HomeCareerCBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career

CBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career

Do you enjoy solving a mystery while conducting an investigation? Do you have the instincts to figure out what’s behind a fraudulent action? If that’s the case, you’re in for an exciting career that not only puts your analytical skills to the test but also helps you grow as a person!


The “Central Bureau of Investigation” is the place for you if you’re searching for a career that’s both challenging and gratifying. This specialized investigating entity is well-known in general, however, many students are unaware of the procedure for becoming a CBI officer.

Many youngsters in India dream of becoming officers in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This specific investigating agency is considered very popular among the public, but many people do not know the process of getting recruited as an officer in CBI.

If you are determined and focused, you can qualify for the entrance exam, but it is a very challenging job. After reading this article you will learn so much about CBI. You will know everything important. What is CBI? How you can become an officer in CBI? What is the jurisdiction and establishment of CBI? These are some common questions been addressed in this article.

What is the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)?

Back in 2009, there was a corporate controversy involving Satyam Computer Services, an Indian enterprise, in which the chairman admitted to defrauding the company of Rs.7000 crores in accounts. With the help of specially trained investigators, they were able to discover the manipulation done in the company’s account. Who do you think were those officers and from where do they come from?

Those officials were from the Central Bureau of Investigation, hopefully, this has given you some insights into how the CBI performs on cases. It is usually entrusted with cases of corruption, economic crimes, special crimes, and also other high-profile matters by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.

The CBI stands for the Central Bureau of Investigation. It is the main agency that carries an investigation in our country. The smartest of police officers join the CBI. The CBI is accountable for the investigation of high-profile cases. They carry out an investigation into corruption, economic crisis.

CBI also operates in crime as murder and multi-state murder mystery. They also carry out investigations of international cases. CBI is an investigation agency under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.

This is headed by a Union Minister followed by the Director of CBI. Generally, The Home Minister is the Minister-in-charge of CBI.

What does the CBI do?

CBI takes up an investigation after a proposal request is set up by the state or central government. As per the Indian Constitution, CBI can take up an investigation without a request from the government. It is only possible if CBI is been ordered by the High Court or Supreme Court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has 7 branches. Each branch specializes in a specific type of investigation. The branches are:

  1. Anti-Corruption Division
  2. The Special Crimes Division
  3. The Economic Offenses Division
  4. Policy and Interpol Cooperation Division
  5. The Division for Administration
  6. Directorate of Prosecution Division
  7. Division for Central Forensic Science Laboratory

How to Become CBI Officer?

You can become an officer in CBI through different mediums. CBI recruits candidates as an officer through direct enlistment. This is the most common method. The second method is for those already working in Police.

You now have a better understanding of what CBI does and who they are. Let us furnish a checklist that will assist you in landing your ideal career!

  1. Eligibility criteria
  2. Cracking Entrance Examinations (SSC-CGL Exam, and UPSC Exam)
  3. The groundwork for Entrance Exams
CBI
CBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career

Eligibility Criteria

There are a few ways of getting there, but the eligibility requirements are the same for all. If you are a 12th-grade student enthusiastic about becoming a CBI officer, you must graduate from a recognized university with a minimum of 50 percent in any discipline. Besides that, the minimum age limit is 20 years, and the maximum age limit is 27 years, with a 5-year concession for SC/STs and a 3-year relaxation for OBCs. You can explore the top courses to pursue after 12th and pick the course that suits you, along with developing your skills and knowledge in the coming years.

Age Limit to Become a CBI officer is:

  1. General Category 20-30 years
  2. OBC Category 20-32 years
  3. SC/ST Category 20-35 years

Cracking Entrance Examination

CBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career
CBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career

As we’ve already discussed, there are a few routes to be a CBI agent. The first route is to qualify for the SSC-CGL Exam. All the lower division recruitment from group B and group C to Sub Inspector in CBI is done through SSC. (Staff Selection Commission)
SSC-CGL is conducted in four tiers, Tier-1 and Tier-2 are online format exams whereas Tier-3 is an offline format and Tier-4 is a computer skill test.

Level I: Written Examination

It has Objective Multiple Choice type questions. This exam is for 2 hours. The total marks for the exam are 200 marks. 1st is of the Reasoning and Intelligence section. 2nd section is on General Awareness. The third section is on Quantitative Aptitude. It is the section where you need to solve basic mathematics questions. The last section is English Comprehension. Each section is of 50 marks. A total of 200 questions are there. Each question is of 1 mark.

Level II: Written Examination

This exam contains both objective multiple-choice questions and subjective also. The exam is of a total of 400 marks. It is divided into 2 separate exams of 200 marks each. The duration of each exam is 2 hours. The first exam has 100 Multiple Choice type questions. These questions are from Quantitative Analysis. General Awareness and Reasoning are also part of this exam. The second exam is English Language and Comprehension. In this exam, you need to write an essay. The essay carries the maximum weightage.

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Personal Interview stage

It is the last qualifying stage. You need to qualify for the written exam and physical test to appear in a personal interview. In the personal interview, you will face a panel of officers of CBI. The panel will ask you questions. The panel includes psychiatrists, administrative officers, and field officers. It is the toughest stage. Here they will test your decision-making skills and mental psychology. To join CBI, you need to be on the merit list.


Starting from Sub -Inspector you will get a promotion. You can go to a high-level position. For this, you need to appear in the Limited Departmental Competitive exam.

This is a fast method to reach a higher position. Another method is a promotion on basis of seniority.
What if you don’t want to go above and beyond this long process? Is there any other way to do it? Yes, you can get promoted to CBI Group A officer without having to wait in a big line. However, that will be a tough nut to crack, which will require you to vigorously explore your career aspirations. The UPSC Civil Services Examinations are the second way to become a CBI agent. You must pass this with a high adequate score to be considered for the Indian Police Service (IPS).

CBI
CBI Officer: Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Pursue This Career

The groundwork for Entrance Exams

If you genuinely want to know how to get into CBI, you should follow these guidelines to crack your entrance exam.

  1. Make a timetable and stick to it. Make certain that you give equal time to each subject.
  2. Solve the last 10 year papers of SSC-CGL. By doing that you will come to know about the pattern of the exam.
  3. Begin reading newspapers such as The Hindu and The Indian Express regularly to stay up to date on pertinent incidents.
  4. Solve as many mock tests as possible. As in the exam, you will have limited time so solving a lot of mock tests will increase your speed.
  5. Believe in yourself and remain motivated

Conclusion

In this article, we tried to explain what is the qualification required to become a CBI officer. So we would suggest you work hard. Cracking the SSC-CGL exam is not going to be easy. Every year around lakhs of students give that exam. You can join good coaching classes while you do your preparation.

I hope that this comprehensive explanation has cleared up all your confusion about how to become a CBI officer. Before making any career decisions, make sure you put in some extra time and thought.

Rakhul Kumar
Rakhul Kumar
Project Associate at IIT Madras || Instrumentation Engineering from Anna University |

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