Sarkari Glossary 2026 — Government Exam Terms Explained

Selection

• Cut-off Marks — Minimum qualifying score that a candidate must obtain to advance to the next stage of a Sarkari recruitment exam or to be considered for sel…
• Normalisation of Marks — Statistical method used by recruitment boards to make scores comparable across multiple shifts of the same exam, accounting for difficulty d…
• Tier System (in SSC and other exams) — Multi-stage selection format used by SSC and similar boards where candidates progress through sequential exam tiers — typically Tier-1 (obje…
• Prelims and Mains — Two-stage selection structure used by UPSC, IBPS, SBI, RBI and most banking/civil services exams — where Prelims is a qualifying objective s…
• Document Verification (DV) — The final stage of Sarkari recruitment where shortlisted candidates appear with their original certificates and self-attested copies for ver…
• Merit List — The final ranked list of candidates published by a recruitment board in descending order of total marks, used to fill vacancies in order of …
• Interview / Personality Test Marks — The marks awarded to a candidate during the Interview/Personality Test stage of a Sarkari exam, contributing to the final composite merit sc…
• Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Physical Standards Test (PST) — Mandatory physical fitness tests (running, long jump, height, chest measurement) that police, paramilitary, and defence Sarkari exam candida…
• Skill Test (DEST/CPT/Stenography) — Qualifying-only practical tests in Data Entry Speed (DEST), Computer Proficiency (CPT), or Stenography that candidates for specific Sarkari …
• Scaled Score — A statistically transformed score (different from raw or normalised score) used by certain Sarkari exams (notably IBPS PO Mains) to ensure c…

Reservation

• EWS Certificate (Economically Weaker Section) — A government-issued certificate proving that a candidate from the General category belongs to a household with annual gross income below ₹8 …
• OBC Creamy Layer — The portion of the OBC (Other Backward Classes) population whose family income exceeds the prescribed ceiling and who are therefore excluded…
• NCC Bonus Marks — Additional marks or marks-equivalent benefits awarded by certain Sarkari recruitment boards to candidates who hold NCC (National Cadet Corps…
• Category Reservation in Sarkari Jobs — Constitutionally-mandated allocation of vacancies to specific social categories — SC (15%), ST (7.5%), OBC-NCL (27%), EWS (10%), PwBD (4%), …
• Ex-Servicemen Reservation — 10% horizontal reservation in Group C and 20% in Group D direct-recruitment Sarkari jobs reserved for Ex-Servicemen, along with relaxations …

Eligibility

• Scribe Eligibility (PwBD) — Rules permitting candidates with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) to bring an assistant (scribe) to write the exam on their behalf, along with …
• Gazetted Officer — A government officer whose appointment, promotion, or posting is published in the official Gazette of India (or the State Gazette), holding …
• TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) — A mandatory eligibility test introduced under the RTE Act 2009 that any candidate must pass before being recruited as a teacher in classes I…
• Agniveer / Agnipath Scheme — A short-term recruitment scheme launched by the Government of India in 2022 for enrolling young men and women into the Indian Armed Forces (…
• Age Relaxation — Permitted upward relaxation in the upper age limit for Sarkari recruitments, granted to candidates from reserved categories (SC/ST/OBC), PwB…

Salary

• Pay Matrix (7th CPC) — The single, unified pay table introduced by the 7th Central Pay Commission (effective 1 January 2016) replacing the previous Grade Pay syste…
• Dearness Allowance (DA) — An inflation-linked allowance paid to Central Government employees, defence personnel, and pensioners — calculated as a percentage of basic …
• HRA (House Rent Allowance) Classification — Three-tier city classification (X, Y, Z) determining the percentage of basic pay payable as House Rent Allowance to Central Government emplo…

Exam Process

• Answer Key Objection — The formal process by which candidates can challenge questions or answers in the provisional answer key released by recruitment boards, by p…
• Negative Marking — The deduction of marks for incorrect answers in Sarkari objective exams — typically -0.25 to -1.00 per wrong answer — designed to discourage…

Documents

• Domicile Certificate — An official document proving that a candidate is a permanent resident of a particular State or Union Territory, required for state-quota sea…
• Income Certificate — A government-issued document certifying a candidate's family annual income from all sources, used to claim EWS reservation, fee waivers, and…
• Self-Attestation — The practice of certifying photocopies of one's own documents as 'true copy of original' by signing them — replacing the older requirement o…
• Sarkari Exam Application Fee — The non-refundable fee that candidates pay while filling the online application form for any Sarkari exam — typically ₹100–₹1000 — with full…
• Online Candidate Registration (OTR/SSC OTR/IBPS Common Registration) — The one-time registration process on the recruitment board's portal — generating a permanent registration number (OTR) that is reused for ev…

Why this glossary matters

Sarkari recruitment uses a specific vocabulary — Cut-off, Normalisation, EWS, OBC-NCL, Pay Matrix, Pay Level, Gazetted, Domicile, Self-Attestation, Document Verification, Tier System, Prelims/Mains. Misunderstanding even one of these terms can cost a candidate their selection. This glossary explains every important term in plain English with real examples from the latest SSC CGL, UPSC CSE, IBPS PO and RRB NTPC notifications.

Each term page includes a short definition, a 3-paragraph long explanation, three frequently-asked questions, and live examples from Sarkari exam notifications of 2026. Bookmark this glossary — it is updated regularly as government rules change.