4.5/5
NICL AO Exam Pattern and Syllabus 2026
NICL AO Exam Pattern and Syllabus 2026
The NICL AO Exam Pattern 2026 for both the Prelims and Mains exams has been detailed below for NICL AO Recruitment 2026. The candidates preparing for the NICL Administrative Officer (Scale-I) for Generalist and Specialist posts must go through the details for the exam pattern as discussed below.
NICL AO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026
As per the officials, the NICL AO Prelims Exam consists of 100 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) from the English Language, Reasoning Ability, and Quantitative Aptitude sections. The duration of NICL AO Phase 1 Exam is 60 minutes (20 minutes for each section). There would be a negative marking of 0.25 or 1/4th mark for each incorrect answer.
NICL AO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026
|
SNo.
|
Name of Test
|
No. of Questions
|
Marks
|
Duration
|
|
1.
|
English Language
|
30
|
30
|
20 minutes
|
|
2.
|
Reasoning Ability
|
35
|
35
|
20 minutes
|
|
3.
|
Quantitative Aptitude
|
35
|
35
|
20 minutes
|
|
Total
|
|
100
|
100
|
60 minutes
|
NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2026 [Objective]
1. NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2026 for Generalist
-
For generalist posts, there will be 5 sections namely Reasoning Ability, English Language, General Awareness, Computer Knowledge, and Quantitative Aptitude.
-
The duration of NICL AO Generalist Mains Exam is 180 minutes and there will be sectional timing as discussed in the below table.
-
As per the marking scheme, a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer will be there.
NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2026 for Generalist
|
SNo.
|
Name of Test
|
No. of Questions
|
Marks
|
Duration
|
|
1.
|
Reasoning Ability
|
50
|
50
|
40 minutes
|
|
2.
|
English Language
|
50
|
50
|
40 minutes
|
|
3.
|
General Awareness
|
50
|
50
|
30 minutes
|
|
4.
|
Computer Knowledge
|
50
|
50
|
30 minutes
|
|
5.
|
Quantitative Aptitude
|
50
|
50
|
40 minutes
|
|
Total
|
|
250
|
250
|
180 minutes
|
2. NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2026 for Specialist
-
For Specialist posts, there are 6 sections. Reasoning Ability, English Language, General Awareness, Computer Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude and an additional test to assess technical & professional knowledge in relevant disciplines will be there.
-
As per the marking scheme, a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer will be there.
-
The duration of NICL AO Specialist Mains Exam is 180 minutes and there will be sectional timing as discussed in the below table.
NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern 2026 for Specialist
|
SNo.
|
Name of Test
|
No. of Questions
|
Marks
|
Duration
|
|
1.
|
Reasoning Ability
|
40
|
40
|
35 minutes
|
|
2.
|
English Language
|
40
|
40
|
30 minutes
|
|
3.
|
General Awareness
|
40
|
40
|
20 minutes
|
|
4.
|
Computer Knowledge
|
40
|
40
|
25 minutes
|
|
5.
|
Quantitative Aptitude
|
40
|
40
|
35 minutes
|
|
6.
|
Special Stream: Technical & Professional Knowledge
|
50
|
50
|
35 minutes
|
|
Total
|
|
250
|
250
|
180 minutes
|
NICL AO Mains Descriptive Test
The descriptive test is of 30 minutes duration for 30 marks and includes Essay, Précis and Comprehension. The test will be conducted online in English.
|
Topics
|
Marks
|
Duration
|
|
Essay
|
10
|
30 minutes
|
|
Précis
|
10
|
|
|
Comprehension
|
10
|
|
|
Total
|
30
|
30 minutes
|
NICL AO Interview 2026
The combined final score of candidates shall be arrived at based on scores obtained by the candidates in the online Main Examination (Objective test) and Interview. The weightage (ratio) of the online Main Examination and Interview will be 80:20, respectively. The final merit list shall be prepared in descending order of the consolidated marks secured by the candidates.
NICL AO Syllabus 2026
The candidates must efficiently prepare for NICL AO 2026 by understanding the detailed NICL AO Syllabus 2026. The NICL Syllabus includes sections on English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. The NICL AO Prelims and Mains Syllabus for all subjects have been discussed in the below section.
NICL AO Syllabus for English Language
-
Reading Comprehension
-
Cloze Test
-
Spelling Checks
-
Improving Sentences
-
Jumbling of Paragraphs
-
Completing sentences and paragraphs
-
Parts of Speech
-
Articles
-
Prepositions Fillers
-
Detection of errors
NICL AO Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude
|
Topics
|
Sub-Topics
|
|
Simplification
|
BODMAS, Square Roots, Cube Roots, Square and Cube Roots, Indices, Fractions, Percentages, etc.
|
|
Number Series
|
Missing Number Series, Wrong Number Series, etc.
|
|
Inequality
|
Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations, Quantity Comparison (I, II, III), etc.
|
|
Arithmetic
|
Ratio and Proportion, Percentage, Number System, HCF and LCM, Average, Age, Partnership, Mixture and Alligation, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns, Profit and Loss, Discount, Speed, Time and Distance, Boat and Stream, Trains, Mensuration 2D and 3D, Probability, Permutation and Combination, etc.
|
|
Data Interpretation (DI)
|
Table DI, Missing Table DI, Pie Chart DI (single and multiple pie charts), Line Chart DI (single and multiple lines), Bar Chart DI, Mixed DI, Caselet (paragraph-based caselet, Venn diagram-based caselet, Arithmetic-based caselet), etc.
|
|
Data Sufficiency (DS)
|
Two-statement Data Sufficiency
|
NICL AO Syllabus for Reasoning Ability
|
Topics
|
Sub-Topics
|
|
Puzzles
|
Box-based Puzzles, Designation-based Puzzles, Category-based Puzzles, Floor/Flat-based Puzzles, Day/Month/Year-based Puzzles
|
|
Seating Arrangement
|
Circular Seating Arrangement (Uncertain, Square/Rectangle), Triangular Seating Arrangement, Linear Seating Arrangement, Single Row, Double Row, Uncertain
|
|
Miscellaneous
|
Inequality (Direct and Indirect Statement), Distance and Direction (Normal, Coding-Decoding), Blood Relation (Normal), Syllogism (2–3 statements and 2 conclusions), Series, Alphanumeric-based Series, Alphanumeric-based Word, Alphanumeric-based Number, Word-based Series, Number-based Series, Digit-based Series, Letter-based Series, Order-Ranking (Comparison, Word Pair), Number Pair, Word Formation (Meaningful Word), Odd One Out, Word/Number-based (Multiple Operations)
|
NICL AO Syllabus for General Awareness
-
National Current Affairs
-
International Current Affairs
-
State Current Affairs
-
Sports News
-
Central Government Schemes
-
Agreements/MoU
-
Books & Authors
-
Summits & Conferences
-
Defense News
-
Science & Technology News
-
Banking & Insurance News
-
Static GK
-
Ranks/Reports/Indexes
-
Business & Economy Related News
-
Important Days
-
Obituaries
-
Important Appointments
-
Important Awards & Honours
-
Union Budget 2023-24
-
Current Static
-
Apps & Portals
-
Static Insurance
-
Committees/Councils
-
NICL In News
-
International Loans
-
Abbreviation
NICL AO Selection Process 2026
The selection for Generalists and Specialists (except Hindi Officers) posts will be conducted in three phases-
-
Phase- I: Preliminary Examination online
-
Phase- II: Main Examination online
-
Phase- III: Interview
There would be only a single phase and an Interview for the candidates who apply for Hindi (Rajbhasha) Officers.
0 like |
0 comment
