The ISS 2026 written examination comprises six papers: two general papers shared with IES and four Statistics-specific papers. Below is the full subject-wise syllabus.
ISS Papers Overview
| Paper | Subject | Max Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper I | General English | 100 |
| Paper II | General Studies | 100 |
| Paper III | Statistics I (Probability) | 200 |
| Paper IV | Statistics II (Statistical Methods) | 200 |
| Paper V | Statistics III (Sampling & Econometrics) | 200 |
| Paper VI | Statistics IV (Applied Statistics) | 200 |
Paper III – Statistics I (Probability)
- Probability Theory: Axioms, Conditional Probability, Bayes' Theorem
- Random Variables: Discrete and Continuous, Expectation, Variance
- Standard Distributions: Binomial, Poisson, Normal, Exponential, Beta, Gamma
- Functions of Random Variables, Moment Generating Functions
- Law of Large Numbers, Central Limit Theorem
Paper IV – Statistics II (Statistical Methods)
- Descriptive Statistics: Measures of location, dispersion, skewness, kurtosis
- Correlation and Regression Analysis
- Multivariate Analysis: Multiple Regression, Discriminant Analysis, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis
- Non-Parametric Tests: Sign Test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis
- Statistical Quality Control: Control Charts (X̄, R, p, c charts), Acceptance Sampling
Paper V – Statistics III (Sampling & Econometrics)
- Sampling Theory: Simple Random Sampling, Stratified, Systematic, Cluster, PPS, Double Sampling
- Design of Experiments: CRD, RBD, LSD, Factorial Designs, ANOVA
- Econometrics: OLS, Violations (Heteroscedasticity, Autocorrelation, Multicollinearity), Simultaneous Equations
Paper VI – Statistics IV (Applied Statistics)
- Time Series Analysis: Trend, Seasonality, Cyclical, Spectral Analysis
- Index Numbers: Price indices, Laspeyres, Paasche, Fisher's Ideal Index
- Vital Statistics: Fertility, Mortality, Life Tables, Population Growth Models
- Survey Methodology: Survey design, Questionnaire framing, Data quality, Non-response
- Official Statistics: NSO surveys, Census methodology, PLFS, CPI, WPI, NAS