A complete MPSC Group B 2026 syllabus and strategy guide: 552 posts, real-paper prelims weightage, the true Marathi 50 + English 50 Mains Paper 1, PSI Paper 2 tilts and a 10-week mains-first plan.
The MPSC Group B syllabus and strategy for 2026 starts from three hard facts. The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Combined Group B recruitment carries 552 posts this cycle: Police Sub Inspector (PSI) 310, State Tax Inspector (STI) 236 and Assistant Section Officer (ASO) 6. The Combined Prelims was held on 14 June 2026 and its result is expected around August 2026, with the Mains expected in October-November 2026. And prelims marks are only a qualifying screen, so the merit list is built entirely after it. As of July 2026, the smartest move is mains-first preparation, and this guide grounds the pattern, the weightages and a 10-week plan in our structural analysis of 8 real MPSC Group B papers.
MPSC Group B (Combined) selects through a common Combined Prelims that only shortlists you, a Combined Mains of two papers (Paper 1 common to all posts, Paper 2 post-specific), and, for PSI alone, a Physical Test of 100 marks plus an Interview of 40 marks. Under the revised combined scheme in force since the 2023 cycle, STI and ASO merit is decided on the mains total of 400 marks alone, with no physical test or interview.
Post | Vacancies (2026 advertisement) |
|---|---|
Police Sub Inspector (PSI) | 310 |
State Tax Inspector (STI) | 236 |
Assistant Section Officer (ASO) | 6 |
Total | 552 |
You opt for posts when you apply, sit one common prelims and one common Paper 1, and your Paper 2 depends on the post.
The Combined Prelims is a single bilingual paper of 100 questions for 100 marks in 60 minutes, with negative marking of 0.25 per wrong answer; every question is printed in Marathi and English together. It is GS-dominant: in the real papers roughly 82 of the 100 questions are General Studies and only about 18 are arithmetic and reasoning, so General Awareness decides your prelims.
Across the 8 real MPSC Group B question papers and official keys we analysed (combined prelims and mains booklets from 2021 to 2025), the prelims weightage per 100 questions is:
Prelims Topic | Questions per 100 |
|---|---|
Current Affairs | 17 |
General Science | 15 |
Polity and Constitution | 14 |
Economy | 13 |
History | 12 |
Geography | 11 |
Arithmetic | 10 |
Reasoning | 8 |
The paper's signature is its format: about 40% of GS questions are multi-statement "which of the statements is/are correct" items, about 15% are match-the-pairs with coded combinations, and roughly 20% of the paper is Maharashtra-specific (reformers, Konkan and Deccan geography, Panchayati Raj under Maharashtra acts, the state economy and irrigation). Science runs at degree level, and the current-affairs window stretches about 18 months before the exam.
Mains Paper 1 is a pure language paper: Marathi 50 questions plus English 50 questions, together 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes, with negative marking of 0.5 per wrong answer. There is no GK section in Paper 1. We verified this against the real 2023 and 2025 question booklets, whose header reads "Marathi va English" only; prep-site claims of a Marathi 100 + English 60 + GK 40 marks split are simply wrong.
The Marathi half is monolingual Devanagari at 12th-standard-plus level: shabdanchya jati, samas, prayog, kaal, vakprachar and mhani, alankar and a comprehension passage. The English half is graduation level: grammar, error spotting, fill in the blanks, idioms and phrases, synonyms-antonyms, voice and narration, and one reading passage.
Paper 2 is post-specific but keeps the same frame: 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes with 0.5 negative marking, fully bilingual. All three variants share a common core of current affairs, polity and constitution, RTI 2005, reasoning, arithmetic and statistics basics, geography, science and economy. PSI adds a law and order block, STI adds Maharashtra taxation (the GST framework, tax administration) and ASO adds secretariat administration and office procedure.
Our real-paper finding for PSI: the tilt swings year to year. The 2022 PSI Paper 2 was law-heavy, with 46 of 100 questions from the police-law block (Maharashtra Police Act, IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act tested at section level), while the 2025 paper was GS-heavy with a law block of just 2 of 100. Prepare for both tilts: build the law block on the new codes (BNS, BNSS, BSA) with old-code cross-references, add the Maharashtra Police Act 1951 and the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, and keep the GS core equally strong.
With the prelims already written and the mains expected in October-November 2026, the window from July to the exam is best spent mains-first. A 10-week frame:
Weeks 1-3 (Language core): daily Marathi grammar (samas, prayog, vakprachar-mhani) and English grammar plus vocabulary; one comprehension passage in each language every day.
Weeks 4-6 (Paper 2 core): polity, RTI, geography, economy and science revision at mains depth; PSI aspirants start the law block on the new criminal codes, STI aspirants the taxation block, ASO aspirants office procedure.
Weeks 7-8 (Formats and speed): multi-statement and match-pair drills, sectional tests for both papers, and an error log for grammar.
Weeks 9-10 (Mock marathon): alternate-day full-length mocks of Paper 1 and Paper 2 with strict timing, plus a weekly current-affairs consolidation.
Waiting for the prelims result to start mains prep: the result-to-mains gap is short; candidates who begin language work only in September run out of runway.
Preparing Paper 1 from wrong prep-site patterns: the real Paper 1 has no GK; time spent on a GK block for it is time stolen from Marathi and English.
Betting on one PSI Paper 2 tilt: a law-only or GS-only bet loses badly in the wrong year; cover both.
Careless guessing: with negative marking of 0.25 in prelims and 0.5 in mains, wild guesses drain a good score; leave truly unknown questions blank.
Posts: 552 in the 2026 cycle: PSI 310, STI 236, ASO 6.
Negative marking: yes; 0.25 per wrong answer in prelims and 0.5 in mains.
Mains Paper 1: Marathi 50 + English 50 questions, 200 marks; no GK section.
PSI physical test: after mains; 100 marks plus a 40-mark interview. STI and ASO have neither.
Prelims marks: qualifying only; the merit list is built from the mains (plus PT and interview for PSI).
Every stage of this exam is a 100-question, 60-minute sprint with negative marking, so attempt selection and rhythm matter as much as knowledge. Full-length practice on the real pattern trains both. The MPSC Group B full mock series on Quiz4Exam mirrors the exact bilingual prelims blueprint with the multi-statement and match-pair formats, and the PSI Paper 2 full mock series blends the law-heavy and GS-heavy tilts so neither year surprises you.
Always confirm dates, vacancies and the scheme in the official advertisement and syllabus on the MPSC official website (mpsc.gov.in).
Related reading: our MPSC Group C strategy guide covers the sister combined recruitment, and PSI aspirants moving up from constable-level exams can compare with the Maharashtra Police Constable strategy guide.
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The MPSC Combined Group B 2026 advertisement carries 552 posts: Police Sub Inspector (PSI) 310, State Tax Inspector (STI) 236 and Assistant Section Officer (ASO) 6. The Combined Prelims for this cycle was held on 14 June 2026, with the result expected around August 2026 and the Mains expected in October-November 2026. Always confirm the latest counts in the official advertisement on mpsc.gov.in.
Yes. The Combined Prelims deducts 0.25 marks for every wrong answer (each question carries 1 mark), and both Mains papers deduct 0.5 marks per wrong answer (each question carries 2 marks). Unanswered questions carry no penalty, so with this scheme it pays to attempt confidently where you know the topic and leave truly unknown questions blank instead of guessing wildly.
Mains Paper 1 is a pure language paper: Marathi 50 questions plus English 50 questions, together 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes with 0.5 negative marking. The Marathi section is monolingual Devanagari and the English section monolingual English. There is no GK section, a fact we verified against the real 2023 and 2025 question booklets; prep-site claims of a Marathi 100 + English 60 + GK 40 marks split are wrong.
Only for the PSI post. PSI candidates who clear the mains face a Physical Test of 100 marks (ground events with a qualifying threshold, plus physical standards) and an Interview of 40 marks. STI and ASO have no physical test or interview under the revised combined scheme in force since the 2023 cycle; their merit is decided on the mains total of 400 marks alone.
No. The Combined Prelims is a qualifying screen only: its marks shortlist you for the mains but are not counted in the final merit list. Your rank comes from the Combined Mains of 400 marks across Paper 1 and Paper 2, with the Physical Test and Interview added for PSI. That is why a mains-first preparation plan makes sense once the prelims is over.
