Post: Engineer (इन्जिनियर), Nepal Engineering Service, Civil Group — General, Highway, Sanitary, Irrigation and Hydropower sub-groups. Level: राजपत्रांकित तृतीय श्रेणी (प्राविधिक), Gazetted 3rd Class (Technical). Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (and NEC registration).
This is Nepal’s main entry point into the civil service for graduate engineers. The competition is written-first: only candidates who pass the written stage reach the interview.
Exam pattern
| Stage | Paper | Format | Marks | Time | Pass marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written | Paper I — General Subject | Objective (MCQ), 100 × 1 mark | 100 | 1 hr 15 min* | 40 |
| Written | Paper II — Technical Subject | Subjective, 10 × 10 marks | 100 | 3 hours | 40 |
| Final | Interview | Individual oral | 30 | — | — |
* The official syllabus specifies 1 hour 15 minutes; recent PSC exam-centre notices show 1 hour 30 minutes. Confirm against your admit card / the current PSC notice.
Paper I structure: Part I — General Awareness & General Reasoning Test; Part II — General Technical Subject (the 9-unit syllabus below).
Negative marking: +1 for a correct answer, −0.2 (20%) for a wrong answer in Paper I. No deduction for leaving a question blank.
Paper II format: the paper is divided into 4 sections; you receive 4 separate answer books and must answer each section’s questions in its own book. A 10-mark item can be one long question, a question in two or more parts, or short notes.
Medium: Nepali or English, or both.
Paper I, Part II — General Technical Subject (100 questions)
| # | Unit | Questions | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Structural Analysis & Design | 20 | 20% |
| 2 | Construction Materials | 15 | 15% |
| 3 | Concrete Technology | 12 | 12% |
| 4 | Construction Management | 12 | 12% |
| 5 | Estimating & Costing, Valuation & Specification | 10 | 10% |
| 6 | Drawing Techniques | 10 | 10% |
| 7 | Engineering Survey | 8 | 8% |
| 8 | Engineering Economics | 8 | 8% |
| 9 | Professional Practices | 5 | 5% |
1. Structural Analysis & Design (20 questions — the single biggest unit)
- Stresses and strains; theory of torsion and flexure; moment of inertia of sections.
- Analysis of beams and frames: bending moment, shear force and deflection of determinate structures; energy methods; three-hinged systems; indeterminate structures — slope deflection and moment distribution; influence line diagrams for simple beams; unit load method.
- Reinforced concrete: working-stress vs limit-state philosophy; analysis of RC beams and slabs in bending; shear, deflection, bond and end anchorage; design of axially loaded columns; isolated and combined footings; introduction to prestressed concrete.
- Steel and timber: standard and built-up sections; riveted, bolted and welded connections; ties, struts, axially loaded and eccentric columns, column bases; design principles of timber beams and columns.
2. Construction Materials (15)
- Properties of building materials: physical, chemical, constituents, thermal.
- Stones — characteristics and requirements of good building stone; ceramic materials, brick types and testing; cementing materials — lime and cement types, properties, cement-mortar tests; metals — steel types and properties, alloys; timber — timber trees of Nepal, types and properties of wood; asphalt, bitumen and tar; paints and varnishes; polymers; soil properties and parameters.
3. Concrete Technology (12)
- Constituents and properties of concrete; water–cement ratio; grades and strength; concrete mix design; testing of concrete; mixing, transportation, pouring and curing; admixtures; high-strength concrete; prestressed concrete technology.
4. Construction Management (12)
- Scheduling and planning: CPM, PERT, bar charts. Contracts: types of contract, tender and tender notice, bid documents, contractor pre-qualification, tender evaluation and contractor selection, contract acceptance, conditions of contract, quotation and direct order, contractor classification, dispute resolution, muster roll. Material management and handling; cost control and quality control; project maintenance; occupational health and safety; monitoring and evaluation; quality assurance plans; variations, alterations and omissions.
5. Estimating & Costing, Valuation & Specification (10)
- Types of estimates and their uses; methods of calculating quantities; estimating norms and rate analysis; preparation of bills of quantities; specifications — purpose, types, importance; valuation — purpose, principles, methods.
6. Drawing Techniques (10)
- Drawing sheet composition; scales; site plans, preliminary and working drawings; projection theory — perspective, orthographic, axonometric; first and third angle projection; drafting tools and equipment; drafting conventions and symbols; topographic, electrical, plumbing and structural drawings; freehand drawing.
7. Engineering Survey (8)
- Introduction and basic principles; linear measurements — chain, tape, ranging rods, arrows; scales; sources of error; slope correction; chain/tape corrections; Abney level and clinometers; compass and plane-table surveying; levelling and contouring — temporary/permanent adjustment, bench marks, booking methods, longitudinal and cross sectioning, reciprocal and trigonometric levelling, contour characteristics; theodolite traversing — coordinates, closed-traverse adjustment, closing errors; total station and EDM.
8. Engineering Economics (8)
- Benefit–cost analysis; cost classification; sensitivity analysis; internal rate of return; time value of money; economic equilibrium; demand, supply and production; net present value; financial and economic evaluation.
9. Professional Practices (5)
- Ethics and professionalism; code of conduct for engineering practice; Nepal Engineering Council Act, 2055 and Regulations, 2056; relations with clients, contractors and fellow professionals; public procurement practices for works, goods and services.
Practice quiz
100 original practice MCQs in 5 sets of 20, mirroring the Paper I unit weights — with instant feedback. Start the Engineer practice quiz →
How to use this with our practice quizzes
- Quiz Sets 1–5 (100 questions) mirror the Paper I unit weights above — roughly 4 structure, 3 materials and 2 each from the rest per set, mixing recall, application and numerical questions.
- Aim for 80+/100 in practice before the real paper: the −0.2 negative marking punishes blind guessing, so practice eliminating options.
- Paper II is subjective — use the same syllabus one level deeper: be ready to derive, design and explain, not just tick options.
Syllabus summary compiled from the official PSC syllabus text (effective 2066/01/17 BS). Always cross-check the current advertisement on psc.gov.np — PSC occasionally revises syllabi.