Civil Service Basic case studies
Civil Service Basic · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Civil Service Basic examination is an entry-level screening test used by public-sector recruiters to check whether a candidate has the general cognitive and administrative foundation needed for clerical, junior officer and support roles in government. It is aimed at school leavers, graduates and career changers who have not yet held a public-service post, and it typically serves as the first filter before interview or further selection stages. The Civil Service Basic case studies are 5 cases and about 3,609 words.
1The 'and/or' circular: which reading binds the office?
The District Welfare Office at Maripur issued a one-page circular announcing a winter relief allowance. The operative paragraph reads: 'Applicants must be resident in the district for three years and/or must hold a below-poverty-line card, provided that applicants who are seasonal migrants shall not be considered.' The office received 412 applications.
710 words, about 4 min2Clearing the land-record backlog: capacity, cost and the target
The Maripur taluk office has 8 clerks clearing land-record correction files. A clerk's full working day is enough for 30 files at first pass.
712 words, about 4 min3The missing file: reconstructing a four-way audit trail
Four correction files - Pension, Land record, Ration card and Caste certificate - were cleared on the same day by four clerks, W, X, Y and Z, one file each, in four consecutive hourly slots: 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00. The audit note records six statements, all true on the day: (i) X worked immediately before the ration card file.
808 words, about 4 min4Cancelled licence, no hearing, late appeal
On 3 March the Licensing Officer of Maripur Municipal Corporation cancelled the eating-house licence of Sagar Refreshments by a two-line order: 'Complaint received from residents. Inspection shows insanitary conditions.
735 words, about 4 min5Reconciling the office-supplies ledger
The office-supplies ledger for February closes at ₹1,73,810 against an allotment of ₹2,50,000, which the Head of Office reads as ₹76,190 unspent. The bill clerk gives you nine vouchers chargeable to the head: V-101 ₹18,400; V-103 ₹7,250; V-104 ₹26,750 for printer cartridges, posted in the ledger under 'Furniture and Equipment'; V-107 ₹41,300; V-112 ₹9,600, posted in the ledger as ₹9,060; V-115 ₹15,900; V-121 ₹63,500; and V-118(a) and V-118(b), ₹26,000 each, annual maintenance bills for the photocopier that are not yet posted or paid.
644 words, about 3 min