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UPSC EPFO APFC Guidebook
UPSC EPFO APFC Guidebook
Comprehensive
Guide Book
Sta Your Successful Journey
Preface
This comprehensive guide is your dedicated resource to help you navigate the challenges and excel in
the EPFO APFC examination. Crafted by experienced educators, the guide provides a wealth of
knowledge, such as syllabus, important topics, resources, cut-offs, job profile, salary, benefits, and so
much more.
Without such knowledge, you may struggle to understand the detailed structure of the exam, including
the pattern, subjects, etc. This lack of clarity can lead to inefficient and unfocused preparation which
decreases your chances of cracking the exam. Moreover, you may end up wasting your precious time
and energy in finding the above-mentioned information. Also, there always will be uncertainty about
the source’s credibility from where you gathered the information.
This guidebook will provide you with all the necessary information that you’ll need to understand this
exam and EPFO as an organization, such as:
• What to prepare?
• From where to prepare?
• What will be your role and responsibility in the EPFO?
• What will be your Lifestyle as an Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner?
• What will be your salary after joining the organization?
By diving deep into these aspects, this guidebook aims to equip you with a comprehensive
understanding of the exam and the associated professional journey, ensuring you approach the exam
well-prepared with confidence.
Chapter 8: Eligibility...........................................................................................................................5-6
1 What is EPFO?
The mission of EPFO is “To extend the reach & quality of publicly managed
old-age income security programmes through consistent and ever improving
standards of compliance and benefit delivery in a manner that wins the
approval and confidence of Indians in our methods, fairness, honesty and
integrity, thereby contribu ng to the economic and social well-being of
Indians”.
The Employees' Provident Fund came into existence with the promulgation of the Employees'
Provident Funds Ordinance on November 15, 1951. It was replaced by the Employees' Provident
Funds Act, 1952. The Act is now referred to as the Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous
Provisions Act, 1952 which extends to the whole of India. The Act and Schemes framed there are
administered by a tri-partite Board known as the Central Board of Trustees, Employees' Provident
Fund, consisting of representatives of Government (Both Central and State), Employers, and
Employees.
2
3 Functions of EPFO
ENFORCEMENT OF
THE ACT ACROSS THE
COUNTRY
MAINTENANCE OF SETTLEMENT OF
INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS
ACCOUNTS
5 MAJOR
FUNCTIONS
OF EPFO
About EPFO | 04
There are several departments in EPFO, a few of them are as mentioned below -
5 Hierarchy in EPFO
2 Additional Central
Commissioner (Headquarters)
3 Regional Provident
Fund Commissioner - I
Hierarchy
in EPFO
6 Enforcement/Accounts
Officer
7 Section Supervisors
8 Social Security
Assistants
10 Multi-tasking staff
Part B
About APFC Exam
4
6 Exam Stages
The EPFO APFC exam is a 2-stage process—Recruitment Test and Interview. You must clear both these
exam phases to complete your dream of working as an Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner in
EPFO.
Having knowledge of the EPFO APFC Exam stages gives you clarity on the examination structure and
aids in effective preparation. It helps you develop a tailored strategic study plan, allowing you to
allocate time and resources efficiently, focusing on specific skills and subjects required at each stage.
7 Pa ern
Let’s first see when the UPSC EPFO APFC examination was held in the past.
If we start from the year 2000, the UPSC EPFO APFC examination has taken place a total of 5 times -
notification came out in the year 2002, 2004, 2012, 2015, and the last recruitment notification came
out in 2023.
In 2004, the examination pattern consisted of a written test followed by an interview. The written test
was of 100 marks, there were 120 questions that were to be answered by the aspirants in 2 hours
duration. Please note that there was no negative marking in the examination.
In 2012, the examination pattern consisted of a written test followed by an interview. The written test
was of 100 marks, there were 100 questions that were to be answered by the aspirants in 2 hours
duration. There was 1/3 negative marking in the examination.
In 2015, the examination pattern consisted of a written test followed by an interview. The written test
was of 100 marks, there were 120 questions that were to be answered by the aspirants in 2 hours
duration. There was 1/3 negative marking in the examination.
5
In 2023, the examination pattern consisted of a written test followed by an interview. The written test
was of 300 marks, there were 120 questions (2.5 marks each) that were to be answered by the
aspirants in 2 hours duration. There was 1/3 negative marking in the examination.
For your easy understanding, here is the overview of the UPSC EPFO APFC exam pattern:
• Interview Details -
• Total Duration - 2 Hours
◦ Total Marks - 100 Marks
• Total Marks - 300 Marks
◦ Category-wise Minimum
• Total Questions - 120
cut-off marks
(2.5 marks each)
▪ UR - 50 marks
• Negative Marking - 1/3rd
▪ OBC - 45 marks
• Objective Type
▪ SC/ST/PH - 40 marks
• Offline Mode
8 Eligibility
Understanding the eligibility criteria before applying for the exam is important as it ensures a seamless
application process and prevents unintentional disqualification. Without a clear understanding of these
criteria, you may unknowingly overlook certain requirements, leading to disqualification from the
selection process. This could result in losing a valuable opportunity and hinder your dream of joining
EPFO as an APFC. So, let's understand the eligibility criteria.
Age
• Maximum is 35 years*
(Minimum age limit is not mentioned in the notification)
3 SC/ST 5 Years 40
Important Note: The Qualifications are relaxable at the discretion of the Union Public Service
Commission, for reasons to be recorded in writing, in the case of candidates otherwise well qualified.
9 Syllabus
A thorough understanding of the syllabus significantly impacts your preparation strategy and success in
the examination. It provides insights into the specific subjects and topics that will be evaluated. This
knowledge enables you to create a tailored study plan according to your strengths and weaknesses.
General English
Here is the detailed general English syllabus:
General Science
Here is the detailed general science syllabus:
Physics
Chemistry Biology
Current Events
• Government schemes • Awards and milestones
• Reports of national and international • Days in news
organizations • Persons in news
• First in news • Appointments
• Defence exercises • Fairs and festivals
• Environment • Places in news
• Sports • Books and authors
• Miscellaneous
• Anglo French struggle for supremacy • Administrative reforms under British rule
• British conquest of Bengal • Aspects of British administration in India
• British conquest of Mysore and Maratha • Civil services
empire • Police system
• British conquest of Sindh, Punjab, and • Judicial system
Awadh • The army
• British annexation beyond Indian frontiers • Development in press
• Reorganization of British political system • Development in communication and
• Police administration education
• Revenue administration • Development of railways
• Significant policies of British to consolidate
9
Impo ant Events from 1919 – 1929 Impo ant Events from 1929 to 1939
Impo ant Fairs & Festivals in India UNESCO World Heritage in India
Development Globalisation
Environment
Legislatures in India
Judiciary in India
Finance Commission
Accountancy
Here is the detailed Accountancy syllabus:
Recording of Transactions
Auditing
Here is the detailed auditing syllabus:
Labor Codes
Insurance
Here is the detailed Insurance syllabus:
Introduction to Insurance
• Insurance schemes
• Insurance role in social security
• Difference between social security insurance schemes and private insurance schemes
• Current state of insurance in India
• Emerging concepts in the insurance industry
Social Security
Here is the detailed Social Security syllabus:
Introduction to Computer
• Computer organization
• Data processing cycle
• Instruction cycle
• Introduction • Introduction
• Functions of operating system • Components of computer network
• Types of operating system • Types of computer network
• Basic understanding of MS-DOS and • Computer network architecture
windows • Network protocols
• Network topology
• Introduction to the internet
20
Commonly Used Sho -cuts and Full Form Used in Computer Parlance
Quantitative Aptitude
Here is the detailed quantitative aptitude syllabus:
10 Cut-O s
Analyzing the previous years' cut-offs is paramount for you as it offers valuable insights into the level of
performance required for a competitive edge. Armed with this knowledge, you can identify trends and
prioritize high-scoring sections to tailor your preparation strategically.
21
Please note that the cut-offs of 2023 have not been released yet. We’ll update them once UPSC
releases 2023 cut-off marks. The table below shows cut-off for recruitment test, interview and final
selection for the year 2015:
Interview 50 45 40 40 - -
As per the past trends, recruitment for the post of APFC is not so regular. The last 5 recruitments were
held in the year 2023, 2015, 2012, 2004, & 2002.
In 2023, UPSC released 159 vacancies for the post of APFC in EPFO.
Anyone who aspires to be a Class A officer that too of a commissioner level with very less
effort should consider preparing for this exam.
There can be multiple motivation factors to prepare for this exam, for eg., you get postings in metro
cities, have an opportunity to work on a wider canvas, great work-life balance, job security, job
satisfaction and most important you will be working in the world’s largest Social Security
Organisations.
Part C
About APFC Job &
Lifestyle
22
After the recruitment, all the officers initially undergo a 45-day on the job training in the field offices.
After completion of on the job training, APFC (Probationers) have to undergo 3 to 6 months of
Foundation Course Induction Training at National Academy for Training & Research in Social Security
(NATRSS), New Delhi and National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur.
The Induction Training broadly includes classroom sessions on many functional areas viz. EPF & MP
Act, Civil Procedure Code & Criminal Procedure Code, Labour laws, Central Labour Machinery,
Provident Fund investment & management, Officer like Qualities (OLQs) sessions, Behavioural
Management sessions, etc.
The provident fund commissioners and assistant provident fund commissioners are the spine of the
organization. They are responsible for the enforcement and administration of the Act and scheme
provisions. The work area is very broad. Some of the many job roles are as below:
Enforcement, Exemption & Recovery Quasi Judicial Authority
Intelligence
Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner is a Group A service. The basic pay for the APFC position is Rs
15,600 to Rs 39,100 with a Grade Pay of Rs 5400. In addition to the basic pay, they are entitled to
various allowances such as Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), and Transport
Allowance (TA) which vary depending on the location of their posting. So, in-hand salary with
allowances is Rs 1 lakh+ per month (without income tax deduction). Also they are liable to leased
accommodation, travel allowance, monthly medical allowance, etc.
Promotion structure for joining as an APFC in EPFO is quite smooth. After being an APFC for 5 years,
you are promoted to Regional Commissioner II (However, after 4 years you get a senior time scale that
increases your grade pay to 6600). Then, in the next 5 years you are promoted to Regional
Commissioner I . After completion of 5-6 years as Regional Commissioner I, you are promoted to
Additional Central Commissioner (Headquarters) who heads a zone or is in incharge of the head office
(New Delhi) and there are only 12 vacancies for this post.
24
APFC Promotions
• Objective General
English by SP
Bakshi - For
Read editorial
Grammar and
section of The
General English Comprehension NA NA
Hindu/The Indian
• Word Power Made
Express
Easy By Norman
Lewis - For
Vocabulary
• Modern Indian
History NCERT
Books - For History
Indian Culture, and Indian Culture
Heritage and • Indian Art & Culture
NA NA NA
Freedom by Nitin Singhania
Movement • Spectrum’s A Brief
History of Modern
India - For Freedom
Movement
26
• Accountancy
NCERTs of class
Accountancy 11th & 12th
NA NA NA
and Auditing • Introduction to
Accountancy by
S. Chand
Insurance JAIIB book for Paper IRDAI website - ebooks NA Google some
1 - Principles and (https://www.irdai. topics for
Practices of Banking gov.in/ADMINCMS their
/cms/whatsNew_L definition
ayout.aspx?page=
PageNo2489&flag =1)
• PIB
• PRS
• Ministry of Social
Justice and
Empowerment
• Ministry of Women
and Child
Development
Social Security NA NA NA
• Ministry of Health
and Family welfares
• Ministry of Minority
Affairs
• Ministry of Labour
and Employments
• Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs
28
Computer Computer NA NA NA
Awareness by
Arihant
Elementary Quantitative NA NA NA
Maths Aptitude by Dr. R.S.
Aggarwal
Apart from the resources mentioned in the table, syllabus, PYQs and mock tests should be your best
friends throughout your preparation journey of UPSC APFC examination.
Part E
Our 6-Step Formula to
Become an APFC in
EPFO
29
Set a
Clear Goal #1
Always remember that if you are not sure about WHY you want to take certain actions, it is most likely
that the action won’t yield results. Even if it does, you will not be satisfied with the result. Same is the
case with the EPFO APFC exam, you need to have the clarity in your mind of why you wish to prepare.
Whatever may be the factor, you have to have your goal crystal clear to be always motivated & act
consistently to get success.
#2 Understand
the Exam
The syllabus and previous year questions are like the 2 headlights of your car of preparation. You miss
one of these and your car will meet with an accident, let me guarantee you this right here!
The biggest blunder aspirants like you commit is that they do not define the scope of the syllabus of
the examination and prepare under the impression that anything and everything can be asked in the
examination which is even remotely related to the syllabus!
Hell no! This is NOT the case. Download and print a copy of the syllabus and then do the same for
previous year questions.
30
Go through the syllabus at least 10 times and then go through the previous year questions (year wise)
and see for yourself what are the important topics and in what depth they need to be studied for the
examination. Believe me, more than 90% of the so-called sincere aspirants do not do this.
Shortlist
Resources #3
Based on step 2 above, now is the time to shortlist your study sources - be it coaching material, books,
websites, magazines, or the like! And remember, once you prepare a list of the resources that you are
going to follow, DO NOT get swayed by new material that keeps flooding the market through
telegram, Facebook, websites, advertisements, etc! Keep your head down and focus on completing
your study sources. Yes, once you are done with your sources, you can move to a secondary source but
not before that!
Plan a
#4 Strategy
This is a very important step - you must plan a strategy for yourself. This strategy is for ‘you’ and ‘you’
alone. Do not compare your timetable with others, as study habits vary widely.
• Some students are early birds, while some are night owls.
• Some prefer long stretches, while some need short bursts.
• Some 7 days a week, while some keep a day or 2 for rest.
The point or the goal is to have a strategy that ‘works’ for ‘you’. It is not meant to earn a shower of
praises from your parents, friends or peers!
31
Execute with
Consistency #5
Ah consistency! The ever-elusive thing! The secret to developing consistency is to make ‘micro easy
targets’. How? Let's compare 2 situations.
Situation 1
Student A makes a plan that he will study 8 hours everyday starting tomorrow and sets a goal for
himself for the next day - cover 50 pages of current affairs magazine, 20 pages of constitution of India
from a book,50 questions of arithmetical reasoning and read 20 pages of history. He starts his day full
of energy but towards the end of the day finds himself in quite an uncomfortable position realizing
that only 50% of the target has been covered. He is not able to sleep comfortably that night and gets
up the next morning tired and frustrated. Now he has to complete the pending tasks of Day 1 as well
as cover whatever he decided for Day 2 as well! Quite an uphill task, don’t you think?
Situation 2
On the other hand, Student B makes a plan that he will also study 8 hours a day and sets a goal of
completing 20 pages of current affairs magazine, 10 pages of constitution of India and 10 questions of
arithmetical reasoning. What will happen is that this student will complete his target ahead of schedule
and having done that feel elated, joyful and full of confidence! This will lead to a good night’s sleep
and hence even higher energy for the next Day!
Getting my rhythm? This is how you make ‘micro and ‘easy’ targets and achieve them daily and move
ahead with consistency
Develop
#6 Faith
Always think from your mind and feel from your heart. If you reverse this sentence, you will get
trapped in ‘emotions’. Being emotional isn’t bad at all, it’s good! Getting trapped in emotions is what
is bad! Once you complete step 1-5, you will start to develop faith in yourself. Have a little trust in your
mentors as well, talk to them, mail them, get in touch and see how they can help you!
32
After you learn and understand this 6 Step Formula to dominate the EPFO APFC Exam, you can
literally apply it on any examination you are taking or might take in the future!
The above formula will always help you set a clear goal and plan all your activities around
that one clear goal.
33
EduTap offers a 10-day free starter pack for the EPFO APFC exam. This trial period allows individuals
to explore the quality of study materials, practice tests, and educational resources available on EduTap.
By availing of the free starter pack, candidates can make an informed decision about the effectiveness
of EduTap's preparation tools for the EPFO APFC exam before committing to a subscription.
Created by experienced teachers, this course includes subject-wise videos, study notes, practice tests,
and more, as per the latest pattern and syllabus. This pack gives you a glimpse of what preparing for
the EPFO APFC exam is like. Over 10 days, you’ll learn,
Author’s Note
• All information in this guidebook is provided after thorough research and is true and complete to
the best of our knowledge. Although we have made strong efforts to verify every piece of
information from an authentic source, we take no responsibility in case of errors.
However, if any inadvertent errors are found while you are reading this guide book, do let us know at
hello@edutap.co.in and it will be updated within 2-3 working days.
35
What Next?
This guidebook has equipped you with the essential information that can help you understand the
APFC exam and how to crack it. Here are some tips that can further help in your exam preparation.
• Analyze Previous Year Papers: Analyze the PYQ papers to understand the exam trends and the
type of questions asked. Failing to do so might leave you unprepared for the diversity of questions
that could be posed during the exam, putting you at a disadvantage.
• Practice Mock Tests: Regularly practice mock tests to simulate exam conditions. This helps improve
time management, accuracy, and familiarity with the exam format. Without regular simulation of
exam conditions, you may encounter challenges in managing your time effectively during the actual
exam.
• Focus on Weak Areas: Solving mock tests and analyzing PYQs help you identify your strengths and
weaknesses. Now you can allocate more time to strengthen your weak areas. Regularly assess your
progress and adapt your study plan accordingly.
• Supplement Your Resources: Do not stick to only one resource for preparation. It is recommended
to always supplement your preparation with additional resources for overall preparation. However,
do not go overboard with it.
• Make Notes: Take detailed notes summarizing key points, essential concepts, and important facts
to ensure retention. This will serve as a quick reference during revision.
• Stay Positive and Motivated: Maintain a positive mindset throughout your preparation. Surround
yourself with supportive individuals, and believe in your ability to succeed.
By following these recommendations and leveraging the resources provided in this guidebook, you can
significantly enhance your chances of becoming an Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner.
Remember, the key is to stay focused, committed, and persistent on your path to success.
We at EduTap wish you the very best in your EPFO APFC Exam preparation.
36
Study Notes
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