DDA ASO LDCE Syllabus: Paper I, II and III, Head by Head

The pattern in one table

In 2025 the practical Paper III was held on a Saturday (11.10.2025, from 10 AM) and the two written papers on the next day: Paper I from 10 AM to noon and Paper II from 2 PM to 4.30 PM (Circular 93/2025). The 2019 and 2020 cycles also put Paper III on a separate day, weeks before the written papers. Expect the same shape for LDCE-2026, but wait for the schedule circular.

Paper I, Part I: land, housing, lease and freehold (75 marks)

Part I is headed "Matters relating to LM, LD, Housing etc." LM and LD are land management and land disposal. The annexure lists five heads, and all five are DDA-specific: this is the part an SSA from an accounts or establishment branch will find least familiar, and the part a colleague in a lands or housing branch deals with every day.

The annexure names subjects, not books. It does not list which DDA manuals, orders or brochures the questions are set from, and we have not found an official reading list. What it does make clear is the level: procedures and powers, the working knowledge of a dealing hand. Head 5 is easy to skip and should not be; definitions, abbreviations and who can sanction what are exactly what a section officer is asked every week. The 2025 training schedule issued by DDA's Training Department covered housing schemes, land acquisition and the DDA Conduct Regulations, which confirms where DDA itself puts the weight.

Paper I, Part II: service regulations (75 marks)

Part II is where an establishment hand has the advantage. The one regulation named by year is DDA's own Conduct, Disciplinary and Appeal Regulations, 1999; the leave and pension rules are named without a year or source. Reservation is listed as SC/ST/PH/OBC, the older wording; the current circulars use PwBD elsewhere. Read "advances" and "staff quarters" as the rules that decide an employee's entitlement, not the forms.

Paper II: language, awareness and computer theory (200 marks)

Paper II is the paper most candidates pass. In the 2025 sitting, 98 of the 115 candidates who sat all three papers reached 80 of 200 here, against only 37 who reached 60 of 150 in Paper I (our count over EO 644; the pass-marks guide has the full numbers). That does not make Paper II a formality: at 200 marks it carries half the aggregate, and the 180 line is far easier to reach with a strong Paper II.

Part I is written work by its nature: a letter, a précis and a translation cannot be multiple choice. That is our reading of the items, not a format DDA prints. Part III is the only part the annexure itself calls objective. E-office appears by name, which fits how DDA now runs its files: the LDCE-2026 circular itself asks for its upload to the "Notice-Board of E-office".

Paper III: the computer practical (50 marks)

Paper III is a 30-minute practical on a computer, held separately from the written papers. The annexure gives no task list beyond "computer practical test", and no circular we read says which software is used or how the 50 marks are awarded. Paper II Part III names MS Office, E-office and e-governance for the theory test, and the computer training DDA gave before earlier cycles (a two-week programme from 31.01.2022 to 11.02.2022, for example) is the best guide to what the practical expects. In the 2025 sitting, 101 of the 115 who sat all three papers reached 20 of 50 (our count).

What changed since 2017

What DDA does not publish

What is the syllabus of the DDA ASO LDCE?

Paper I (150): land, housing, lease, freehold, definitions and delegation of powers (75), and service regulations including the DDA Conduct, Disciplinary and Appeal Regulations 1999 (75). Paper II (200): English/Hindi drafting, précis, translation, usage and Rajbhasha (100), general awareness (50) and an objective computer literacy test on MS Office, E-office and e-governance (50). Paper III (50): a computer practical.

How many marks is the DDA ASO LDCE?

400: Paper I 150, Paper II 200 and Paper III 50.

How long are the papers?

Paper I is 2 hours, Paper II is 2 hours 30 minutes and Paper III is 30 minutes.

Is the DDA ASO LDCE computer based?

The written papers were held offline at a school in Hauz Khas in 2025. Only Paper III is on a computer, as a practical. The computer-based stages on aggregator pages belong to direct recruitment.

Is there negative marking in the DDA ASO LDCE?

DDA has not published any negative-marking rule for this exam.

Is Paper I objective or descriptive?

Not published. Only Paper II Part III is stated to be objective.

What changed in the syllabus since 2017?

Paper II Part I added questions on Rajbhasha, and the computer literacy test now names MS Office, E-office and e-governance. Paper I is unchanged.

Are previous year papers available?

We found none published by DDA.

Does DDA give training before the exam?

Yes, in past cycles DDA notified pre-promotional training for Papers I and II and separate computer training. Circular 73/2026 says the LDCE-2026 training will be notified separately.