APPSC Royalty Inspector 2026 — Official 450-Mark CBRT and Complete Geology Syllabus

Notification No. 33/2026 | Source: 9-page APPSC brief, pages 2–6 | Examination date not declared.

The Royalty Inspector test is one-level and computer-based, with two degree-standard objective papers. There is no screening round regardless of applications. General Studies & Mental Ability is the broad common paper; the 300-mark Geology paper is the technical differentiator.

1. Paper structure, time and negative marking

Negative marking: APPSC specifies one-third of the marks prescribed per question. Consequently, Paper I has ⅓ mark per wrong response, and Paper II has ⅔ mark per wrong response. With 150 questions each, the papers have equal question counts but unequal mark value; Geology contributes two-thirds of the written total. No official subtopic-weightage or vacancy-specific pass mark has been issued in this brief.

The Commission may use normalization if the single-level CBRT is held in multiple sessions. This possibility is not evidence that the exam will certainly have multiple shifts.

2. Paper I: 10 officially prescribed domains

The official scheme gives 150 questions across Paper I, not a fixed allotment for these ten areas. Studying Andhra Pradesh current events, history and geography is grounded in the listed syllabus, not generic advice pasted into every examination page.

3. Paper II Part I: General, Geomorphological and Structural/Field Geology

General Geology and Earth's internal dynamics

The official range begins with the Solar System and Earth: origin, age, inner constitution, and extends to volcanic eruptions, volcano products, earthquakes, isostasy, mountain building, continental drift, sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics. Compare concepts rather than memorising labels: earthquake intensity is not the same as magnitude, and crustal movement can produce structures later observed in the field.

Geomorphology and remote sensing

Study weathering, erosion cycles, drainage patterns and fluvial landforms, then compare aeolian, coastal, glacial and karst landscapes. Remote sensing is explicitly named. The syllabus does not say that an entire separate remote-sensing paper will be held; it is part of Geology.

Structural and Field Geology

Primary and secondary geological structures, dip/strike, folds, faults, joints, unconformities, lineation, foliation, overthrusts and nappes connect directly to map interpretation. The annexure mentions geological block diagrams, stereographic and equal-area projections, clinometer compass, topographic maps and geological cross-sections. Candidates should be capable of following an observed structure from compass measurement to mapped attitude and an interpreted section. This is a study interpretation of the published topics, not a prescribed practical field test.

4. Part II: Crystallography, Mineralogy and Economic Geology

Crystallography: Normal classes of the seven crystal systems, symmetry, elements of crystal structure and light-crystal interaction. Optical work includes a petrological microscope, Nicol prism, pleochroism, double refraction, birefringence, extinction angle, twinning, and differences between isotropic, uniaxial and biaxial minerals.

Mineralogy: The named common mineral families include quartz, feldspar, mica, pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, garnet, chlorite, carbonates and aluminosilicates, with physical, chemical and optical properties. The scope also includes silicate crystal chemistry and gemstones. Learning mineral names without diagnostic properties misses the core distinction in this section.

Economic Geology: Start with ore, ore mineral and gangue, classify deposits and study processes producing them. The Indian examples specified include aluminium, chromium, copper, gold, lead, zinc, iron, manganese and radioactive-element minerals, plus abrasive, refractory and ceramic minerals, coal and petroleum. The written source additionally mentions mineral prospecting. The syllabus does not give individual mineral commodities their own declared marks.

5. Part III: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Petrology

These are three distinctive mechanisms—crystallization, deposition and transformation—covered in the same official part. A comparison of texture and origin across these mechanisms is a useful preparation exercise, not an announcement of how many questions each will receive.

6. Part IV: Paleontology, Stratigraphy and India's geological framework

Paleontology: Fossils, fossilization, preservation and applications; the named study groups include Foraminiferida, Brachipoda, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Cephalopoda, Trilobita, Echinoidea and Anthozoa, along with Siwalik mammals and Gondwana flora.

Stratigraphy: Fundamental principles and the distinction between lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic classification; the geological time scale; major physiographic divisions of India. The officially named Indian units include Dharwar, Vindhyan and Gondwana Supergroups and Siwalik Group, especially their subdivisions, lithology, fossils, distribution and economic importance.

This is not merely a memorisation test on formation names. Read the official syllabus as a connected exercise: what a formation contains, when it formed, how it is traced and what resources it may contain. However, no map-reading practical or identified number of stratigraphy questions is separately announced.

7. Written paper versus the computer practical

The annexure separately publishes the 100-mark CPT practical scheme. Its 60-minute assessment and category-wise minima should not be added indiscriminately to the 450 written marks to invent a 550-mark merit scale. Preparation for the separate office-automation tasks is provided in the connected CPT page.

Recruitment-specific hall ticket, question paper, initial answer key, final key, result and shortlist: No dates appear in this brief. Any future dates or procedural details must come from an actual APPSC notice for 33/2026, not from the older 25/2025 Royalty Inspector cycle.