Are you a graduate or in the last semester of graduation and want to pursue your career in civil services especially in grass root level then becoming BDO is a wonderful choice for you. The full form of BDO is Block Development officer, who works for the development of blocks under a particular district.
BDO is a reputed government official post in our society and every year lots of students appear in this exam. In West Bengal civil service exam almost 1.8 lakhs applicant filled the form in 2021. This number may vary in in year for different states.
Therefore you can understand the craze of this exam. So if you are also want to become BDO then this article how to become BDO officer will definitely be useful for you.
Contents
Who is BDO officer?
BDO officer or block development officer is a government officials whose duty is to ensure the development of the blocks under a particular district.
BDO focused on the implementation of the various government scheme at the local and grass root level and whether the community are getting the benefit of the scheme.
Therefore a BDO has a significant role to develop, planning and implementation of the schemes. And the BDO is the head of the government operational wings for both the operation and regulation. These means BDO has the power to approve all the developmental projects under a particular region/ block which is necessary for the development of the society.
BDO eligibility criteria
How to become BDO officer: The students who want to become the BDO they need to fulfill some basic eligibility criteria listed below:
- The candidate has to pass the 12th board exam in any discipline e.g. arts, science, or commerce from any recognised boards.
- Candidate has to pass the graduation degree from any recognised college/ university with valid score. Candidate with a degree in BA, B.COM, B.Sc., B. Tech, BBA, BCA, BE, or any other undergraduate program are eligible to write the exam of BDO.
- A master degree in any discipline from a recognised university is an optional for this exam.
Important: The candidate who want to write this exam must be the citizen of India, or the citizen of Nepal and Bhutan are also eligible, or the people who came in India before January 1962 as refugee and do not have permanent citizenship of India are also eligible to write this exam.
How to become BDO officer – BDO exam details
Now the main part how to become BDO officer? Well, for this you have to qualify the state PSC exam. Every state has their own PSC and they conducts their various state level examinations and BDO officer examination is one of them.
This exam is on of the toughest examination conducted by the state government. This exam is very much similar to the UPSC CSE examination but state PSC examination syllabus are not vast like UPSC exam.
Every PSC exam is conducted in to three phase:
Preliminary Exam
Preliminary exam contains two papers:
- General aptitude: 200 marks (100 question & 2 marks each
- Civil aptitude test: 200 marks (80 question & 2.5 marks each
Both the papers have 2 hours duration each.
Mains Exam
If you are qualified the preliminary exam then you will be eligible for the mains exam. Mains examination contains total 8 papers.
- First paper: first paper is language papers and you can choose any language as according to your preferred state. This exam has total marks 100 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Second paper: The second paper is essay writing paper. This exam has total marks 100 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Third paper: Third paper is general studies 1 paper. This paper contains subjects like geography, history, and society. This exam has total marks 250 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Fourth paper: Fourth paper is general studies 2 paper. This paper contains subjects like Indian Constitution, Governance & International Relations, and Political Science. This exam has also total marks 250 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Fifth paper: Fifth paper is general studies 3 paper. This paper contains subjects like Economy, Security Issues, and Statistics. This exam has also total marks 250 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Sixth paper: Sixth paper is general studies 4 paper. This paper contains subjects like Environment, Problem Solving, Science & Technology, and Decision Making. This exam has total marks 250 marks and of total duration 3 hours.
- Seventh paper: This is an optional paper 1. The total duration of exam is 3 hours.
- Eighth paper: This is optional paper 2. The total duration of exam is 3 hours.
Read more: How to become CBI after 12th in India
These are the optional subjects list:
- Economics
- Law
- Physics
- Psychology
- Mathematics
- Political Science and International Relations
- Agriculture
- Chemistry
- English Literature
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service
- Punjabi Literature
- Indian History
- Hindi Literature
- Sanskrit Literature
- Botany
- Geography
- Zoology
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Civil Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Public Administration
- Electrical Engineering
These are the list of the total optional subjects. You have to choose total two subjects from the list for the consecutive optional papet 1 & 2.
After the mains examination the selected candidates will be called for an interview/personality test. The candidate will be selected for the interview on the basis of the marks on the mains examination only.
The preliminary exam marks will not be included for the final merit list. Preliminary exam is just a screening test where you have to score minimum 33%.
Interview
After clearing the mains exam candidate has to face the interview or personality test. The personality test has total 150 marks where the interviewer can ask the random questions, basic general awareness, thinking and mental ability, instany decision making skill, and other things.
BDO exam syllabus 2023
- Basic and International Politic
- Atmosphere Soil Water
- States of Matter
- Indian History
- Reforms Panchayati Raj
- Communication Skills
- All about the State and Economy of India
- Basic Mathematical Skills
- Logical Reasoning
- General Studies
- World Current Affairs
- Data Analysis
- Language and Essay
- Literature
- Telecommunication
- Statistics
- Indian Politics
Note: This syllabus may vary from one state to another state.
BDO roles and responsibilities
Block development officers are one of the prestigious post in Indian government service. Like other government posts Block Development Officers has also some roles and responsibilities candidates has to fulfill. These are mentioned below:
- The main work of BDO is the execution and implementation of the developmental programs issued by the authorities of India.
- The BDO has to take part in various meetings in various government programs like village council e.g. Panchayet Samity
- Visiting the public work areas and analyzing full report whether the work is done properly.
- Distribution of Panchayet Samity funds when it is required and improvements if there is any irregularities in panchayet samity fund.
- Preparing the annual budgets, work progress report and other reports and submitting it to the village council, district council and state government.
BDO officer salary
Their salary is varied from area to area. But on in average BDO salary per month is 9,300 to 34,800 per month. But this is not fixed salary. This salary increase with their age as they become older and experienced BDO officer.
Like other government posts BDO officers also can serve their duty up to the age 60. After their retirement they gets pension from the government.
BDO salary grade pay
BDO officers get grade pay of about 4,800/- rupees per month.
Age limit for BDO exam
It is also important to know about the age limit for BDO exam. The minimum age limit of this exam is 21 years old. The maximum age for general candidate is 32 years old. This maximum age may vary for the category basis.
| Category | Maximum age limit |
|---|---|
| OBC category | 35 years |
| SC/ST caregory | 37 years |
| PwD category | 42 years |
BDO officer facilities
The block development officer facilities gets many facility from the government so they can get motivated into their work. These are some facilities listed below:
- Car for his duty.
- House for accomodation
- Free medical facilities for the officer and their family
- Trip facilities for the BDO officer and their family.
BDO exam preparation strategy
Strategy is very important to clear any competitive exam. Without a clear strategy a government exam like state PSC is very difficult to clear. Here are some preparation strategy I shared here you can follow.
Note: It is always better to prepare your own preparation strategy according to your timetable and capacity.
First check the time. How much time you actually have to study. Because undoubtedly the PSC syllabus is vast and if you want to cover most of the part you need sufficient time. So always start as soon as possible.
Second and most importantly always carry a copy of syllabus with you. I know it will be very helpful in a long run. A copy of syllabus either in mobile or print copy will always remind you what you have to study and what you haven’t. In competitive exam it is also very important to learn that what you should not study. This will obviously save your lots of time and effort.
Prepare the base of General studies subjects e.g. history, geography, polity, economy etc. from the NCERT books. Undoubtedly NCERT books are your best friend in any civil service exam.
Always prepare prelims with mains. Because after prelims you will not get enough time to prepare again for mains. So do prepare prelims+mains simultaneously.
Study the newspapers like the hindu, Indian times daily. Its a habit that you have to gather. Read the current affairs articles and make notes on it.
Reading with solving previous year question is essential for the complete preparation. So solve previous years questions as much as possible.
Purchase mock tests and attend mocks before the 1 month of main examination. This will help you to boost your confidence, time management and precision. Utilise last month of preparation on revision and question solving.
FAQ’s
What do I need to study to become a BDO?
You have to complete the graduation in any stream e.g. arts, commerce, science from any recognised university to apply for the BDO post.
How is BDO selected?
BDO are selected by state PSC examination conducted by each states. These exam has three steps e.g. pelims, mains and interview. Candidate has to pass all the steps to become BDO.
How to prepare for BDO interview?
You can prepare either from any coaching centre, or you can watch the interview rounds of various aspirants on Youtube or read the testimonials of the successful aspirants on internet.
What is the monthly salary of BDO?
The monthly salary of BDO is around 9,300 to 34,800.
What is the training period of BDO?
After successful joining they BDO officers got 6 month training period. and additional 2 years of service on probation.
What are the work hours of BDO?
The work hours of BDO officers are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
Last message…
In this article, we have discussed all about How to become BDO officer. The process of becoming BDO officer or any government official is challenging and obviously rigorous.
So always start with proper planning and strategy.Because this strategy factor is the winning parameters for aspirants who win the race. I have shared some of the preparation tips that you can use.
If you have any doubts and question regarding this article how to become BDO officer then feel free to comment us below.