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SSC CPO and SSC CGL are two major exams conducted by Staff Selection Commission (SSC), an organization under government of India which is responsible to recruit staff for various posts in the various ministries and departments of the government of India and subordinate offices. The SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGL) is the one through which the hiring process for various group B and group C posts under the SSC departments are done. On the other hand, the purpose of SSC CPO examination is to recruit candidates for the Central Police Organization. The two major posts under this category are SI (Sub Inspector) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and ASI (Assistant Sub Inspector). In this article SSC CGL vs SSC CPO, we are analyzing the various aspects of this.
SSC CGL vs SSC CPO: Examination Pattern
SSC CGL Examination Pattern
There are four stages for the SSC CGL examination.
- Tier 1: written examination (objective)
- Tier 2: written examination (objective)
- Tier 3: written examination (descriptive)
- Tier 4: computer test
SSC CGL Tier 1 exam details
| Number of papers | 1 |
| Total number of questions | 100 |
| Number of topics | 4 |
| Topics | General intelligence and reasoning, General Awareness/General knowledge, Quantitative aptitude, English comprehension |
| Total marks | 200 |
| Negative marking | yes |
| Mode | online |
| Question type | objective |
| Total time | 75 minutes |
SSC CGL Tier 2 exam details
| Number of papers | 4 |
| Subjects | Paper 1-quantitative ability
Paper 2-English language and comprehension Paper 3-statistics(only for the post of statistical investigator Gr. II& compiler paper Paper 4-general studies(finance and economics)(only for the post of assistant audit officer) |
| Total marks | 800 |
| Total time | 2 hours for each paper |
| Negative marking | yes |
| Mode | online |
| Question type | objective |
SSC CGL Tier 3 exam details
| Number of papers | 1 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Type of question | descriptive |
| subjects | Essay writing, Letter/application writing, passage writing |
| Total time | One hour |
| Exam mode | offline |
SSC CGL Tier 4 exam detail
| Exam mode | online |
| Total time | 15 minutes |
| Type of tests | Data entry skill test, computer proficiency test |
SSC CPO Examination Pattern
There are four phases for SSC CPO Examination.
Phase 1- Paper 1 (Computer based exam, objective MCQs)
Phase 2- Physical Standard Test (PST)/ Physical Endurance Test (PET)
Phase 3- Paper 2 (English objective MCQs)
Phase 4- Detailed Medical Examination (DME)
SSC CPO Phase 1 Details
Exam mode: Online
Time Duration: 2 hours
Question type: Objective multiple-choice questions
Negative marking: 0.25 marks for each wrong answer
| Part | Subjects | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks |
| 1 | General intelligence and reasoning | 50 | 50 |
| 2 | General knowledge and general awareness | 50 | 50 |
| 3 | Quantitative aptitude | 50 | 50 |
| 4 | English comprehension | 50 | 50 |
SSC CPO Phase 2 Details
Based on the marks obtained in Paper 1, Candidates will be shortlisted for appearing in PET/PST test through which the physical and medical fitness of the candidate is tested.
Physical Standard Test for Male Candidates
| Category of candidates | Height (in cms) | Chest (in cms)
unexpanded |
Chest (in cms)
Expanded |
| General | 170 | 80 | 85 |
| Candidates belonging to hill areas of Garhwal, Kumaon, Himachal Pradesh, Gorkhas, Dogras, Marathas, Kashmir valley, Leh and Ladakh regions of Jammu and Kashmir, North-eastern states and Sikkim | 165 | 80 | 85 |
| Scheduled Tribes | 162.5 | 77 | 82 |
Physical Standard Test for Female Candidates
| Category of Candidates | Height (in cms) |
| General | 157 |
| Candidates belonging to hill areas of Garhwal, Kumaon, Himachal Pradesh, Gorkhas, Dogras, Marathas, Kashmir valley, Leh and Ladakh regions of Jammu and Kashmir, North-eastern states and Sikkim | 155 |
| Scheduled Tribes | 154 |
Physical Endurance Test (PET) for Male Candidates
| Race | 100 meters race in 16 seconds
1.6 kms race in 6.5 minutes |
| Long Jump | 3.65 meters in 3 chances |
| High Jump | 1.2 meters in 3 chances |
| Shot put (16 Lbs) | 4.5 meters in 3 chances |
Physical Endurance Test (PET) for Female Candidates
| Race | 100 meters race in 18 seconds |
| Long jump | 2.7 meters in 3 chances |
| High jump | 0.9 meters in 3 chances |
Both physical standard test and Physical endurance test are qualifying in nature.
SSC CPO Phase 3 details
This is an online exam to test your English language and comprehension skills. It carries 200 marks in total and there will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer. The time duration of the exam is 2 hours.
Based on the marks of paper 1 and paper 2, candidates will be shortlisted for appearing in the medical test.
SSC CPO Phase 4 details
Medical Test
Medical standard
Eyesight- The minimum near vision should be N6 (better eye) and N9 (worse
eye).
The minimum distant vision should be 6/6 (better eye) and 6/9 (worse eye).
For a right-hander, the right eye is better eye and for a left-hander, the left eye is the better eye.
The standards should be without any kind of visual correction.
Physical and Mental Health
The candidates shouldn’t have a knock knee, flat foot, varicose vein or squint in eyes. He should be fit both physically and mentally.
Seven obstacle test
The final session of the recruitment process of SSC CPO is a seven obstacle test. They are,
- Jumping over the vertical board
- Holding the rope on jumping from the board
- Tarzan swing
- Jumping on the horizontal board
- Parallel rope
- Monkey crawl
- Vertical rope
Those who qualify all these four phases will be asked to appear for a document verification session where the candidates will have to submit all the required documents.
SSC CPO vs SSC CGL: Syllabus
1: In a certain code language, ‘ROK’ is written as ‘44’ and ‘MIG’ is written as ‘29’. What will be the code for ‘TAL’ in that code language?
The syllabus of both SSC CGL and SSC CPO seems to be almost the same. But the difficulty level of both the exams differs. The difficulty level of SSC CGL exam is higher than that of the SSC CPO.
SSC CGL vs SSC CPO: Duties and Responsibilities
SSC CGL has about 30 departments. The nature of the work vary according to the department you are being posted. Through an SSC CGL job, a candidate is expected to do the following duties.
- Clerical works in office
- Filing works
- General administration works
- Field jobs including travelling
- Carry out raids, inspections, surveillance etc
- Shaping nationwide policies
On the other hand the role and responsibilities of SSC CPO candidates are entirely different from this. They become the SI or ASI in some regions of the country. They become the part of Indian paramilitary force of the Indian Army.
The posting of SSC CPO candidates can be in any of the military organizations like BSF (Border Security Force), SSB (Seema Suraksha Bal), ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police), CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) etc.
So the candidates are supposed to either work to save the boundaries of the nation or save the nation from the anti-national activities like riots, criminal attacks, terrorism etc.
SSC CGL vs SSC CPO: Salary and Perks
| S no | CGL | CPO |
| 1 | Basic in-hand salary starts with Rs.31000 | Basic in-hand salary starts with Rs.29200 |
| 2 | The highest salary is Rs.55,000 | The highest salary is Rs. 1,12,400 |
| 3 | Selected for group B and group C | |
| 4 | The grade pay varies with the designation | The grade pay varies with the designation |
When it comes to the matter of financial savings, a CAPF personnel can save his/her entire salary as he/she gets a lot of allowances from the government like dress allowance, ration allowance etc. there are no such allowances for the SSC CGL candidates.
SSC CGL vs SSC CPO: Promotion Patterns
The promotion of the SSC CGL candidates is according to the rules of the central government. When it comes to SSC CPO, candidates who are initially selected as ASI (Assistant Sub Inspector) can get a promotion as a Sub Inspector (SI) only after 5 years of the basic service in any of the CPO departments like BSF, CISF, ITBP etc. The years of service, expertise and overall performance of the candidates will be taken into account while considering for promotions.
Conclusion
The nature of jobs under SSC CGL and SSC CPO are extremely different. For a person with a higher level of physical endurance and a passion to serve the nation, SSC CPO is a great door of opportunity. For those who prefer a desk job, it is better to go for SSC CGL exam.
Hope this article helped you to have a fair idea regarding SSC CGL and SSC CPO examinations. We wish you a bright future ahead!
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