SSC CPO | 2024
SSC CPO Paper I 2024: topic weightage and difficulty analysis
200 questions across 4 sections. Overall difficulty: moderate.
SSC holds CPO Paper I over many shifts, with a different paper in each and normalisation applied across them. The structure below is from the official notice: 200 questions for 200 marks, four sections of 50 questions each, every question worth one mark with 0.25 deducted for a wrong answer. Paper I marks count towards the final merit, so this is not merely a screen. In the 2024 cycle the paper ran on a single 120-minute clock; from the 2026 cycle SSC introduced a separate 30-minute clock per section. The topic counts below are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, and no question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
Where the questions came from
Sorted by weightage, so the topics worth the most preparation time are at the top of each section.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
General Intelligence & Reasoning
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 42 to 46 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror and water images, embedded figures, paper folding The largest reasoning block and the one that most separates prepared candidates, because figure questions reward practice more than intuition. | 14%7 Moderate | |
| Analogies | 12%6 Easy | |
| Series: semantic, number and figure | 12%6 Easy | |
| Matrix and non-verbal reasoning | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Word order, missing numbers and mathematical operations | 12%6 Easy | |
| Classification | 10%5 Easy | |
| Coding and decoding | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Venn diagrams and syllogism | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Blood relations and directions | 8%4 Easy |
General Knowledge and General Awareness
General Awareness
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 28 to 34 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| General science The largest block. Class ten physics, chemistry and biology. | 20%10 Moderate | |
| History and freedom struggle | 16%8 Moderate | |
| Geography | 14%7 Moderate | |
| Polity and Constitution | 14%7 Moderate | |
| Economy | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Static general knowledge: culture, books, awards and sports | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Current affairs | 12%6 Moderate |
Quantitative Aptitude
Quantitative Aptitude
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 34 to 40 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic: percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss, interest The core scoring block, and where CPO most resembles CGL. Secure it before the advanced topics. | 30%15 Moderate | |
| Time and work, time, speed and distance | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Geometry | 12%6 Hard | |
| Mensuration | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Trigonometry | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Data interpretation | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Number system and simplification | 8%4 Easy | |
| Algebra | 8%4 Moderate |
English Comprehension
English Language
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 38 to 44 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Cloze test CPO leans on cloze more heavily than CGL does, often two passages. | 16%8 Moderate | |
| Reading comprehension | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Error spotting | 12%6 Moderate | |
| Synonyms and antonyms | 12%6 Easy | |
| Sentence improvement | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Fill in the blanks | 10%5 Easy | |
| One-word substitution | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Spelling and para jumbles | 10%5 Moderate | |
| Idioms and phrases | 8%4 Moderate |
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What this means for your preparation
Paper I marks are counted in the final merit, so unlike CGL Tier I this is a scoring stage, not just a screen. Treat every section as merit-deciding.
English is the largest opportunity for most candidates. At 50 questions with a strong vocabulary and grammar base, it is where CPO aspirants who read widely build a lead.
Quantitative Aptitude carries SSC's advanced geometry, mensuration and trigonometry alongside arithmetic. Preparing from bank material alone leaves a fifth of the section uncovered.
General Awareness is broad and cannot be reasoned out on the spot, so it rewards steady static-GK and general-science revision more than any single mock.
The penalty is 0.25 marks per one-mark question. With 200 questions, small accuracy differences compound, so leave a question rather than guess blindly.
From the 2026 cycle each section has its own 30-minute clock and cannot be revisited, so practise sections in isolation rather than relying on borrowing time from a strong section, as was possible in 2024.
See the real paper, officially
- SSC official website
SSC publishes the tentative answer key after each Paper with a link to your response sheet and question paper, and an objection window on payment of a per-question fee refunded if the objection is upheld.
- SSC regional websites
Region-wise results and cut-off marks are published by the regional SSC offices. Use the region you applied to.
Common questions
- Can I download the SSC CPO Paper I (Computer Based Examination) 2024 question paper?
- Not from this site. In India an exam question paper is a copyright work owned by the conducting body, and reproducing it commercially is infringement. What you can do is view your own paper and responses through the official portal during the objection window after the exam, and the links to do that are on this page.
- Are these topic counts exact?
- No, and we would rather say so. The exam runs across multiple shifts with a different paper in each, and the conducting body does not publish a topic-wise breakdown. The section structure, marks and timing are official. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports and describe the typical shape of the paper.
- How should I use a weightage analysis?
- To decide what to study next and what to skip. If one block is a third of a section, practising it has several times the payoff of a topic that carries two questions. It also tells you which questions to leave in the exam itself, which matters more than most candidates think.