Kerala PSC Dairy Extension Officer – Dairy Development Syllabus
ഡെയറി എക്സ്റ്റൻഷൻ ഓഫീസർ – ക്ഷീരവികസന വകുപ്പ് – സിലബസ്
Degree level preliminary and main exams · Category No. 023/2026
The full syllabus, organised section by section with the marks for each part: 10 sections and 71 topics, 100 marks in all. Tick topics off as you study and practise each part with the mock tests.
Detailed syllabus for Dairy Extension Officer in the Dairy Development Department, Category No. 023/2026. It is an objective multiple-choice test (OMR/online) for 100 marks with questions in English. At the previous recruitment (Cat. No. 008/2021) it was an online test of 1 hour 30 minutes. The syllabus has 10 modules at B.Sc./B.Tech. Dairy Science level. Questions may also come from other topics prescribed for the educational qualification of the post.
- Sections
- 10
- Topics
- 71
- Total marks
- 100
Exam pattern & marks · പരീക്ഷാ ഘടന
1
Module 1 – Market Milkമാർക്കറ്റ് മിൽക്ക് (വിപണന പാൽ)
15 marks- Milk handling: collection and transportation, on-farm preservation, reception, chilling, clarification, storage in dairy plants
- Unit operations: pasteurisation and its types, homogenisation, cream separation, bactofugation, thermisation, sterilisation
- Special milks: toned, double toned, skimmed, reconstituted, recombined, flavoured, homogenised, vitaminised, sterilised and acidophilus milk
- UHT processing and aseptic packaging: shelf life, nutritive value
- Cleaning and sanitisation of dairy equipment: CIP, detergents, sanitisers
2
Module 2 – Milk Productsപാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങൾ
15 marks- For each product group: method of preparation, types, shelf life, sensory evaluation, defects, packaging, standards
- Khoa and khoa-based products
- Chhana and chhana-based products
- Cheese and fermented milk products
- Fat-rich dairy products
- Condensed and dried milks
- Frozen milk products
- Milk by-products and traditional milk sweets
3
Module 3 – Dairy Engineeringഡെയറി എഞ്ചിനീയറിംഗ്
5 marks- Reception dock equipment: milk pump, cream separator, can washer, chiller (principles, operation, construction, maintenance)
- Processing equipment: pasteuriser, homogeniser, boiler, hot water generator, refrigeration system, sterilisers, packing machines, CIP and aseptic packaging systems
- Dairy plant: requirements for construction, design and layout
4
Module 4 – Chemistry of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും രസതന്ത്രം
10 marks- Milk: definition, structure, factors affecting composition
- Milk proteins: nomenclature, classification, hydrolysis and denaturation, methods of estimation
- Milk carbohydrates: status and importance, lactose degradation during processing
- Milk lipids: definition, composition, classification, phospholipids and their role in dairy products
- Milk salts and minerals, natural inhibitors, heat-induced changes in milk
- Milk products: chemical composition, legal standards, physico-chemical changes during preparation and storage
5
Module 5 – Microbiology of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും സൂക്ഷ്മജീവിശാസ്ത്രം
10 marks- Raw milk contamination: sources during milking, chilling, storage and transport, psychrotrophs and preventive measures
- Spoilage of milk: souring, curdling, bitty cream, proteolysis, lipolysis, abnormal flavours, discolouration
- Mastitis milk: types, causative microflora, compositional and microbiological changes, processing and public health aspects
- Cleaning and sanitation practices on farms and in dairy plants
- Microflora of aseptically drawn milk and natural antimicrobial systems of milk
- Microbiology of processing: pasteurisation, boiling, sterilisation, UHT, pulsed electric field, microfiltration, bactofugation, standardisation, homogenisation
- Heat-resistant organisms and post-processing contaminants
- Milk-borne diseases: food infection, intoxication, toxico-infection
- Microbiological grading and legal standards for raw milk, processed milk and milk products
6
Module 6 – Quality Assurance of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും ഗുണനിലവാര ഉറപ്പ്
10 marks- Regulatory systems and standards: FSSAI, PFA, AGMARK, BIS, ISO, IDF, Codex
- Food safety management: ISO standards, HACCP and its application in the dairy industry
- Food laws: Food Safety and Standards Act, Consumer Protection Act
- Food quality management: characteristics of quality
- Food safety and hygiene: factors affecting food safety, spoilage, food handling, high-risk foods, safe cooking and storage temperatures
- Plant hygiene: cleaning and disinfection, personal hygiene, pest control, waste disposal
- Testing of milk: adulterants, preservatives, neutralisers
- Environmental contaminants: pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals and their chemical testing
- Milk-contact surfaces, metallic contamination, chemical quality of water in the dairy industry
7
Module 7 – Milk Production Management and Dairy Developmentപാലുൽപ്പാദന മാനേജ്മെന്റും ക്ഷീരവികസനവും
10 marks- Breeds and breeding: Indian and exotic breeds of cattle and buffalo, breeding systems, methods of selection
- Farm practices: general dairy farm practices, care at calving, neonatal management
- Management of lactating and dry animals, milking procedures for quality milk
- Farm management: dairy farm records, housing systems, hygiene and sanitation of farm premises, clean milk production
- Common diseases: prevention and control
- Animal nutrition: feed nutrients, feed resources and their nutritive value, ruminant digestive system and digestion
- Feeding: nutrient requirements for growth and milk production, feeding standards
- Mammary system: structure and function, milk secretion, milk let-down
8
Module 8 – Fodder Production and Managementതീറ്റപ്പുൽ ഉൽപ്പാദനവും മാനേജ്മെന്റും
10 marks- Forages and fodder: importance in animal nutrition, problems of fodder cultivation in Kerala, present production scenario
- Forage sources: food crops, plantation crops, fallow land, rice fields, cover crops, border trees, marshy land, crop wastes, straw
- Classification of forage crops
- Cultivation practices for each crop: soil and climate, plant characteristics, propagation, land preparation, planting, manures and fertilisers, weeding and inter-culture, irrigation, harvesting, yield, quality, toxicity, utilisation, seed production
- Grasses: Hybrid Napier, guinea grass, setaria, para grass, Congo signal
- Fodder crops and legumes: fodder maize, fodder sorghum, stylosanthes, fodder cowpea
- Fodder trees: subabul, gliricidia, agathi
- Forage preservation: silage and hay making and utilisation
9
Module 9 – Dairy Cooperative Managementക്ഷീര സഹകരണ മാനേജ്മെന്റ്
5 marks- Cooperation: history of the cooperative movement, ICA, cooperative principles, cooperatives compared with other forms of business
- Dairy cooperatives: traditional and Anand pattern, development under the Five Year Plans, NDDB programmes
- Organisation of Indian dairy cooperatives: constitution and working, growth in Kerala, problems affecting efficiency
- Management and administration: model bye-laws, Kerala Co-operative Societies Act 1969, supervision, inspection and audit
- Apex institutions: NCDFI, NCUI, state cooperative unions, NCDC, NABARD
10
Module 10 – Fundamentals of Dairy Extensionക്ഷീര വിജ്ഞാന വ്യാപനത്തിന്റെ അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ
10 marks- Extension education: history, need, definition, philosophy, principles, approaches, objectives
- Dairy development programmes in India
- Extension teaching methods: classification and selection, audio-visual aids
- Rural leadership: identification and training of rural leaders, working with groups, mobilisation
- Programme planning: need, principles and steps, evaluation of extension programmes
- Diffusion of innovations and adopter categories of farmers
- New approaches: farmer-to-farmer extension, social media extension, market-led extension
- Problems of different stakeholders in dairy development
- PRA, ATMA, ATIC, T&V system
- Statistics of dairy animal population and milk production in Kerala
Practise this syllabus
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This syllabus follows the one published by the Kerala Public Service Commission. Always confirm the latest syllabus and exam details in the official notification on keralapsc.gov.in.