BPSC ACF Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026 (Advt 02/2026)

About This Syllabus

BPSC has published the ACF syllabus in two lists for Advertisement No. 02/2026 (Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Bihar). List 2 covers the compulsory papers: General Hindi, General Knowledge and the Intermediate-level syllabus of Environment & Forest. List 1 is the UPSC Indian Forest Service syllabus, which applies to the 14 optional subjects. Except for the language papers, answers can be written in Hindi or English.

Compulsory Paper: General Hindi (50 marks, qualifying)

• Standard of Class 10 (Matric) Hindi of the Bihar School Examination Board
• Tests the ability to express ideas clearly and correctly in simple Hindi, and to understand plain Hindi on familiar subjects
• The syllabus sheet divides the marks as Essay 40, Sentence construction 30 and Grammar 30 (as printed in List 2)

Compulsory Paper: English (50 marks, qualifying)

• Class 10 (Matric) standard, as stated in the advertisement

Compulsory Paper: General Knowledge (100 marks)

• General knowledge including current events
• Questions on Indian history, culture and geography that a candidate should be able to answer without special study

Compulsory Paper: Forestry & Environment (50 marks, Intermediate level)

• Understanding our environment: definition of environment, environmental science, main environmental problems and their global perspective and root causes, sustainability, environment and development, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
• Living things in ecosystems: ecosystem, habitat and ecological niche, predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, law of limiting factors, evolution by natural selection, co-evolution and extinction
• Working of ecosystems: energy flow (respiration, energy transfer, food chains, food webs, trophic levels), water, carbon and nitrogen cycles, primary and secondary succession
• Kinds of ecosystems: tropical and temperate rainforests, temperate deciduous forests, savannas, temperate grasslands (prairies, steppes, pampas), deserts, cold deserts, tundra, lakes, ponds, wetlands and rivers, major river systems of the world, estuaries, coral reefs, oceans, Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems and the threats to each; bio-geographic zones of India and their predominant wildlife
• Water: water resources (polar ice caps, surface water, groundwater), water shortages, conservation and harvesting, freshwater and ocean pollution, watershed concept and integrated watershed management, types of irrigation, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
• Air: causes and major air pollutants, their health and environmental effects, gaseous and particulate pollutants, aerosols (smog), acid precipitation, mitigation, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
• Atmosphere and climate: layers of the atmosphere, photosynthesis-respiration balance, factors that decide climate (latitude and longitude, atmospheric and ocean circulation, local geography), seasonal change, greenhouse effect and gases, rising carbon dioxide, global warming and its effect on weather, agriculture and sea level, ozone layer thinning, chlorofluorocarbons
• Soil and land: causes and effects of deforestation, desertification, soil types, soil erosion, land pollution, groundwater contamination, waste management, soil conservation, integrated rural development
• Urban environment: urbanisation, growth of slums, social, economic and environmental problems, the poverty trap and the environment in a developing country
• Agriculture: monocultures, loss of traditional crop varieties, effects of pesticides and inorganic fertilisers, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides, irrigation problems, the Green Revolution, sustainable agriculture
• Forests: National Forest Policy 1988, Indian Forest Act 1927, Forest (Conservation) Act, Wildlife Protection Act 1972; national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of India; forest types of India; social forestry and agro-forestry; reforestation, energy plantations, non-timber forest products, alternative livelihoods, grazing management, recycling of timber and paper
• Biodiversity: meaning and causes of loss; in-situ (sanctuaries, national parks, biosphere reserves) and ex-situ (zoos, botanical gardens, gene banks) conservation; Project Tiger 1973, IUCN, CITES, Ramsar Convention 1971, Convention on Biological Diversity, Biological Diversity Act 2002
• Biotechnology: introduction, cell and molecular biology, plant genetics and tissue culture, applications in forestry, basics of genetic engineering, bio-informatics

Optional Subjects (choose any two, 2 papers each)

The optional papers are of graduate degree standard and follow the UPSC Indian Forest Service syllabus. The main areas of each paper are given below.

Agriculture

• Paper I: ecology and natural resources; cropping patterns and agro-climatic zones; multiple and intercropping; production of kharif and rabi crops; forestry plantations, social forestry and agro-forestry; weed control; soil properties, classification and fertility; plant nutrients and integrated nutrient management; problem soils; watershed-based soil conservation; dryland and rainfed farming; irrigation scheduling, drip and sprinkler irrigation, drainage; farm management; marketing, pricing and co-operatives; agricultural extension and farm mechanisation
• Paper II: cell biology and genetics; chromosomes, mutation and polyploidy; plant breeding methods, hybrid vigour, breeding for resistance and biotechnology; seed technology; plant physiology (photosynthesis, respiration, growth regulators, photoperiodism, vernalisation, dormancy); fruits, vegetables and flowers, post-harvest handling and preservation; plant pests and diseases, integrated pest management, pesticides, storage pests; food production trends and food policy

Agricultural Engineering

• Paper I: soil and water conservation (erosion control, gully control structures, farm ponds, flood routing, watershed management, land levelling, shelter belts, Forest (Conservation) Act); aerial photography, remote sensing and GIS; irrigation and drainage (minor irrigation, crop water needs, irrigation methods, canals, wells and pumps, drainage, saline and alkali soils, waste water use); agricultural structures, greenhouses and building materials
• Paper II: farm power and machinery (IC engines, tractors, tillage, sowing, plant protection, harvesting and earth-moving equipment, ergonomics); agro-energy (electric motors, solar, wind, biogas, biomass gasification); agricultural process engineering (post-harvest unit operations, material handling, dairy processing, by-product use); instrumentation and computer applications

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

• Paper I: animal nutrition (energy, protein, minerals, vitamins; dairy, poultry and swine nutrition; feeding standards); animal physiology (growth, lactation, reproduction, environmental physiology, semen preservation and artificial insemination); livestock production and management (commercial dairy, meat, egg and wool production; feeding during disasters); genetics and animal breeding (population genetics, inbreeding, selection methods, cross-breeding)
• Paper II: histology, embryology and anatomy of cattle and fowl; physiology of blood, circulation, respiration, excretion and endocrine glands; pharmacology; veterinary hygiene; infectious, production and deficiency diseases, immunisation, anaesthesia and surgery; zoonoses, epidemiology and veterinary jurisprudence; milk and milk products technology; meat hygiene and technology, slaughter-house by-products, poultry products, rabbit and fur farming; extension

Botany

• Paper I: microbiology and plant pathology; cryptogams (algae, fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes); gymnosperms and angiosperms (systematics, anatomy, embryology, palynology and the listed families); economic botany, ethnobotany, energy plantations, botanical gardens and herbaria; morphogenesis and tissue culture
• Paper II: cell biology; genetics, molecular biology and evolution; plant breeding, biotechnology and biostatistics; physiology and biochemistry; ecology and plant geography, including forest types of India, social forestry, Red Data Books, biodiversity and global warming

Chemistry

• Paper I: atomic structure; chemical bonding; solid and gaseous states; thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics; phase equilibria; electrochemistry; chemical kinetics; photochemistry; surface chemistry and catalysis; bio-inorganic chemistry; coordination chemistry; f-block elements; non-aqueous solvents
• Paper II: aromaticity; reaction mechanisms and reactive intermediates; substitution, elimination and addition reactions; rearrangements; pericyclic reactions; named reactions; polymers; synthetic reagents; organic photochemistry; spectroscopy (rotational, vibrational, electronic, NMR, mass, ESR)

Chemical Engineering

• Paper I: fluid and particle dynamics; mass transfer; heat transfer; novel separation processes; process equipment design; process dynamics and control
• Paper II: material and energy balances; chemical engineering thermodynamics; chemical reaction engineering; chemical technology (wood-based chemicals, pulp and paper, sugar, oils, petroleum and petrochemicals, cement, fermentation); environmental engineering and safety; process engineering economics

Civil Engineering

• Paper I: engineering mechanics, strength of materials and structural analysis; design of steel, concrete and masonry structures; fluid mechanics, open channel flow, hydraulic machines and hydropower; geotechnical engineering and foundations
• Paper II: construction technology, equipment, planning and management; surveying, railways, highways and traffic engineering; hydrology, water resources and irrigation engineering; environmental engineering (water supply, sewerage, solid waste, pollution and EIA)

Forestry

• Paper I: general silviculture, silvicultural systems, mangrove and cold desert silviculture, silv