APPSC Technical Assistant 2026 — Official 300-Mark CBRT and Full Geology Syllabus

Notification 32/2026, Annexure-II, pages 14–16 | Written merit examination | Exam date not announced.

The written recruitment test is conducted online in CBRT mode. It has two compulsory papers of 150 objective questions each, both at degree standard. Paper-I tests General Studies & Mental Ability, while Paper-II tests Geology. The combined written score determines merit, subject to the separate qualifying CPT, local status, vacancy allocation and other conditions.

📊 Exact examination pattern

🥧 Equal official weight of the two written CBRT papers

For each wrong answer, the penalty is one-third of the marks prescribed for that question. With one-mark questions, a wrong answer reduces the score by approximately 0.3333 marks. Unattempted questions are not described as attracting a negative mark. Candidates must appear in both compulsory papers. APPSC sets the paper in English and provides a Telugu translation; in the event of dispute the English text controls valuation.

Paper-I — the ten officially stated General Studies and Mental Ability areas

This list follows the ten numbered official syllabus entries rather than relying on a generic civil-services syllabus. In particular, Andhra Pradesh history, geography and current issues, remote sensing/GIS in disaster assessment, and data analysis including variance are expressly covered. The Commission has not divided Paper-I's 150 marks into subtopic quotas; assigning a fixed 15 marks to each of the ten headings would be unsupported.

Paper-II — the four official Geology parts

Part I — General, geomorphology, structural and field geology

General Geology: origin, age and internal constitution of Earth; Solar System; volcanism and its deposits, seismic intensity/magnitude and earthquake processes; isostasy, geosynclines and mountain building; continental drift, sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics. Use the distinctions between mechanisms and observations to avoid treating every Earth-process term as a synonym.

Geomorphology: external/internal geomorphic forces; weathering and erosion; fluvial landforms and drainage patterns; aeolian, marine, glacial and karst landforms; elementary remote sensing. The formal syllabus names landform interpretation, not a standalone advanced geospatial engineering paper.

Structural and field geology: bedding and secondary structures; dip/strike, unconformities, folds, joints, faults, foliation, lineation, nappes and overthrusts; stages of deformation; block diagrams and stereographic/equal-area nets; topographic maps; clinometer compass; field measurements and geological sections. Be able to interpret field geometry rather than only recall definitions.

Part II — Crystallography, mineralogy and economic geology

Crystallography: crystal structure and laws, seven crystal systems and symmetry classes; interaction of light with crystals; petrological microscope, Nicol prism, pleochroism, double refraction, extinction angle, birefringence, twinning and optical distinction between isotropic/uniaxial/biaxial minerals.

Mineralogy: physical, chemical and optical properties of quartz, feldspar, mica, pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, garnet, chlorite, carbonate minerals and aluminosilicates; silicate structure, crystal chemistry and gemstones. Practice recognising which observations distinguish common rock-forming minerals.

Economic Geology: ore, ore mineral and gangue; deposit classifications and formation processes; occurrence/origin/distribution in India of aluminium, chromium, copper, gold, lead, zinc, iron, manganese and radioactive-element ores; industrial minerals for abrasives, refractories and ceramics; coal, petroleum and elementary mineral prospecting. Because the job belongs to Mines & Geology, this is a direct and officially named paper topic; it must not be replaced with unsupported 'mining aptitude' sections.

Part III — Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic petrology

Igneous petrology: magma genesis, Bowen's reaction principle, binary crystallisation, rock classification, textures and structures; origin, occurrence and composition of granite, syenite, diorite, mafic/ultramafic, anorthosite and alkaline rocks.

Sedimentary petrology: sedimentary processes/products and classification; sedimentary structures; residual and clastic deposits, mineral textures and composition; quartz arenite, arkose, greywacke; siliceous and calcareous chemical/organic deposits.

Metamorphic petrology: metamorphism types/factors, grades/zones/facies; regional versus contact metamorphism; textures and structures; transformation of argillaceous, arenaceous, calcareous and basic rocks; metasomatism. This is the notice's complete three-family framework, not an invented separate laboratory practical.

Part IV — Palaeontology, stratigraphy and Indian geology

Palaeontology: fossilisation and preservation; application of fossils; morphology and geological histories of Foraminiferida, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods, trilobites, echinoids and anthozoans; Siwalik mammals and Gondwana flora.

Stratigraphy: fundamental laws, lithostratigraphic/biostratigraphic/chronostratigraphic classification, geological time scale and India's physiographic/stratigraphic outline. Specifically named Indian units are Dharwar, Vindhyan and Gondwana Supergroups and Siwalik Group, with subdivisions, lithology, fossils, distribution and economic significance. The official syllabus lists these as broad topics; it does not allocate marks among Parts I–IV.

How the written marks enter selection

These figures are minimum qualifying thresholds, not historic cut-offs or predictions. APPSC may apply the specific SC/ST rank-based rule detailed in Para 14.5 when its stated conditions arise. If two candidates tie in aggregate written marks, the older candidate ordinarily ranks ahead; when preferred qualification applies, the preference can take priority according to the printed tie rule. The further CPT must also be qualified. The Commission says there is no waiting list for this recruitment.

Answer key, objections and multi-session normalization

The initial answer key will be published after the test on the Commission's official website. The candidate must submit objections within three days after the key's publication, paying ₹100 per objection; a sustained objection is eligible for refund. The initial-key disputes go for subject-expert examination before finalisation.

If CBRT is run across sessions, the Commission may use normalization; Annexure-V provides the official formula and says marks will be calculated to five decimal places. The normalized score—not merely the raw score—will be used for the General Ranking List where normalization applies. APPSC has not scheduled this examination yet, so the future answer-key and hall-ticket dates cannot be presented as known events.

Test centres and exam-day identification

The notification names Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Anantapuramu as initial CBRT centre cities. The candidate may enter three centre preferences, but final allocation can differ if resources or arrangements require. Hall tickets will appear on APPSC's website once officially released. Detailed computer-based test instructions in Annexure-III include biometric verification, candidate login, saving answers and review navigation; the applicant must follow the hall ticket's reporting and entry times when released.

The useful preparation distinction

Paper-I rewards broad state/national contextual understanding and problem-solving; Paper-II demands a full B.Sc.-level geology command across field, structural, mineral, petrological and stratigraphic topics. The 50:50 written weight is official, while any proposed day-by-day timetable, chapter-wise number of questions or expected cut-off would be an individual's study strategy rather than an APPSC announcement.

Official source: APPSC Notification 32/2026 and updates.