Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Exam is a competitive exam conducted by the UPSC to recruit the candidates in the Central Police Organizations (CPOs) as Assistant Commandant (AC) in the Officers Cadre of the following forces:

• Border Security Force (BSF)
• Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
• Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Nationality:
1. The aspirant must be a citizen of India.
2. The aspirants who are citizens of Nepal and Bhutan are also eligible to apply in the exam.
3. Age Criteria for CAPF AC Exam
4. The minimum age limit for the CAPF AC Exam is 20 years and the maximum age limit is 25 years for General Category candidates.
5. Age relaxation of 3 yrs and 5 yrs is applicable for OBC and SC/ST candidates, respectively.
2. Education Required:
1. As per official UPSC CAPF AC notification, “the aspirant must hold a Bachelors’s degree in any stream from any recognized university.”
2. The aspirants appearing in the final year of their degree course can also apply for the exam but they have to produce the final year result of the qualifying exam with the detailed application form.
3. NCC ‘B’ or ‘C’ Certificate Holders:

The aspirants having the NCC ‘B’ or ‘C’ Certificate with good grades will be preferred in the Interview and considerations would be done at the time of UPSC Interview/Personality Test only.

4. Physical Criteria:
1. Physical Standards Men Women
   Height 165 cm 157 cm
2. Chest(unexpanded) 81 cm (with 5 cm minimum expansion) (Not applicable)
3. Weight 50 kg 46 kg
4. (a) Eyesight:
   Better eye (corrected vision)
   Worse eye(corrected vision)
   Distant vision 6/6
   OR 6/9 6/12
   OR 6/9
   Near Vision N6 (corrected) N9 (corrected)
5. The written exam consists of two papers ( 450 marks)-
1. Paper-I – General and Mental Ability (125 Qs.) 250 marks (Max) 2 Hrs.
2. Paper-II – General Studies, Essay & Comprehension, Grammar 200 marks (Max) 3 Hrs.
3. The paper I will be the MCQ type and paper II will be the conventional/descriptive essay type.
6. Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) -
1. Event/Test For Males For Females.
2. 100 Meters race In 16 Seconds In 18 seconds.
3. 800 Meters race In 3 minutes 45 seconds In 4 minutes 45 seconds.
4. Long Jump 3.5 Meters (3 chances) 3.0 meters (3 chances).
5. Shot Put (7.26 Kgs) 4.5 Meters.

Important essay topics for various UPSC exams

• Child development as a fundamental right
• Fighting age fraud for Indian football's integrity
• Summer can be fun and learning for students
• Museums are pillars of culture and education
• Promise and challenges of drones in agriculture
• India tactfully manages US-Iran tensions
• Fostering innovation from schools to startups
• SC judgments have strengthened democracy
• Regime change on cards in Nepal?
• Use of lighting in Indian architecture
• Battle to save India's biodiversity
• Evolution of monetary policymaking in India
• Climate startups: Innovative climate crisis warriors
• Global South's cultural diplomacy