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Kerala PSC Dairy Extension Officer – Dairy Development
ഡെയറി എക്സ്റ്റൻഷൻ ഓഫീസർ – ക്ഷീരവികസന വകുപ്പ്
Degree level preliminary and main exams
- Syllabus sections
- 10
Mock Tests
Tests coming soon.
About the exam
About the post
- Department: Dairy Development Department
- Category No: 023/2026
- Method: Direct Recruitment
- Pay scale: ₹55,200 – 1,15,300
- Vacancies: Anticipated
- Notification: Gazette 30 May 2026; last date to apply was 1 July 2026
Qualification
- Essential: B.Sc. in Dairy Science or B.Tech. (Dairy Science and Technology) from a recognised university or the National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR)
- Equivalent or higher qualifications declared by Government order are also accepted
Who can apply
- Age: 20–41 (usual relaxations apply)
Always confirm the details in the official notification on keralapsc.gov.in before you apply or prepare.
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.
1Module 1 – Market Milkമാർക്കറ്റ് മിൽക്ക് (വിപണന പാൽ)5 topics15 marks›
Module 1 – Market Milkമാർക്കറ്റ് മിൽക്ക് (വിപണന പാൽ)
5 topics
- 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
2Module 2 – Milk Productsപാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങൾ8 topics15 marks›
Module 2 – Milk Productsപാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങൾ
8 topics
- 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
3Module 3 – Dairy Engineeringഡെയറി എഞ്ചിനീയറിംഗ്3 topics5 marks›
Module 3 – Dairy Engineeringഡെയറി എഞ്ചിനീയറിംഗ്
3 topics
- 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
4Module 4 – Chemistry of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും രസതന്ത്രം6 topics10 marks›
Module 4 – Chemistry of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും രസതന്ത്രം
6 topics
- 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
5Module 5 – Microbiology of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും സൂക്ഷ്മജീവിശാസ്ത്രം9 topics10 marks›
Module 5 – Microbiology of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും സൂക്ഷ്മജീവിശാസ്ത്രം
9 topics
- 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
6Module 6 – Quality Assurance of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും ഗുണനിലവാര ഉറപ്പ്9 topics10 marks›
Module 6 – Quality Assurance of Milk and Milk Productsപാലിന്റെയും പാലുൽപ്പന്നങ്ങളുടെയും ഗുണനിലവാര ഉറപ്പ്
9 topics
- 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
7Module 7 – Milk Production Management and Dairy Developmentപാലുൽപ്പാദന മാനേജ്മെന്റും ക്ഷീരവികസനവും8 topics10 marks›
Module 7 – Milk Production Management and Dairy Developmentപാലുൽപ്പാദന മാനേജ്മെന്റും ക്ഷീരവികസനവും
8 topics
- 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
8Module 8 – Fodder Production and Managementതീറ്റപ്പുൽ ഉൽപ്പാദനവും മാനേജ്മെന്റും8 topics10 marks›
Module 8 – Fodder Production and Managementതീറ്റപ്പുൽ ഉൽപ്പാദനവും മാനേജ്മെന്റും
8 topics
- 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
9Module 9 – Dairy Cooperative Managementക്ഷീര സഹകരണ മാനേജ്മെന്റ്5 topics5 marks›
Module 9 – Dairy Cooperative Managementക്ഷീര സഹകരണ മാനേജ്മെന്റ്
5 topics
- 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
10Module 10 – Fundamentals of Dairy Extensionക്ഷീര വിജ്ഞാന വ്യാപനത്തിന്റെ അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ10 topics10 marks›
Module 10 – Fundamentals of Dairy Extensionക്ഷീര വിജ്ഞാന വ്യാപനത്തിന്റെ അടിസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ
10 topics
- 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