General Studies, Governance and Aptitude (Nepal, Contemporary Affairs)
The final domain mixes static general knowledge about Nepal, governance concepts, current affairs and elementary aptitude. Breadth matters, but so does method: aptitude items are solved, not remembered.
Static and constitutional facts
Nepal is a federal democratic republic with one federal government, seven provinces and 753 local levels (6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities, 460 rural municipalities). Provincial capitals: Biratnagar (Koshi), Janakpur (Madhesh), Hetauda (Bagmati), Pokhara (Gandaki), Deukhuri/Dang (Lumbini), Birendranagar (Karnali) and Godawari (Sudurpashchim). Know constitutional bodies - Public Service Commission, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, National Human Rights Commission, Office of the Auditor General, Election Commission - their appointing authority, tenure and removal procedure. The Public Service Commission (Lok Sewa Aayog), a constitutional body since 1951, recruits the civil service.
Governance
Understand good governance: rule of law, transparency, accountability, participation, responsiveness, effectiveness, equity. Instruments: Right to Information, citizen charter, public hearing and social audit, e-governance, performance appraisal, code of conduct, grievance handling. Current frameworks: decentralisation and fiscal federalism, SDG 4 on education, the 2021 census (population about 29.16 million, literacy around 76 per cent), and social security programmes.
Aptitude method
Practise percentage, ratio and proportion, average, simple and compound interest, time-work, series completion, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism and data interpretation. In such items, convert everything to a common unit before computing.
Traps
- Confusing a constitutional body with a statutory or executive body.
- Giving provincial capitals of the pre-2015 zones.
- In aptitude, answering from 'feel' instead of writing the relation.
Worked example
If literacy rose from 66 per cent to 76 per cent, the percentage-point rise is 10 and the relative rise is 10/66 = 15.2 per cent. Examiners offer both numbers; read whether the question asks for points or per cent.