Punjab Police SI & ASI Syllabus, Pattern & Rank 2 Plan

I cleared the Punjab Police Sub Inspector exam with Rank 2, scoring 713 out of 800. This guide gives you the full pattern from the official notification, along with what actually worked for me.

The latest Punjab Police SI recruitment was notified on 31 January 2023 (Advt. No. 01 of 2023). No newer SI notification has been published yet. Prepare on this pattern, and we will update this page when the next one comes.

Coming next: Punjab Police ASI direct recruitment

The next graduate-level entry into Punjab Police is expected at the Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) rank, not SI.

• New rules: in August 2026, Punjab notified the Punjab Police (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, which provide for direct recruitment of ASIs.
• Eligibility under the new rules:
  1. Graduation
  2. Matriculation-level Punjabi
  3. Age 18 to 28 years
• Posts: about 300 to 350 ASI posts are expected, as announced by the DGP and reported in the media. The exact number will be in the official notification.
• Expected pattern: written and physical tests on the same lines as the SI pattern below. This is our expectation, not an official pattern yet.

If you are a graduate, the SI pattern on this page is the best way to prepare for ASI right now. We will update this page the day the ASI notification is published.

The last SI recruitment at a glance (2023)

• Posts: 288 tentative vacancies: 144 in District Police Cadre and 144 in Armed Police Cadre (sports quota filled separately)
• Applications: 7 to 28 February 2023
• Pay: Rs 35,400 per month for the first three years from joining
• Posting: anywhere in Punjab, India or abroad

Eligibility (2023 notification)

• Education: graduation from a recognised university, completed on or before 1 January of the recruitment year
• Punjabi: matriculation with Punjabi as a compulsory or elective subject, or an equivalent Punjabi examination
• Age: 18 to 28 years as on 1 January 2023. SC and BC candidates of Punjab and serving government employees get up to 5 years of relaxation (up to 33 years). Ex-servicemen deduct their service period as per rules.
• Height: 5 ft 7 in for men and 5 ft 2 in for women, for both cadres

Selection process

1. Stage I: Computer Based Test: Paper I, Paper II and Paper III
2. Stage II: Physical Measurement Test (PMT) and Physical Screening Test (PST)
3. Stage III: document scrutiny

The merit is made from the combined marks of Paper I and Paper II after normalization. Paper III, PMT and PST are qualifying. There is no waiting list.

Exam pattern

Negative marking: each wrong answer in Paper I or II costs 1 mark (25% of 4). Paper III has no negative marking.

Minimum marks (after normalization):

• Paper I and Paper II: 40% in each paper separately for General and other categories, 35% for SC, BC, EWS and ex-servicemen
• Paper III: 50%. Failing it ends your selection, whatever your Paper I and II scores.

Ties: if two candidates have the same total, the older candidate ranks higher. Next comes the higher Paper I score, then higher qualifications.

Official syllabus

Paper I

• General Awareness:
  1. Indian Constitution and its features; Central and State legislature, executive and local government; judicial institutions
  2. History and culture of India and Punjab
  3. Science and technology, Indian economy, geography and environment
  4. National and international current affairs, including current legal developments
  5. Diversity, ethics and vulnerable sections of society
• Quantitative Aptitude:
  1. Numbers and their relations, simplification, decimals and fractions
  2. Ratio and proportion, percentage, average (mean, median, mode)
  3. Profit and loss, simple and compound interest
  4. Time and work, mensuration, speed, time and distance, equations
• Punjabi:
  1. Sentence completion and structuring, error detection
  2. Vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution), comprehension
  3. English-to-Punjabi translation, precis, fill in the blanks

Paper II

• Reasoning and DI:
  1. Statements and conclusions, number and letter series, sequencing, missing number, pattern completion
  2. Order and ranking, direction and distances, relationship problems
  3. Data sufficiency, puzzles, classification and analogy, calendars, coding-decoding
  4. Verbal, non-verbal and legal reasoning
  5. Data interpretation (graphs, charts, tables, spreadsheets)
• Digital Literacy:
  1. Computer fundamentals, operating systems, hardware
  2. MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
  3. Internet and the web, social media, search engines, VoIP
  4. Mobile phones, instant messaging apps, basics of encryption and cyber security
• English:
  1. Sentence completion and structuring, error detection
  2. Vocabulary, comprehension
  3. Punjabi-to-English translation, precis, fill in the blanks

Paper III: Punjabi language at matriculation standard, 50 questions, qualifying only.

Physical tests (2023 notification, both cadres)

You must clear every event for your category.

How I prepared (Rank 2, 713/800)

1. Respect the negative marking. With -1 for a wrong answer, a blind guess loses on average. I attempted a question only when I could cut it down to two options.
2. Make General Awareness and Reasoning your base. Those two sections are 50 + 50 of the 200 questions, which is 400 of the 800 marks.
3. Don't treat Digital Literacy lightly. At SI level it is 30 questions (120 marks) and goes up to Excel, encryption and cyber security. Most candidates under-prepare it, so it is where you can gain the most.
4. Practise translation and precis in both languages. Punjabi in Paper I and English in Paper II each carry 80 marks. Practise translating one passage every day.
5. Clear 40% in each paper separately. A brilliant Paper I cannot rescue a weak Paper II.
6. Start the physical training early. The 1,600 m in 7 minutes needs weeks of steady running.

Free practice sets on House of Aspirants

General Awareness

• DPSP & Fundamental Duties
• Sikhism Part 1
• Five Year Plans

Reasoning

• Number Series Part 1

Digital Literacy

• Fundamentals of Computers
• MS Word Part 1
• Mobile Phones

Current affairs

• July 2026 Part 1

Preparing for constable as well? Read the Punjab Police Constable syllabus guide.

Download the official notification

Read the full guide above first, then keep the original notification for reference.

Download the Punjab Police SI 2023 official notification (PDF, 16 pages)