagnose, then history

Start with two recent BPSC Prelims papers, each solved in two hours with negative marking. For every wrong or skipped question, note which of three reasons applies: you did not know it, you confused two facts, or you misread the question. The first tells you what to revise, the second what to make notes on, and the third that you need to slow down.

Then revise history:

• Ancient: Magadha and its dynasties, the Mauryas and Guptas, Buddhism and Jainism in Bihar, Nalanda and Vikramshila
• Medieval: Sher Shah Suri and his administration, and Bihar under the Mughals
• Modern: 1857 in Bihar and Kunwar Singh, the Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, the Quit India Movement in Bihar, and Bihar’s leaders in the national movement
• Art and culture: Madhubani painting, festivals such as Chhath, and Bihar’s major archaeological sites

Week 2: geography and environment

Work with a blank map of Bihar. Mark the major rivers, including the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, Son, Bagmati and Burhi Gandak, the physical divisions of the state, the districts along the Nepal border, the main mineral and industrial areas, and protected areas such as Valmiki Tiger Reserve. Revise why north Bihar floods while parts of south Bihar face drought, because questions often test causes rather than names.

For India and world geography, revise physical geography, the monsoon, soils, crops and major resources. For environment, cover biodiversity, climate change agreements and India’s protected areas.

Week 3: polity and economy

Revise the key parts of the Constitution: the Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Parliament, the executive, the judiciary, centre-state relations and constitutional bodies. Give a full day to Panchayati Raj and local government, which the syllabus names alongside planning in Bihar.

For the economy, cover basic concepts such as GDP, inflation, the budget, banking, poverty and employment, and then Bihar specifically: the state budget, the latest Bihar Economic Survey, sector-wise growth and the state government’s flagship programmes. Make a one-page table of schemes with the year, department and target group.

Week 4: science, mental ability and current affairs

General science in BPSC is largely school level: the human body and diseases, nutrition, light and electricity, and common chemicals and their uses. Revise from school-level material rather than advanced books.

For general mental ability, practise number series, percentages, ratios, averages and simple reasoning. These questions reward practice and are among the most dependable marks on the paper.

By the end of this week, finish your current affairs notes, as described below.

Week 5: full tests

Take three full-length tests on alternate days, each in one two-hour sitting. On the days in between, go through every mistake and fix the underlying note. A test without review only measures you; the review is what improves your score.

Week 6: revise and rest

Read your short notes twice, revise the scheme table and the Bihar map, and do one last timed paper early in the week. Download your admit card as soon as it is available, check the centre address and plan how you will reach it. Sleep normally in the last three days. New material in the final week usually adds confusion, not marks.

Current affairs: what to cover

Cover roughly the 12 to 15 months before the exam, reading the most recent six months most closely. Organise notes by theme rather than by date, so revision is quick:

• Bihar: the budget, the economic survey, new schemes and policies, appointments, awards and major events in the state
• National: government schemes, constitutional and legal developments, reports and indices, science and technology, and environment
• International: summits, agreements and organisations India is part of
• Sports, awards, books and important days: only the major ones

How to handle negative marking

With one-third of a mark lost for each wrong answer, a completely random guess does not help your score on average. Once you can rule out two options with confidence, a guess becomes worth taking. Practise this in your mock tests so the decision is quick in the exam hall.

A simple method for the two hours:

1. Round one, about 70 minutes: answer every question you are sure about, and mark those where you can eliminate options.
2. Round two, about 40 minutes: return to the marked questions and attempt those where two options are ruled out.
3. Last 10 minutes: check that every answer is marked correctly on the answer sheet.

Mistakes to avoid

• Starting a new book or course in the last six weeks
• Reading current affairs for hours without notes you can revise
• Skipping Bihar-specific topics because they feel smaller than national ones
• Taking mock tests without reviewing them
• Attempting every question in the hope of a higher score

Frequently asked questions

Is six weeks enough for BPSC Prelims?

It is enough to revise and practise if you have read the syllabus once. If you are starting now, focus on the highest-yield areas: history of India and Bihar, polity, geography of India and Bihar, and current affairs.

How many hours a day should I study in the last six weeks?

Six to eight focused hours is realistic for most full-time aspirants. Steady days across all six weeks matter more than long days followed by breaks.

How many past papers should I solve?

At least the last five BPSC Prelims papers, each in two hours with negative marking, plus a few full-length mock tests.

Which period of current affairs should I cover?

Roughly the 12 to 15 months before the exam, with the most attention on the last six months and on Bihar.