How to Become BDO Officer in 2024: Salary, Qualification

BDO means Block Development Officer a government official whose job is to develop a specific block in a district. BDO is a civil service job and a highly reputed government job in our society. In India, A lot of students have a dream to join a government job.

Are you one of them? If yes, then BDO is one of the good options in government services. In this article, I will discuss the complete details of a Block Development Officer and how to become a BDO officer.

BDO Full Form:- Block Development Officer.

Every year lakhs of students in India give the state PSC exams in their respective states. Aspirants become BDO officers by giving and clearing the PSC exam. Every state government in India conducts its own PSC exam.

It is not easy to crack this examination, aspirants need a lot of knowledge and preparation to clear this exam because it is one of the toughest exams in India conducted by the state Public Service Commission.

The State PSC exam is also compared with the UPSC exam as the syllabus of both exams is very similar and both are civil services exams. However, the syllabus of the PSC exam may vary depending on the state. So, aspirants need a lot of preparation and patience to become BDO officers as candidates have to appear for several stages of exams to become a BDO officer.

Who is BDO Officer?

BDO or Block Development Officer is a government civil officer whose duty is to ensure the development and infrastructure growth of a specific block in a district. BDO is an officer who is responsible for any development and the fulfilment of any project in a block.

It is an officer who passes all the projects happening in that block such as for example anyone who wants to develop any infra project in a block then He/She has to take approval for the infra project from the BDO officer of that block. Also, If any development project is done by the government, then it is also the responsibility of a BDO officer to implement it well in that block.

In India, every district has several blocks and one BDO officer is appointed in each block for the development of that block.

BDO Qualification

Candidates who want to become BDO officers must full these BDO eligibility criteria before applying for the examination form.

• You must have passed in 12th standard from a recognized board of education. You should get at least a 40% mark in your 12th board examination. You can complete your 10+2 from any branch (Science, Commerce, and Arts/Humanities).
• You must have also passed in graduation from a recognized board of a university. You can complete your graduation degree in any field. There are no criteria for a branch. Candidates who completed their undergraduate degree in BCA, BBA, BA, B.COM, BE, B.Tech, B.Sc or any other branch are eligible to fill out the form for BDO officer.

Candidates who apply for the post of BDO must be a citizen of India or those who are citizens of Bhutan and Nepal are also eligible to apply for the form. One more, people who come to India before 1962 as refugees and do not have permanent citizenship in India can also be eligible to apply.

Age Limit to Become a BDO Officer

Candidates who want to fill out the form must have at least 21 years of age. The minimum age to apply for the form to become a BDO officer is 21 years and the maximum age limit is dependent on the category to category because some category candidates get a reservation in age.

General Category:- The maximum age limit to apply for the PSC form to become a BDO officer is 32 years for general category candidates.

OBC Category:- The maximum age limit to apply the PSC form to become a BDO officer is 35 years for OBC (Class 1 & Class 2) category candidates.

SC/ST Category:- The maximum age limit to apply the PSC form to become a BDO officer is 37 years for SC/ST category candidates.

PWD Category Candidates:- PWD category means those candidates who have disabilities in their bodies. For those candidates, the maximum age limit to apply for the PSC form to become a BDO officer is 42 years.

Role & Responsibilities of a Block Development Officer (BDO)

A BDO is a person who is responsible for all the development and growth project happening in a block. BDO is a person who verifies and gives approval to any work that happens in a block such as the construction of roads, bridges, canals, sewage pipelines, etc. The work of BDO is to complete the development project within the time duration and also to ensure that the work is being done well or not.

BDO is responsible for the implementation of government schemes in a block. BDO has a role to pass the fund that is for the development of the block. BDO has also attended every meeting that is for the development of that block.

BDO Exam

To become a Block Development Officer, you have to clear an exam called the state PSC exam. Every state in India conducts its own state PSC exam and the exam is conducted by the state Public Service Commission department of the state government.

It is one of the toughest exams conducted by the state government for the recruitment of many government posts in a state. The pattern of the PSC exam is very much similar to the UPSC exam.

Every state has its own website for the PSC exam. You can get all the details like form date, exam date, and result date on the PSC state website. Every state PSC exam is conducted in three phases:

Preliminary Exam:- The preliminary exam contains two papers – One is for General Studies and the second is for Civil Aptitude Test. The duration you get for each paper is 2 hours. For general studies, the paper contains 100 questions and each question is of 2 marks i.e. 200 marks for 100 questions. For the civil aptitude test, the paper contains 80 questions and each question is 2.5 marks i.e. 200 marks for 80 questions.

Main Exam:- The main exam is the second stage of PSC. You are eligible to give the main exam after qualifying preliminary exam. The PSC main exam contains 8 papers. So, it is very difficult to clear all 8 papers. The details of each paper are as follows:

1. The first paper is a language-based paper. You can choose any language for that. The duration of the paper is 3 hours and it contains a total of 100 marks.
2. The second is essay writing. The duration and marks are the same as the first.
3. The next paper is General Studies I which contains subjects like History, Geography, and Society. The duration of the paper is 3 hours and it contains a total of 250 marks.
4. After that, the next paper is General Studies II which contains subjects like Indian Constitution, Governance & International Relations, and Political Science. The duration of the paper is also 3 hours and it contains a total of 250 marks.
5. General Studies III contains subjects like Economy, Security Issues, and Statistics. Again, the duration is 3 hours and a total of 250 marks.
6. General Studies IV contains subjects like Environment, Problem Solving, Science & Technology, and Decision Making. The duration and marks are the same as above.
7. Optional Subject (Paper I)
8. Optional Subject (Paper-II)

Some of the subjects which you prefer to choose as optional subjects in the PSC main exam are as follows:

• Economics
• Geography
• Law
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Psychology
• Political Science and International Relations
• Chemistry
• Agriculture
• Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service
• English Literature
• Hindi Literature
• Punjabi Literature
• Sanskrit Literature
• Indian History
• Botany
• Zoology
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Public Administration

Interview Test:- After clearing the preliminary and main exam, the next and last stage is the Interview, you have to give a personal interview test. The interview is for 150 marks. Marks are awarded on the basis of performance. After clear in the interview stage, you are ready to be posted as Block Development Officer in any block in your respective states.

BDO Officer Exam Syllabus

• Basic and International Politics
• States of Matter
• Atmosphere Soil Water
• Reforms Panchayati Raj
• Indian History
• All about the State and Economy of India
• Communication Skills
• Basic Mathematical Skills
• Logical Reasoning
• Data Analysis
• General Studies
• Language and Essay
• Literature
• Telecommunication
• Statistics
• World Current Affairs
• Indian Politics

Note:- Syllabus may vary from state to state.

Preparation Tips for Block Development Officer Exam

• Make a perfect strategy and timetable before starting preparation for the PSC exam because a perfect plan makes studying a lot easier.
• Know the complete syllabus and divide them into several parts. So that it becomes easier to complete the syllabus.
• Read all the class 6 to class 12 NCERTs books of subjects History, Geography, and Political Science.
• Make a habit of reading newspapers, Relevant Magazines, and Current Affairs daily and make current affairs notes from them.
• Try to daily solve the previous year’s questions and give mock tests. So that it improves your timing and writing speed.
• Watch several UPSC interviews on the internet and learn what not to do in the Interview.
• Give several mock interviews before going to the Interview. So, that it increases your confidence.

BDO Officer Salary

The Block Development Officer’s salary is varied from area to area. However, according to payscale the average salary of a BDO in India is Rs 9,300 to Rs 34,800 per month. Also, BDO gets a grade pay of Rs 4800. BDO’s salary increases as their experience increases and they get older in the BDO post. After retirement, BDO gets a pension every month from the government.

The Block Development Officer is the controller of the rural development areas and thus it is a BDO’s responsibility of managing the salary, taxation process, and other records of the block-level employees. It also passes the salary of staff in that block.

BDO Officer Facilities

• A Block Development Officer get a car for his duties.
• A Block Development Officer get a house for accommodation in the officer colony.
• A Block Development Officer get medical facilities.
• A Block Development Officer get an assistant in the office.
• A Block Development Officer get trip facilities during holidays.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)