The candidates who are aspiring for a government job ought to know the list of top 10 competitive exams for government jobs under various domains to get headstart with their preparations.
Competitive Exams for Government Jobs include SBI PO Examination, IBPS SO Examination, RRB Grade D Examination, LIC-AAO, UGC-NET and many more.
Government employment comes in a variety of forms and offers excellent job security. Government employees are employed directly by the government or through one of its subsidiaries.
Various perks and advantages are available to government personnel based on their job type and designation. The salary packages for each government job differ based on the term of service, examinations cleared, and designation hierarchy.
List of Competitive Exams for Government Jobs
Here is a list of top government competitive examinations that the candidates can opt for after completing their graduation for a better-settled government job:
SBI PO Examination
SBI PO Exam is intended to select candidates for the post of Probationary Officer. The State Bank of India (SBI) is the conducting body for the exam.
The Recruitment process has 3 stages namely Preliminary Examination, Mains Examination, and Personal Interview.
- The average salary is about Rs. 45,000 per month.
- The most popular designation after clearing the SBI PO exam is the Assistant Manager position in public sector banks.
Read More: SBI PO Application Form 2024-25
2. IBPS SO Examination
IBPS SO stands for "Institute of Banking Personnel Selection Specialist Officers". Every year, IBPS conducts a common recruitment process (CRP) to hire Scale I officers viz. I.T. Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer for the banks.
- The average salary is about Rs. 45,000 per month.
- The candidates must aspire to get into the Senior Manager position after clearing IBPS SO Examination.
Read More: IBPS SO Application Form 2025
3. RRB Grade D Examination
RRB stands for the ”Railway Recruitment Board” which is a government organization in India that appoints new employees to work in Indian Railways.
The Railway Recruitment Board has been set up based on the policies for the RRB Grade D Examination and has evolved over some time.
- The average salary for a Junior Engineer is Rs. 42,000 and that of SSE is Rs. 45,000 per month.
- The best profile under RRB Group D posts are Assistant Workshop (Mechanical) and Assistant C & W (Mechanical) positions after the RRB NTPC exam.
Read More: RRB Group D Application Form 2025
4. LIC AAO
LIC AAO is Life Insurance Corporation's Assistant Administrative Officer. It is a national-level examination for the recruitment of officers to various posts which is conducted once every year to recruit aspiring candidates.
The examination is conducted in two languages, English and Hindi. The recruitment process has three stages - the first stage is objective-type, multiple-choice questions, the second stage is descriptive-type questions, and the final stage is the interview round.
- The LIC AAO basic salary is Rs. 32,795, while the in-hand salary amounts to Rs. 80,870.
- The Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO) is one of the best posts in the Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC).
Read More: LIC AAO Online Application Form
5. UGC-NET
UGC-NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test) is a national-level entrance test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) biannually, on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to provide admission to an eligible candidate for the posts of Lecturer (LS) and/or Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in various colleges or universities across the nation.
- The average salary ranges between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month.
Read More: UGC NET Dec Application Form 2025
6. Engineering Services Exam
UPSC conducts the IES (Indian Engineering Services), every year. This is the entrance exam for Engineering candidates of technical graduates to serve under the government of India.
UPSC Engineering Services Exam consists of various sectors like Railroads, Telecommunication, Public Works, Powers etc. UPSC ESE exam consists of five tests conducted in three stages by the UPSC for recruiting IES personnel.
- The basic salary of an IES officer varies between Rs. 15,600 to Rs. 39,100 depending on the organization and role of the respective officer.
- The most popular position after IES exams is the Assistant Engineer position.
Read More: UPSC IES Application Form 2025
7. Civil Services Exam
Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Exam (UPSC CSE) is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) among many others.
It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
- The salary package ranges from Rs. 1,20,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh per month.
- IAS is the most desired position after clearing the Civil Service Examination.
Read More: UPSC CSE Application Form 2025
8. IPPB Exam
IPPB in IPPB Exam stands for the “Indian Post Payments Bank” which is a wholly-owned undertaking of the Department of Posts for which the recruitment takes place at an All-India level. Post Office recruitment comes under the aegis of the Government of India.
- The average India Post Payments Bank salary ranges from approximately Rs. 1.7 Lakhs per year for a Branch Post Master to Rs. 47.5 Lakhs per year for a Chief Compliance Officer.
- The most sought-after job is IPPB executive since the pay scale is higher than other roles.
Read More: IPPB Recruitment Application Form 2025
9. CTET Exam
CTET is the Central Teacher Eligibility Test. CTET is conducted to recruit candidates for teaching profiles all across the country by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India.
The Government of India introduced the CTET Exam to improve or bring new standards in teaching. The board conducts the exam twice every year.
- A CTET-passed teacher working at the primary level gets about Rs. 35,000 to Rs.37,000.
- A teacher working at the upper-primary level receives a salary of Rs. 43,000 to Rs. 46,000.
- A CTET-qualified PGT teacher mostly gets a pay of Rs. 48,000 to Rs. 50,000.
- The most popular designation after the CTET exams is to be appointed as a teacher in Central Government schools.
Read More: CTET Application Form 2025
10. CDS Exam
CDS is a Combined Defense Service. The UPSC CDS Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. UPSC is responsible for conducting recruitment exams for Class A & Class B employees in Govt. Organizations.
Through this exam, candidates are also appointed as Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The recruitment process consists of a Written Test and a Personal Interview and ends with the medical examination.
- The average salary is between Rs. 56,100 to Rs. 1,77,500 per month.
- The most sought-after job position is Lieutenant Colonel which can be attained after 15 years of service.
Read More: UPSC CDS 1 Application Form 2025
What are Competitive Exams?
A competitive examination is where candidates are ranked according to their grades obtained by achievement in the exam. If the examination is open for an 'n' number of positions, then the first 'n' candidates in the merit list qualify, and the others are dismissed.
Employment for government and Public-Sector Units (PSU jobs) in India started during the British rule of the subcontinent and even for a few years after 1947.
Candidates sent applications for a vacancy and just had to pass one or more interviews.
Those found suitable were hired. Unfortunately, the system had many loopholes. Bio-data and interviews are not enough to judge the skills of the individual.
Also Read: How to Get a Government Job? Steps to Follow
How Useful Are Competitive Exams?
The rise in the number of aspirants for government and public sector jobs made the old system increasingly redundant. A need to hire people with proper skills was also felt to improve the functioning of governments and public-sector units.
So, the government and public sector started the hiring process by introducing competitive exams to select potential candidates.
Competitive exams enable candidates with certain knowledge and skills to get suitable posts in the government and private sectors. These competitive exams also expand the skills employers generally look for.
Only top scorers in these exams are selected for jobs. Hence they leave no future scope for influencing the recruiting process.
This means the candidates can get an excellent job with governments and the public sector units without any fear of unfair competition from the people who have high connections or pay bribes to get selected.
Also Read: Government Jobs vs Private Jobs: What's the Difference?
Conclusion
Apart from these exams, which we have referred to and discussed, there are many other similar important competitive exams for government jobs for various posts in various departments.
Students can check them out to gain new information and learn how to apply and other processes related to taking the exam.
Here are some other popular Government exam lists mentioned in the pointers below.
