Part-A: Common Syllabus for All Posts
What Part-A tests
Part-A is the common paper for every SGPGI post. It samples general English, general awareness, reasoning, quantitative aptitude and basic computer awareness. Items are usually short and speed-sensitive, so routine accuracy matters more than deep theory.
Core rules and concepts
- English: subject–verb agreement, tense sequence, prepositions, synonyms and antonyms, error spotting, sentence rearrangement. Read the full sentence before choosing.
- Awareness: Indian polity, economy, science, sports, awards, current schemes, and static geography/history. Attach each fact to a category so it is retrievable.
- Reasoning: series, coding–decoding, blood relations, syllogisms, seating, direction sense. Draw a diagram instead of holding relations mentally.
- Quantitative: percentage, ratio, average, time–work, speed–distance, simple and compound interest, profit–loss, mensuration. Convert units first and keep a rough estimate.
- Computer: hardware and software, input/output devices, memory units, shortcuts, internet and browser basics, email, MS Office, cyber safety. Distinguish RAM from ROM and primary from secondary storage.
Worked example
A shopkeeper marks an item 40% above cost and gives a 25% discount. Find the profit percent.
Let cost = 100. Marked price = 140. Discount = 25% of 140 = 35. Selling price = 140 − 35 = 105. Profit = 105 − 100 = 5 on cost 100, so profit = 5%. The trap is subtracting 40% − 25% = 15%; discount applies to the marked price, not the cost.
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing percentage points with percent change.
- Ignoring “not”, “except” or “least” in English and reasoning items.
- Using the wrong base in profit–loss or interest questions.
- Treating computer memory as decimal when RAM/storage capacity steps by 1024.
- Spending too long on one puzzle instead of securing easy vocabulary and arithmetic items.