What the Nayab Subba exam is
Nayab Subba is a Non-Gazetted First Class post in Nepal’s civil service, one tier above Kharidar in the general, non-technical administrative cadre. Like every general service post, it is filled through open competition run by the Public Service Commission (Lok Sewa Aayog, लोक सेवा आयोग), the constitutional body responsible for civil service recruitment in Nepal since its establishment on 15 June 1951. PSC selects candidates through the methods it sets for each exam: an open competitive written examination, an open competitive practical examination, an interview, or any other method the Commission adopts, and Nayab Subba follows the same written-exam-led model used across its non-gazetted cadre.
Nayab Subba sits directly above Kharidar in the same non-gazetted ladder, and the practical difference for a candidate is depth, not format: the exam tests the same broad administrative and general-knowledge ground as Kharidar, but at a level suited to a first-class rather than second-class non-gazetted post, and it opens the door to supervisory responsibility that a Kharidar post does not carry.
Who conducts it and who can apply
The minimum academic requirement for Nayab Subba is 10+2 or Intermediate level education with a minimum GPA of 2.0, one step above the SLC/SEE bar set for Kharidar. This qualification difference is what separates the two non-gazetted tiers on paper, even though both are filled by the same Commission using a broadly similar exam format. As with every PSC exam, the exact eligibility conditions, including any additional requirements for specific quota categories, are set out in each vacancy notice and should be confirmed there before applying.
The stage by stage process
Nayab Subba follows the same two-stage written structure PSC uses for Kharidar: Stage I is an objective, multiple choice paper that screens the applicant pool, and Stage II is a subjective, descriptive paper whose marks determine final merit. What changes at the Nayab Subba level is the depth of the subject matter tested in both stages, reflecting the higher qualification bar and the greater administrative responsibility of the post. Candidates who clear both written stages go on to a computer skill test and an interview, the same final sequence used for Kharidar.
Vacancy notices for Nayab Subba are sometimes advertised together with other non-gazetted and technical posts rather than as a standalone round. One provincial-level notice, for example, advertised 1,500 vacancies combined across Nayab Subba, Sub Engineer, Kharidar and Bidhalaya Nirikshak (school inspector) posts together; that figure describes several post categories bundled into one notice, not a Nayab Subba-only vacancy count, and no sourced national total specific to Nayab Subba alone is available at the time of writing.
How to apply
Nayab Subba vacancies are advertised and administered through PSC’s own channels at psc.gov.np, and every stage from application to admit card to result follows the process set out in that cycle’s official notice. Application fee, photo and signature specifications, and admit card instructions vary by notice and are not summarised here because no single sourced figure covers every Nayab Subba round; candidates should confirm these details against the live notice on psc.gov.np before applying. Candidates comparing tiers within the Lok Sewa Aayog system, from Kharidar up through Nayab Subba to the gazetted Section Officer level, should treat each tier’s qualification and syllabus depth, not the exam format, as the real distinguishing factor, since the broad written-plus-interview shape repeats across all three.