IB ACIO Exam: The Complete Guide to Eligibility, Pattern, Syllabus, Cut Off, Salary and Preparation
Planning to appear for the IB ACIO Grade-II/Executive 2026 recruitment? This guide covers everything you need to know, including expected vacancies, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, cut-off trends, salary, selection process, and preparation strategy.
The 2025 IB ACIO recruitment had 3,717 vacancies, making it one of the largest recent recruitment cycles. The next recruitment cycle is expected around October 2026, although the official notification and vacancy count are yet to be released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
If the expected 2,400+ vacancies materialise, it could make the 2026 recruitment another significant opportunity for graduates seeking a career in the Intelligence Bureau. The 2,400+ figure should currently be treated as an expectation, not an official vacancy count.
The exam in one screen
The Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade II Executive post, written as ACIO-II/Exe in every official paper, is the only large scale open door into the Intelligence Bureau for an ordinary graduate. There is no engineering requirement, no professional qualification, no domain paper. A bachelor's degree in any subject and an age within the prescribed band is the whole entry gate. That is why a single notification pulls lakhs of applications.
What follows is built on the Ministry of Home Affairs advertisement itself rather than on secondary coverage. Wherever a figure comes straight from the official document it is marked as verified. Wherever a figure is a candidate reported estimate circulating on the internet, it is marked as unverified, because on this particular exam that distinction matters more than on almost any other.
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Post | Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade II Executive (ACIO-II/Exe) |
| Organisation | Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |
| Classification | General Central Service, Group C, Non Gazetted, Non Ministerial |
| Pay | Level 7 of the pay matrix, Rs 44,900 to Rs 1,42,400, plus admissible central government allowances |
| Special allowance | Special Security Allowance at 20 percent of basic pay, over and above other allowances |
| Holiday compensation | Cash compensation in lieu of duty performed on holidays, subject to a ceiling of 30 days |
| Essential qualification | Graduation or equivalent from a recognised university |
| Desirable qualification | Knowledge of computers |
| Service liability | All India transfer liability. Only candidates willing to serve anywhere in India should apply |
| Mode of application | Online only, through the MHA website or the National Career Service portal |
| Selection | Tier 1 objective, Tier 2 descriptive, Tier 3 interview |
What the Intelligence Bureau is, and where ACIO Grade II sits
The Intelligence Bureau is India's internal intelligence organisation and functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its remit is domestic: internal security, counter intelligence, counter terrorism inputs, background verification for sensitive appointments, and situational reporting that feeds decision makers. It is an input organisation rather than an enforcement one.
That single sentence explains most of what an ACIO Grade II actually does, and also most of what the post does not do. The Bureau does not register cases, does not file chargesheets, and does not arrest. Where an intelligence input leads to action, the action is taken by the police, the National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation or another agency that holds statutory powers. Being an IB officer does not by itself confer powers under criminal procedure law.
Where the post sits in the structure
ACIO Grade II Executive is the entry rung of the executive stream. Officers at this level collect, verify and report. They run field enquiries, cultivate and service sources, cross check information, and write it up in a form that is usable upward. Judgements about whether to escalate a situation, what to prioritise and how to respond are taken above this level.
The comparison people find most useful is with an Inspector rank in state police, in terms of standing and field responsibility, but with a completely different output. A police Inspector produces cases. An ACIO produces assessed information.
The technical stream is a different exam
The Bureau also recruits ACIO Grade II Technical, sometimes referred to as the Junior Intelligence Officer technical stream, through a separate advertisement that requires an engineering background and a valid GATE score. Aspirants routinely confuse the two because the abbreviations overlap. The executive exam described in this guide has no GATE component and no engineering requirement.
How often the notification actually comes
This is not an annual exam and treating it as one is the first planning mistake. The Bureau issues an advertisement when its internal vacancy position warrants it, not on a calendar. Gaps of two to three years between cycles are normal, and one gap in the past ran longer than that.
The practical consequence is that you cannot time your preparation to a notification. By the time an advertisement appears, the window from opening to the objective paper has historically been a matter of a few months, and the application window itself is around three weeks. Anyone who begins preparing after reading the advertisement is already behind the candidates who kept general studies and current affairs warm through the gap.
| Cycle | Vacancies advertised | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 750 | Reported figure |
| 2013 | 750 | Reported figure |
| 2015 | 1,434 | Reported figure |
| 2017 | 1,430 | Last cycle conducted as a single paper without normalisation |
| 2020 to 2021 | 2,000 | Reported figure |
| 2023 | 995 | Objective paper held in January 2024. Category split: UR 377, OBC 222, SC 134, ST 133, EWS 129 |
| 2025 | 3,717 | Highest in the history of this exam. |
| UR | EWS | OBC | SC | ST | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,537 | 442 | 946 | 566 | 226 | 3,717 |
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Online registration opened | 19 July 2025 |
| Last date for online fee payment | 10 August 2025, 23:59 hours |
| Last date for fee through SBI challan at a branch | 12 August 2025, banking hours |
| Crucial date for age, qualification and category | 10 August 2025 |
| Tier 1 objective paper | 16 to 18 September 2025 |
| Provisional answer key | 22 September 2025 |
| Tier 1 result | 21 November 2025 |
| Tier 2 descriptive paper | 11 January 2026 |
| Tier 2 result | 5 March 2026 |
| Tier 3 interviews | 1 to 30 April 2026 |
| Final result | 3 June 2026 |
Eligibility: nationality, degree and age
Nationality
Applications are invited from Indian nationals. Given the nature of the organisation, character and antecedent verification at the end of the process is substantive rather than a formality, and final appointment is conditional on clearing it.
Educational qualification
Graduation or equivalent from a recognised university. Any stream qualifies. Knowledge of computers is listed as desirable, which means it is not a bar to applying and is not separately tested.
Age
The prescribed band is 18 to 27 years, computed as on the closing date of applications rather than as on the date you fill the form. Upper age relaxation is available to several categories and is set out in the next section.
Two details around age are worth internalising. First, both your date of birth and your name are taken from the matriculation certificate issued by a recognised board, and no other document is accepted as proof of either. An Aadhaar card, a PAN card or a passport will not substitute. Second, there is no cap on the number of attempts. You may apply in every cycle for which you remain within the age band.
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities
The advertisement states that the post has not been identified as suitable for any category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, and that such candidates need not apply. This is a post identification decision rather than a comment on capability, and it is stated plainly in the official document so that candidates do not spend a fee on an application that cannot proceed.
Ex servicemen
Reservation under the ex servicemen category is available, with one important qualification. An ex serviceman who has already secured a regular Group C civil post under the central government after availing ex servicemen reservation for re employment is not eligible for the fee concession or for the reservation benefit again. Such a candidate remains eligible for age relaxation, and is considered against his or her own social category.
Age relaxation, category by category
The table below reproduces the relaxation structure from the advertisement. The base band is 18 to 27 years, and each relaxation is applied to the upper limit.
| Category | Relaxation | Effective upper limit |
|---|---|---|
| Unreserved and EWS | None | 27 years |
| OBC (non creamy layer) | 3 years | 30 years |
| SC and ST | 5 years | 32 years |
| Departmental candidates with 3 years of regular and continuous service | Up to 40 years of age | 40 years |
| Widows, divorced women and women judicially separated and not remarried, UR | Up to 35 years of age | 35 years |
| Same category, OBC | Up to 38 years of age | 38 years |
| Same category, SC and ST | Up to 40 years of age | 40 years |
| Ex servicemen | As per central government instructions in force | Varies |
| Meritorious sportspersons | Up to 5 years | 32 years |
Category once chosen cannot be changed
The category and sub category you select in the application form is locked. It cannot be changed later, and no benefit of another category becomes admissible afterwards. Candidates who apply as unreserved because their certificate is not ready, intending to switch later, lose the benefit permanently. If you are entitled to a category benefit, get the certificate in the prescribed proforma before you fill the form.
For OBC candidates there is a further trap. The certificate must establish that you belong to the Other Backward Classes as notified by the central government, not merely by your state government. The two lists are not identical. The certificate must also be in the proforma reproduced as Appendix 1 of the advertisement, and must be accompanied by a non creamy layer declaration signed by the candidate. A certificate in any other proforma is rejected, and the candidature is summarily rejected with it.
Application process, fee and uploads
Applications are accepted only through the Ministry of Home Affairs website or the National Career Service portal. No other route exists, no offline or postal application is accepted, and no hard copy of the form has to be sent anywhere. The form is filled in two logical steps.
Fee structure
The fee has two components that behave differently. The examination fee is waived for several groups. The recruitment processing charge is not waived for anyone. Confusing the two is the reason many candidates believe the exam is free for them and then find a payment screen they were not expecting.
| Category | Examination fee | Processing charge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male candidates of UR, EWS and OBC | Rs 100 | Rs 550 | Rs 650 |
| All female candidates | Waived | Rs 550 | Rs 550 |
| SC and ST candidates | Waived | Rs 550 | Rs 550 |
| Ex servicemen eligible for reservation | Waived | Rs 550 | Rs 550 |
| Ex servicemen already re employed in a Group C civil post using ESM reservation | Rs 100 | Rs 550 | Rs 650 |
Photograph and signature specifications
Upload rejections are avoidable and yet extremely common. The specifications are precise and both files must be in jpg or jpeg format only.
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Photograph size on paper | 35 mm wide by 45 mm high, colour only, black and white not accepted |
| Photograph age | Not older than 12 weeks at the time of application |
| Background | Light, preferably light grey or white, no patterns. Avoid clothing that matches the background |
| Framing | Face should cover 70 to 80 percent of the frame, looking straight at the camera with a normal expression |
| Spectacles | If worn, the eyes must be fully visible |
| Photograph file size | 100 KB to 200 KB, jpg or jpeg |
| Signature | Signed by the candidate personally, in black ink on white paper. Scan the signature area only, not the whole page |
| Signature file size | 80 KB to 150 KB, jpg or jpeg |
Challan payments and the four day rule
If you generate a challan instead of paying online, the challan is valid for four days from the date of generation, and it has to be presented at a bank branch during banking hours before the last date notified for challan payment. That last date falls after the online closing date, which creates a narrow safety margin, but only if the challan itself is still within its four day validity. Generating a challan on the final day and presenting it a week later does not work.
One application only
Submit a single application. Multiple applications may result in all of them being cancelled. There is also a helpdesk tab inside the application portal after login, and a telephone helpline published in the advertisement at 022 61087513, available from 10:00 to 18:00 hours, Monday to Saturday, for technical difficulties with the form.
Exam cities and the rules that surprise people
The objective paper is offered across 148 cities spanning every state and union territory. You indicate five choices at the time of application, and you may be accommodated at any one of those five.
Bihar candidates get six cities to choose from within the state: Arrah, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Purnea. Uttar Pradesh has fourteen, Maharashtra thirteen, and several smaller states have a single centre.
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| City once opted is not changed under any circumstances | Decide carefully at the form stage. There is no correction window and no request will be entertained |
| Over subscription or under subscription may shift you | If too many or too few candidates opt for a city, you may be moved to another city |
| The Bureau may cancel or add centres | Centres may be cancelled, new ones added, or a candidate allotted a city outside the five opted, on grounds of administrative feasibility |
| The objective paper may run in multiple shifts | Where candidate numbers are large, the paper is conducted in more than one shift at a centre. This is what makes normalisation necessary |
| Later stages are communicated by email only | The date, time and centre for the descriptive paper and the interview are intimated to successful candidates on the email address given in the application |
| Later stages may not be held in all 148 cities | The descriptive paper and the interview may be held at fewer centres, by clubbing candidates from nearby locations |
The three tier selection process
Three stages, 250 marks in total, and every one of those marks counts toward the final list. This is the structural fact that separates this exam from the many staged exams where earlier rounds are merely qualifying. Here the objective paper is not a screening test that you can forget about once cleared. Its marks travel with you to the end.
| Stage | Nature | Duration | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Objective, 100 multiple choice questions across five parts of 20 questions each | 1 hour | 100 |
| Tier 2 | Descriptive paper: essay, English comprehension and two long answer questions | 1 hour | 50 |
| Tier 3 | Interview | Not specified | 100 |
| Total | Combined performance across all three stages | 250 |
Two further points from the advertisement are worth knowing before you invest a year in this. Appointment to the post is temporary at the outset, and appointment in a permanent capacity depends on the factors governing permanent appointment in such posts at that time. Separately, a waiting list is prepared alongside the final merit list, operated under the relevant Department of Personnel and Training instructions, to provide replacements against future vacancies.
Canvassing in any manner, or bringing outside influence to bear, makes the candidature liable for rejection. This is stated plainly and there is no reason to read it as boilerplate in an organisation of this kind.
Tier 1: pattern, marking and the qualifying floor
One hundred questions, one hundred marks, sixty minutes. That works out to thirty six seconds per question if you attempt everything, which nobody sensibly does. The paper is a speed and selection test as much as a knowledge test.
| Part | Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | Current Affairs | 20 | 20 |
| b | General Studies | 20 | 20 |
| c | Numerical Aptitude | 20 | 20 |
| d | Reasoning and Logical Aptitude | 20 | 20 |
| e | English | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
Marking
The qualifying floor
The advertisement prescribes minimum cut off marks out of 100 in the objective paper, stated as being necessary to achieve qualitative selection. All ex servicemen are treated within their own social category for this purpose.
| UR | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 33 |
There is no sectional cut off
Nothing in the scheme prescribes a minimum in any individual section. Only the aggregate out of 100 matters. That said, abandoning a section is still a poor bet. Each section carries a fifth of the paper, and writing off twenty marks forces an implausible strike rate on the remaining eighty. Treat the absence of a sectional cut off as flexibility about how you distribute effort, not as permission to skip a subject.
Tier 1 syllabus, section by section
The advertisement names the five sections and stops there. It does not publish a topic list. Everything below is reconstructed from the shape of past papers and from the standard scope of these five heads in central recruitment. Treat it as a well grounded map rather than as an official syllabus, because no official syllabus exists.
Current Affairs, 20 marks
A full standalone section, which is unusual and which changes how you should prepare. In several comparable exams current affairs is folded into general knowledge and gets a handful of questions. Here it is a fifth of the paper. The working window is roughly the preceding six to twelve months.
General Studies, 20 marks
Conventional static general studies, pitched at a level that rewards clean fundamentals over depth. The distribution across the five traditional pillars tends to be broadly even, with polity and economy carrying slightly more weight in recent papers because of the natural overlap with current affairs.
Numerical Aptitude, 20 marks
Arithmetic dominant, with light data interpretation. The level is closer to a bank preliminary paper than to an advanced quantitative paper, which means accuracy and calculation speed matter more than exposure to unusual question types.
Reasoning and Logical Aptitude, 20 marks
The most scoring section for most candidates, and the one where a fixed practice routine converts most directly into marks. Verbal reasoning outweighs non verbal in recent papers.
English, 20 marks
Grammar and vocabulary heavy, with a comprehension passage. This section does double duty: it is twenty marks in the objective paper, and it is also the ground you will stand on in the descriptive paper. Time spent on English is therefore worth more here than the twenty marks suggest.
Normalisation and the shortlisting arithmetic
The advertisement states that shortlisting for the descriptive paper is done on the basis of performance and normalisation of marks in the objective paper. Two things follow from that single clause, and both change how you should read your own score.
Your raw score is not the score that is used
When a paper runs across multiple shifts, each shift gets a different question set. Different sets are never exactly equal in difficulty. Normalisation is the statistical correction that makes scores from different shifts comparable, by adjusting each shift's scores against the performance distribution of that shift.
The formula used is not published. This means nobody, including any coaching institute, can convert your raw score into a normalised score with confidence. Any tool claiming to predict your normalised marks precisely is guessing. The only rational response is to build a buffer above whatever raw score you think is sufficient.
The shortlisting arithmetic
The ratios are fixed in the advertisement, so the absolute numbers move with the vacancy count. The illustration below uses the most recently advertised vacancy figure to show the scale.
| Stage | Ratio | Approximate candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Shortlisted for the descriptive paper | 10 times vacancies | About 37,170 across all categories |
| Shortlisted for the interview | 5 times vacancies | About 18,585 across all categories |
| Finally selected | 1 times vacancies | 3,717, plus a waiting list |
What this means for target setting
Because the objective marks stay in the final total, and because normalisation adds uncertainty in both directions, the sensible target is not the estimated cut off. It is comfortably above it. A candidate who scrapes through the shortlist carries a deficit into a 250 mark contest, and has to recover it in a descriptive paper worth 50 and an interview worth 100, against candidates who are already ahead. Every extra mark in the objective paper is worth the same as an extra mark in the interview, and is very much easier to earn.
Tier 2: the descriptive paper most people underprepare
Fifty marks, one hour, written by hand, in English. It is the smallest paper in the process and it produces the largest number of avoidable eliminations, for a simple structural reason: almost everyone who reaches it has spent months on multiple choice questions and no time at all on writing.
| Component | Marks | What it demands |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | 20 | A structured argumentative or expository piece on a contemporary topic |
| English comprehension | 10 | A passage with questions testing understanding, inference and precise expression |
| Long answer questions, 2 questions of 10 marks each | 20 | Current affairs, economics, socio political issues and comparable subjects |
| Total | 50 | Sixty minutes for all three components together |
The qualifying rule
You must secure at least 33 percent, which is 17 marks out of 50, to be considered for the interview. This applies identically to every category. There is no relaxation of this threshold and there is no negative marking to offset.
Why 17 is the wrong target
The descriptive marks are added to the objective marks for interview shortlisting, and they stay in the 250 mark final total. Treating 17 as the goal is treating a floor as a ceiling. The gap between a bare pass and a strong score in this paper is roughly fifteen marks, which is a very large swing in a contest decided by fractions, and it is available to anyone willing to practise writing for a few weeks.
The time problem
Sixty minutes for an essay, a comprehension passage and two long answers is genuinely tight. Working backwards from the marks, a defensible allocation is roughly twenty two minutes for the essay, twelve for the comprehension and eleven for each long answer, leaving a few minutes of slack. Most candidates discover in the hall that they cannot write at that pace because they have never tried. The fix is not a technique. It is having written under a clock at least ten times before the day.
A working framework for the Tier 2 paper
The essay, 20 marks
Twenty marks and roughly twenty two minutes means a piece of about 350 to 450 words. That is short. It rules out an elaborate introduction and rewards a plan made in the first ninety seconds. The structure below is deliberately plain, because an examiner reading a large pile of scripts rewards clarity far more reliably than flourish.
The comprehension, 10 marks
Ten marks in about twelve minutes. Read the questions before the passage so that you read with a purpose, then answer in your own words rather than lifting sentences wholesale. Where the question asks for meaning or inference, the marks are for the reformulation, not for locating the line. Keep answers to the length the mark allocation implies and resist the urge to write everything you noticed.
The long answers, 10 marks each
Ten marks in about eleven minutes is roughly 180 to 220 words. That is one tight page. The pattern that works is a two line direct answer, three short substantiating points each with something specific attached, and a one line close. Answer the question that was asked rather than the topic it belongs to. A question on the effect of a policy is not an invitation to describe the policy.
Tier 3: the interview
One hundred marks, which is twice the weight of the descriptive paper and forty percent of the entire process. It is not a formality and it is not a viva on your degree subject.
A board assessing candidates for an intelligence organisation is looking for a particular temperament as much as for knowledge. Discretion, steadiness under questioning, the willingness to say you do not know, consistency between what you claim and what you can support, and a settled sense of why you want this specific job rather than a government job in general.
Ground the board is likely to cover
Preparation that actually helps
Write out your own form as the board will read it and list every question it invites. Prepare your home district properly: its administrative setup, its economy, its security or law and order profile, anything it is known for. Keep a running file of the last few months of national developments with a view of your own on each, because the difference between a candidate who has read the news and one who has thought about it is audible within two minutes.
Then practise aloud. The gap between an answer you have thought and an answer you have spoken is much wider than most candidates expect, and it closes only with repetition in front of another person.
Cut off reality: what is official and what is not
This section is the one where most published material on this exam goes wrong, so it is worth being exact.
What the Bureau actually publishes
The only numbers the Bureau has committed to in writing are the minimum qualifying marks in the objective paper and the 33 percent threshold in the descriptive paper. Results at each stage are published as a list of roll numbers or application numbers of candidates who have moved forward. Individual scorecards showing your marks have not been a consistent feature of this recruitment, and a category wise cut off document is not part of the standard result release.
| Stage | Threshold | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | UR 35, EWS 35, OBC 34, SC 33, ST 33, out of 100 | Floor for consideration, not the shortlisting mark |
| Tier 2 | 33 percent, that is 17 out of 50 | All categories identically |
| Tier 3 | No minimum published | Marks count toward the 250 mark total |
Circulating estimates, and why two versions exist
You will encounter two different families of numbers for the same cycles. One set sits in the high sixties and seventies. The other sits in the low fifties. Both are in wide circulation and neither is official. The most probable explanation is that the higher family reports figures on a normalised scale while the lower family reports raw marks, but since the normalisation method is undisclosed, that reconciliation cannot be confirmed. Both are reproduced here rather than silently picking one, because a guide that presents an unverifiable number as settled fact is doing the reader a disservice.
| Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 72.88 | 73.31 | 74.18 | 71.34 | 76.64 |
| EWS | 66.26 | 67.13 | 68.45 | 64.91 | 69.93 |
| OBC | 69.12 | 69.62 | 71.18 | 67.29 | 72.47 |
| SC | 61.09 | 61.33 | 63.35 | 58.01 | 62.42 |
| ST | 56.33 | 57.21 | 58.68 | 53.49 | 57.67 |
| Category | 2021 cycle | 2023 cycle | 2025 cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 50 to 55 | 53 to 58 | 55 to 62 |
| EWS | 45 to 48 | 46 to 52 | 50 to 56 |
| OBC | 45 to 50 | 44 to 55 | 48 to 55 |
| SC | 40 to 45 | 38 to 47 | 43 to 50 |
| ST | 35 to 40 | 37 to 42 | 40 to 46 |
| Category | Tier 1, out of 100 | Tier 2, out of 50 |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 65 | 30 |
| OBC | 60 | 25 |
| SC | 50 | 20 |
| ST | 50 | 20 |
A defensible target
Rather than chase an unverifiable number, set a target that survives being wrong. The figures below are what a candidate should aim for in the objective paper to be comfortable across both families of estimate and to carry a useful surplus into the final total.
| Category | Comfortable target |
|---|---|
| UR | 72 and above |
| EWS | 70 and above |
| OBC | 70 and above |
| SC | 66 and above |
| ST | 63 and above |
Tie breaking and the final merit list
The final merit list is prepared on combined performance across all three stages. Where two candidates finish level, the advertisement prescribes five criteria applied one after another until the tie resolves. The order tells you something about what the organisation values.
The ordering repays attention. Both stages that people treat as secondary, the interview and the descriptive paper, outrank the objective paper when the scores are level. A candidate who optimises purely for multiple choice performance is optimising for the criterion that is consulted third.
Salary, allowances and in hand pay
The post carries Level 7 of the pay matrix, running from Rs 44,900 to Rs 1,42,400, plus admissible central government allowances. Where this post separates itself from other Group C central posts on the same level is a single line in the advertisement.
The Special Security Allowance
Special Security Allowance is paid at 20 percent of basic pay, in addition to the other government allowances. It is specific to this organisation and is not available in most comparable central government roles. On entry basic pay it adds close to Rs 9,000 a month before anything else is counted, and because it is calculated on basic pay it grows with every increment and every pay revision rather than staying flat.
The practical effect is that two officers on identical Level 7 basic pay, one here and one in a general central post, do not take home the same amount. Comparisons of this post against other Level 7 recruitment that ignore this allowance understate the gap.
What actually lands in the account
Gross pay depends heavily on the posting city, because House Rent Allowance is tiered by city classification. The table below is an approximation rather than a published figure, and the deductions line covers pension contribution, health scheme contribution and tax.
| Component | Position |
|---|---|
| Basic pay | Rs 44,900 at entry, rising with annual increments |
| Dearness Allowance | As notified, revised periodically, calculated on basic pay |
| House Rent Allowance | Tiered by city classification X, Y or Z |
| Transport Allowance | As admissible, with the city tier again relevant |
| Special Security Allowance | 20 percent of basic pay |
| Holiday duty compensation | Cash compensation in lieu of duty on holidays, ceiling of 30 days |
| Approximate gross | Roughly Rs 90,000 to Rs 1,05,000 depending on posting city |
| Approximate in hand after deductions | Roughly Rs 80,000 to Rs 95,000 |
Job profile, postings and career growth
What the work consists of
Posting and transfer
The post carries all India transfer liability, stated in the advertisement in the plainest possible terms: only candidates willing to serve anywhere in India should apply. Postings range from metropolitan offices and state capitals to district level units, including border districts and areas with a live security situation. Candidates with a hard geographical constraint should weigh this before applying rather than after selection.
Anonymity and confidentiality
This is a low visibility service by design. Officers do not carry a public profile, and the advertisement goes as far as instructing candidates not to publicise their own progression through the recruitment stages, and to ask family and friends not to do so either. That instruction, issued before anyone has even been selected, is a fair preview of the working culture.
The promotion ladder
Progression is by a mix of seniority, departmental assessment and vacancy availability. The executive stream runs as follows.
A preparation roadmap that fits the paper
Because the notification does not follow a calendar, the only workable model is a steady base that you can lift into a sprint whenever an advertisement appears. The plan below assumes roughly five to six months of runway, and compresses cleanly if you have less.
Phase 1: build the base, about eight weeks
Phase 2: sectional practice and speed, about eight weeks
Move from learning to timed retrieval. Sectional tests of twenty questions in twelve minutes, matching the pressure of the real paper. Maintain an error log with three columns: what you got wrong, why, and what you will do differently. Reviewing that log weekly is worth more than another new test.
Start writing in this phase, not later. One essay and two long answers per week, by hand, under a clock. The single reason strong candidates fail the descriptive paper is that they postpone this to the last month and then discover their writing speed.
Phase 3: full mocks and revision, about six weeks
A weekly template that holds up
| Block | Time per week | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Current affairs | 5 to 6 hours | Daily reading plus one consolidated weekly revision |
| General studies | 6 to 7 hours | Rotating through the pillars, with polity and economy weighted slightly higher |
| Numerical aptitude | 5 hours | Two topic sessions plus two timed sectionals |
| Reasoning | 4 hours | Daily short sets plus one timed sectional |
| English | 4 hours | Grammar, comprehension and vocabulary, shared with descriptive preparation |
| Descriptive writing | 2 to 3 hours | One essay and two long answers, handwritten and timed |
| Mocks and analysis | 4 hours | One full mock with a longer review session |
Attempt strategy inside the hall
Sixty minutes, one hundred questions. Three passes work better than one. On the first pass take everything you can answer in under twenty seconds and leave the rest, which typically clears current affairs, English and easy reasoning in about twenty five minutes. On the second pass take the calculable ones you skipped. On the third, decide the guesses. Reserve the last ninety seconds to clear every Mark for Review flag on a question where you have selected an answer, because a flagged question is not evaluated.
Mistakes that quietly cost selections
Documents to keep ready after the first result
No certificate is attached at the application stage. The advertisement instructs candidates to keep the following ready in original, with attested copies, as soon as the objective paper result is declared, because they are called for at short notice at later stages.
Original certificates are produced when called for the interview. Final selection remains subject to character and antecedent verification followed by a medical examination, and the admission of a candidate at every stage is provisional until eligibility is verified. Incorrect information or a fake document leads to cancellation at any stage, including after appointment.
Fraud warning and the only two official portals
The advertisement carries a formal warning section, which is unusual enough to be worth reading rather than skimming. It records three specific patterns of fraud that the organisation has observed.
Apply only through these
No other website is an official application route. Any site charging a fee to submit your form on your behalf, any individual offering coaching with a guaranteed selection, and any communication promising an appointment letter in advance of the process is fraudulent. Applications are not accepted through any mode other than the two portals above.
Corrections to widely circulated errors
Several claims about this exam are repeated across guides, coaching pages and even in circulated preparation notes, and are wrong when checked against the official advertisement. Correcting them is not pedantry. Two of these errors are capable of costing a candidate an application.
| What is widely stated | What the advertisement says |
|---|---|
| Minimum age is 20 years | The band is 18 to 27 years, computed on the closing date |
| The post is Group C, Gazetted | General Central Service, Group C, Non Gazetted and Non Ministerial |
| The exam is held every year | There is no fixed schedule. The advertisement is issued when the internal vacancy position warrants it |
| Tier 1 has a General Awareness section and a General Studies section | The five parts are Current Affairs, General Studies, Numerical Aptitude, Reasoning and Logical Aptitude, and English. Current Affairs is a separate part in its own right |
| Tier 2 is an essay of 30 marks and a comprehension and precis of 20 | Essay 20 marks, English comprehension 10 marks, and two long answer questions of 10 marks each, totalling 50 |
| The fee is Rs 100 plus Rs 450 processing | The processing charge stands at Rs 550. Male candidates of UR, EWS and OBC pay Rs 650 in total, everyone else pays Rs 550 |
| There is no negative marking, so attempt everything | One quarter of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities can apply | The post is not identified as suitable for any category of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, and the advertisement states that they need not apply |
| The Bureau publishes a category wise cut off | Only the minimum qualifying marks are prescribed. Results are published as lists of qualified candidates |
| Final merit is based on the written stages, with the interview only qualifying | The final merit list is based on combined performance in all three stages, out of 250 marks |
Frequently asked questions
What is the full form of IB ACIO?
What is the age limit for IB ACIO?
Can a final year student apply?
Is there negative marking?
How many attempts are allowed?
What is the application fee?
Does the Bureau release a cut off or a scorecard?
What is normalisation and why does it matter?
How many candidates are shortlisted for the descriptive paper?
Is the descriptive paper in English only?
Do Tier 1 marks count in the final selection?
What is the in hand salary?
Can I change my exam city after applying?
Does the post involve transfers?
Can persons with disabilities apply?
Is IB ACIO Technical the same exam?
Where should I apply from?
How long does the whole process take?
Programmes that map onto this paper
Three parts of this exam reward structured coaching more than solo study: the standalone Current Affairs section, the descriptive paper, and the discipline of writing a tight long answer under a clock. These programmes address those directly.