How do I prepare for the EPFO exam in 2019?

‘The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)’, has invited applications for 280 vacancies at stake for the position of Assistant. The organisation shall be conducting an online examination which shall be conducted in two phases. Phase-I (Preliminary Examination) shall be conducted on July 30, 2019, will be conducting an Online Examination for recruitment to the post of Assistant. Format of the examination shall be objective and expects the candidate to have proficiency in the subjects of English Language, Numerical Aptitude and Reasoning Ability comprising of 100 questions carrying 1 mark each. Negative Marking is there and for every wrong answer, there is a penalty of one-fourth of a point. Phase-II (The Mains Examination) consists of questions of both objective and Descriptive nature. Objective portion consists of topics like Reasoning/Intelligence, General Economy/Financial Awareness, English Language and Quantitative Aptitude. Except for English, all other exam papers are bilingual in nature. Unlike the preliminary, the Mains has a descriptive paper of English Language in which a Candidate is expected to write a Precis, Letter and a Comprehension. An important point to note is that the Preliminary Examination is merely for qualification and marks obtained in the Mains examination are counted towards the actual rank.

1.PREPARATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English Language Paper is one of the most scoring sections in the exam. The subject is an integral part of both the Preliminary and the Mains examination with the latter even including a descriptive section dedicated to Essay, Precis and
Comprehension. The section seeks to test the candidate’s reading and writing skills, grammar & vocabulary. The descriptive section comprises of Essay, Precis and Comprehension as in most of the competitive examinations. Some of the attributes that all students who aim to score high in this section should have a great reading speed for it is essential to master the context of the passage. Candidates can increase reading speed by extensively following newspapers and editorials on trending topics. It is always essential to have knowledge about topics on Economy, Banking, Finance, as they might be asked in the exam. Besides having an understanding of the above topics can also serve as an added advantage of preparing a student for the Economy and Financial Awareness paper in advance. It is necessary that the student should have mastered vocabulary for it helps greatly in understanding the context of comprehension. Also, go through important Idioms and Phrases as they form a part of the exam.

ESSAYS are graded on its structure. Candidates should ensure that the essay is free of grammatical and spelling errors and follows a structured flow of ideas. An ideal essay comprises of Introduction, Body and Conclusion.
a)The introduction: This is the part where the topic is introduced and should include a big picture, points, and ideas are briefly written here.
b)The body: It includes the main ideas, topics and subject all in details. Also included is the evidence and information in support of the essay.
c)The conclusion: Conclusion is the last part of the essay and summarizes the overall topics or ideas of an essay.

PRECIS is usually a brief summary of the passage taking care of all the essential points such as the main idea, mood and tone of the passage. Mentioned below are some of the important points for Precis writing.
a)Practice by going through numerous passages and attempt precis writing.
b)Understand and Abide by the rules of Precis wring stringently.
c)It is essential to stick to the word limit.

COMPREHENSION A high score can be aimed at even by candidates who don’t have an impressive vocabulary. Understand the passage with special focus on the topic. It is generally visible in the first two sentences of the passage. Understand the scope of the topic. A second important element of the comprehension is the tone which can be either neutral or strong. Candidate should search for adjectives or descriptive phrases used to describe the topics. Candidate should make notes along with the passage to answer the questions quickly. Usually, the information in your notes is enough to guess the correct answer. As you read each paragraph, ensure to take notes of what is stated by the author but also the imitations of important words and phrases.

The two most important tips to score high in the English language paper is to daily read newspapers and magazines that shall help you increase the vocabulary and secondly enough practice to strengthen your core skills.

2.NUMERICAL APTITUDE

There is a range of topics that make up the syllabus of Numerical Aptitude of the examination(Both Preliminary and The Mains Exams). Level of difficulty of the exam is that of NCERT X examination and includes questions from
Data Interpretation, Simplification, Number Series Inequality, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple Interest and Compound Interest, Average, Ratio and Proportion, Time and Work, Time, Speed and Distance and Probability. Practice by solving the previous year’s question papers and memorize important formulas such as mensuration, Trigonometry and important formulas regarding interest, Profit and loss, and Percentage,

3)REASONING ABILITY

Reasoning Ability is a very important topic and it can turn out to be extremely challenging if attempted without preparation. Time management is extremely crucial in this examination as a candidate requires important tips and tricks to solves the paper quickly. Reasoning examination is divided into 4 sections namely Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Analytical and Logical Reasoning. The speed with accuracy is also the deciding factor In the examination. Ability to complete the examination with accuracy is avital for scoring high in the exam. Read plenty of books or join a coaching institute who equip you with time-saving tools and techniques to get through the examination.

4)ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS

The syllabus of this section consists of 3 basic sections namely
a)General Awareness
B)Economic Awareness
c)Financial Awareness
a)General Awareness: The main topics covered under this section are related to General Knowledge such as Important dates, Key heritage sites, Important temples and Landmarks. Besides, there are topics related to current affairs that the students should be aware of. Past topics can be prepared by referring to any General Knowledge Book and current affairs in banking, economy and finance can be prepared by referring to newspapers.
b)Economic Awareness: The main topics covered under this heading are Indian Economy, Inflation, Financial Institutions, Balance of Trade and Payment.
c)Financial Awareness: Covers the basic terminologies used in Banking, Economics and Insurance, Structure and function of EPFO, Pension Schemes and Regulatory bodies.Indian Financial System, security bonds and money market. Syllabus seems extensive but if you divide it into parts it becomes easy to revise. Also, make notes alongside so that it becomes easy for you to revise as the examination draws near.