Bihar BSSC Typing Test
20 WPM English and 30 WPM Hindi (Mangal/Kruti Dev), both required. 5-minute passage in each language, separate sittings. Conducted by BSSC (Bihar Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board) for Junior Clerk / LDC posts across state-government departments. This page covers the cutoff, scoring, common mistakes, and a four-week practice plan calibrated to the BSSC pattern.
- Speed cutoff
- 20 WPM
- Duration
- 5 min × 2
- Source
- BSSC notification
- Languages
- English + Hindi
- Scoring
- Net WPM
Who takes the Bihar BSSC typing test
Bihar SMSSB runs the Junior Clerk / LDC cadre across state departments. The typing test is bilingual.
IA / Sahayak Suchana Adhikari
Junior Clerk / LDC is the Bihar equivalent of an SSC LDC, with an extra computer-skills layer. Typing test is bilingual: 30 WPM Hindi (Mangal) and 30 WPM English, both qualifying.
Lower Division Clerk
BSSC's LDC cadre recruitments use a similar bilingual typing test. Speeds are the same as Junior Clerk / LDC; the difference is in the computer-skills section.
Stenographer / clerical
RPSC's higher-level clerical and stenographer recruitments follow the same Hindi-Mangal layout but with higher speed cutoffs (25–30 WPM Hindi for Steno-Typist).
LDC / Typist
Bihar High Court LDC and Typist posts run a similar typing test with state-court-specific notifications. Speeds and accepted fonts can shift cycle to cycle.
The practical Junior Clerk / LDC target is balance — 25 WPM Hindi and 35 WPM English with 95% accuracy. That comfortably clears both cutoffs and gives you a margin for the inevitable nervous-system performance drop on test day. Practise both languages; failing either disqualifies the candidate, regardless of how strongly they cleared the other.
Official typing test pattern
The originating authority for this typing assessment is BSSC notification. The test runs at TCS-iON, NSEIT, or an equivalent invigilated examination centre — the vendor varies by cycle but the format does not.
Duration: 5 min × 2, single sitting at the Bihar BSSC Typing centre. The timer starts on Begin and runs without pause; invigilators are not authorised to extend it for routine issues like water requests or short technical hiccups — those eat the candidate's own time budget.
Speed cutoff. 20 WPM Net. The Bihar BSSC Typing appointment list does not include any candidate who lands below this floor at the timer, regardless of how strong the written-examination performance was.
Layout: QWERTY, standard issue on centre PCs. External USB keyboards are not permitted; a candidate's practice setup should mirror centre conditions in the final fortnight.
Qualifying nature. Pass-fail screen. The Bihar BSSC Typing merit ranking is computed from other stages of the recruitment process; the typing test is the binary gate that decides whether the application reaches the merit-ranked shortlist at all.
How the typing test is scored
For Bihar BSSC Typing, the engine scores speed and accuracy independently and applies both as screen-out floors. The harder of the two depends on the candidate's profile — speed-focused candidates trip on accuracy, accuracy-focused candidates trip on speed. The candidates who clear easily have built tolerance for both.
Gross WPM
Gross WPM is the unfiltered throughput count for Bihar BSSC Typing. Total characters typed, divided by five (the standard word length), divided by minutes elapsed. It is the largest number the scoring engine reports — and the most misleading for predicting Net WPM.
Net WPM
Net WPM subtracts an error penalty. Each wrong character and each character that should have been typed but was skipped counts as one full error. The error total is divided by elapsed minutes and subtracted from Gross WPM.
The accuracy gate
Net WPM is one of two cutoffs. The second is accuracy, scored independently as the percentage of correct characters over total characters typed. Most cycles set this floor at 95%. A candidate who clears the WPM cutoff with 5 WPM to spare but slips to 93% accuracy still fails the screen.
Worked example
Gross WPM = (635 + 3) / 5 / 5 = 25.52 WPM
Net WPM = 25.52 − (3 / 5) = 24.92 WPM
Accuracy = 635 / 638 × 100 = 99.53%
Both gates clear: Net WPM of 24.92 sits 4.92 above the 20 WPM floor, and accuracy at 99.53% is comfortably above the 95% requirement. Pitch mock-conditions practice at that band; centre-day execution typically lands 3 to 5 WPM below mock numbers, so the cushion is what survives the gap.
Backspace at BSSC centres and the Hindi-priority structure
BSSC conducts the Junior Assistant and Court Reader typing test at divisional centres across Bihar — Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Purnia, and the smaller divisional headquarters. Backspace is permitted at all centres on the current BSSC platform. The infrastructure migrated to a TCS-iON-comparable system in 2022; older standalone software at some district centres in 2018-2020 disabled backspace, but that era is behind us.
BSSC's structure is unusual: 20 WPM English and 30 WPM Hindi cutoffs. Hindi is the higher bar, reflecting Bihar's overwhelmingly Hindi-medium administrative work — district offices, panchayat secretariats, sub-divisional offices all operate primarily in Hindi. Candidates from Bihar Hindi-medium schooling find Hindi typing more natural; those from English-medium urban schools find it harder. The asymmetric cutoff therefore correlates with the candidate's educational background more than with general typing skill.
Three rules calibrated for BSSC candidates clearing comfortably:
- Hindi-priority practice rule. The Hindi sitting is the harder bar (30 WPM versus 20 WPM English). Practise Hindi typing for 60% of weekly time and English for 40%. The opposite ratio is the most common preparation mistake among Bihar urban-coaching aspirants.
- Bihar-noun first-correction rule. "बिहार सरकार", "जिलाधिकारी", "अनुमंडल कार्यालय", "ग्राम कचहरी", "बिहार कर्मचारी चयन आयोग" recur in BSSC passages. Fix the first occurrence; subsequent ones type correctly through mental templating.
- Five-minute completion rule. Each sitting is 5 minutes. The final 45 seconds is no-backspace zone — type forward even through visible mistakes. Missing characters cost more than typed-but-wrong characters in the BSSC scoring engine.
The most expensive BSSC-specific failure mode is the Patna English-medium candidate who clears the English sitting at 24 WPM comfortably, then realises during the Hindi sitting that their pace is 24 WPM Hindi — below the 30 cutoff. They start over-correcting Hindi typos thinking accuracy will compensate, and end the sitting at 19 Net WPM. The 30 WPM Hindi target needs dedicated practice; English-medium fluency does not translate.
Six BSSC-specific mistakes that fail Bihar Junior Assistant candidates
These failure modes apply specifically to BSSC Junior Assistant and Court Reader cadres — Bihar-administration corpus, Hindi-priority cutoff structure, post-BPSC-scandal compliance environment, and the multi-employer post-allotment to Bihar Government departments, panchayats, and court complexes.
Confusing BSSC with BPSC
Bihar has two recruitment bodies. BSSC (Staff Selection Commission) handles subordinate clerical posts — Junior Assistant, Court Reader, LDC. BPSC (Public Service Commission) handles gazetted-cadre posts and senior administrative roles. The typing-test format and cutoffs differ. Aspirants applying to BSSC who prepared using BPSC clerical typing material end up on the wrong calibration.
Verify the board name on the notification PDF. BSSC notifications come from bssc.bihar.gov.in; BPSC from bpsc.bih.nic.in. Cross-reference cadre type at the application stage.Treating the 20 WPM English target as the cutoff that matters
BSSC's Hindi cutoff is 30 WPM — the higher bar. Many urban Bihar coaching aspirants focus practice time on English (which is the lower 20 WPM target) and arrive at Hindi sitting underprepared. The pass rate data suggests 60-65% of BSSC failures trace to the Hindi sitting, not English.
Allocate practice asymmetrically — 60% Hindi, 40% English. The cutoff bar is on the Hindi side; English is the formality.Skipping Bihar-administration vocabulary drilling
BSSC passages reference Bihar government departments and schemes: "बिहार राज्य कर्मचारी चयन आयोग", "ग्राम कचहरी", "अनुमंडल कार्यालय", "जल जीवन हरियाली", "सात निश्चय योजना", "मुख्यमंत्री ग्रामीण पथ निर्माण योजना". These compound nouns recur and slow typists unfamiliar with the conjunct patterns by 2-3 WPM in Hindi.
Build a personal 30-term Bihar-government vocabulary list. Source: bihar.gov.in scheme PDFs, Bihar Public Service Department circulars. Drill the list daily from week 2.Defaulting to Krutidev despite Mangal Inscript being the BSSC standard
Bihar Hindi typing coaching in Patna, Bhagalpur, and Muzaffarpur has historically taught Krutidev because of older Bihar Government typewriter heritage. BSSC notifications since 2022 default to Mangal Inscript with Krutidev as a candidate-selectable option. Aspirants from coaching centres trained on Krutidev who allow the application form to default to Mangal face a layout they have never used at test time.
Confirm declared font on application acknowledgement before booking practice. If coaching trained you on Krutidev, explicitly declare Krutidev. Mangal Inscript for fresh learners — it transfers to SSC and central cycles.Underestimating district-centre infrastructure variance
BSSC tests across 9 administrative divisions in Bihar. The infrastructure quality varies materially — Patna centres run modern terminals; Purnia, Bhagalpur, and Darbhanga centres sometimes use older hardware with slower keyboard response. A candidate who practised at 28 WPM Hindi on a modern keyboard can drop to 24 WPM on a centre keyboard with sticky keys. This 4-5 WPM degradation eats the safety buffer above the 30 WPM cutoff.
Train to 34-35 WPM Hindi in practice to absorb the centre-hardware variance. Aspirants assigned to non-Patna divisional centres should specifically buffer above the cutoff.Missing the multi-employer cadre placement nuance
BSSC Junior Assistant posts get distributed across Bihar Government departments, panchayat secretariats, and District Court ministerial cadres. The Court Reader cadre specifically is courts-only and has slightly different post-allotment expectations: more judgement-related vocabulary, more sustained typing during court sessions. Candidates who applied generically without specifying preference may land in courts without preparation for that vocabulary register.
Read the post-specific annexure listing cadres and approximate vacancy counts. If Court Reader is the realistic posting, add legal-procedural Hindi vocabulary drills to weekly preparation.A five-week BSSC Junior Assistant typing plan
BSSC's 30 WPM Hindi requirement is the binding constraint for most candidates. This plan allocates 60% of practice time to Hindi and 40% to English, starting from baselines typical for Bihar Hindi-medium aspirants — 13 WPM Hindi on Mangal Inscript and 19 WPM English on QWERTY. Urban English-medium candidates can compress the English portion.
Bilingual foundation, Hindi-priority
- Daily 30-minute Hindi typing drill on declared font
- Daily 20-minute English typing drill on QWERTY
- Read Bihar government Hindi circulars each evening
- No paired mocks this week — single-language fluency first
Bihar corpus introduction
- Switch both corpora to Bihar-administration content
- Drill the 30-term Bihar-government Hindi vocabulary list
- Begin practising state-scheme compound nouns as fixed phrases
- Two short 5-minute mocks at end of week (one per language)
Hindi-priority speed push
- Daily paired sittings: 5 min Hindi then 5 min English
- Hindi sitting deliberately attempted first to build the harder skill
- Bihar-noun first-correction rule reinforced
- Mid-week rest day
Buffer-build for hardware variance
- Two paired mocks per day at expected exam-slot time
- Five-minute completion rule strictly enforced
- External full-size keyboard from this week onwards
- Practise on a different keyboard for one mock per day to simulate hardware variance
Centre simulation and taper
- Two paired mocks per day for first three days, then one per day
- Final two days completely off — rest beats final drilling
- Verify declared font and centre location on BSSC admit card
- Bihar domicile and education documents collected; route timing to assigned division
Take the test in centre conditions — right now
Same 5-minute window the actual test uses. Same Net WPM scoring formula. Same accuracy floor. The result card shows Gross WPM, Net WPM, error count, and the accuracy percentage — all the numbers the official scoring sheet would show.
Start Free BSSC IA Practice →Frequently asked questions
Quick-reference answers to the questions candidates send in. All figures referenced against BSSC notification as of the current recruitment window.
20 WPM English and 30 WPM Hindi (Mangal or Kruti Dev) in recent BSSC notifications. Both languages are required, not either-or. Some older cycles asked 15 WPM. Always check the specific notification PDF on rsmssb.rajasthan.gov.in before fixing a practice plan.
Junior Clerk / LDC (IA) posts across Bihar state government departments — most major Bihar ministries fill IA vacancies through BSSC cycles. Some Junior Assistant and computer-operator state posts use the same typing pattern.
The BSSC software at TCS-iON or NSEIT centres typically allows backspace, in line with most modern central and state typing panels. Older state-specific systems sometimes disable it. Verify in the admit card or notification.
Recent Bihar BSSC cycles have used Mangal (Unicode Devanagari) on InScript or Remington layout. Some district-level recruitments still allow Kruti Dev. Practice both — the layout matters more than the font name.
Net WPM = Gross WPM − (errors / minutes). Both English and Hindi are independent qualifying tests — failing either disqualifies. BSSC counts wrong, missing, and extra characters as full errors.
Five minutes for English, five minutes for Hindi — separate sittings. Each passage is around 500-600 key depressions, designed to expire at the timer for a candidate typing at exactly the cutoff speed.
From 12 WPM to 20 WPM in either language: three to four weeks of thirty focused minutes a day. Below 8 WPM: six to eight weeks. BSSC rewards accuracy heavily — drill 98% accuracy first, then push speed in the final fortnight.