APPSC Assistant Director (Mines) Recruitment 2026: Mining Engineering, One Post and the Complete 450-Mark Examination

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), Vijayawada | Notification No. 31/2026 | Detailed notification published 6 November 2026 | Apply by 26 November 2026, 11:59 PM.

The A.P. Mines and Geology Service has announced one Assistant Director (Mines) vacancy under direct recruitment. This is a mining-engineering service position rather than a general geology vacancy: the official entry qualification specifically accepts Mining Engineering, including a named diploma route from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. The notified scale is ₹57,100–₹1,47,760 and the ordinary age band is 18–44 years as on 1 July 2026.

There is more to the decision than the number of posts. Every applicant should resolve three questions before paying or submitting: whether the exact degree or diploma fits the notified qualification, whether the application is genuinely submitted for 31/2026 rather than simply registered in APPSC's profile system, and whether preparation covers both the general paper and the technical Mining Engineering paper. The latter contributes two-thirds of the 450 written marks.

🧭 The recruitment at a glance

Official sources: APPSC current notifications and APPSC application website. The Commission's dated listing confirms the 6 November detailed notification. The official 10-page brief notification and its examination annexure set out the wording of the education, paper-wise marks and CPT. Any finer conditions introduced in the separate detailed PDF must be checked there before the final application is treated as complete.

What the Mining Engineering qualification permits — and what it does not

The educational route in the brief notification is a Mining Engineering degree awarded by an Indian university established or incorporated under the appropriate Central, Provincial or State legislation, or by a UGC-recognised institution. The same paragraph provides an alternative: a Diploma in Mining Engineering from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, or an equivalent diploma from another recognised institute.

The qualifying qualification date is the detailed-notification date, not the application closing date, as the brief itself states. APPSC lists the detailed notice under 6 November 2026. A candidate claiming equivalence should verify the detailed conditions and retain the recognition or equivalence orders; the brief does not grant blanket acceptance to unrelated technical degrees.

The pay figure is a scale, not a promised take-home amount

The printed figure ₹57,100–₹1,47,760 is the official salary scale. It is not a monthly consolidated project fee, apprentice stipend or proof that a new entrant receives ₹1,47,760 immediately. DA, HRA, other allowances and statutory deductions are not individually priced in the supplied brief. Therefore a precise gross or net salary cannot responsibly be calculated from these ten pages alone.

📊 Written examination: the technical paper carries twice the weight

The printed scheme on page 3 requires two objective papers at degree standard. Both have 150 questions and an examination time of 150 minutes each, but their marks differ.

📊 Compare official marks: General Studies versus Mining Engineering

Why it matters: Mining Engineering accounts for 300/450 = 66.67% of the written marks, whereas General Studies accounts for 150/450 = 33.33%. This is a marks comparison, not an invented forecast of the topic-wise question distribution within the technical paper.

Negative marking is one-third of the marks allotted to an incorrect question. Thus a wrong one-mark Paper-I answer costs ⅓ mark, and a wrong two-mark Paper-II answer costs ⅔ mark. Do not apply the same one-third-of-a-mark penalty to every question regardless of paper.

Single-level recruitment means no extra Screening Test

The first two pages specifically say there is one single-level online Computer-Based Recruitment Test, regardless of applicant volume. Multi-session tests may use APPSC normalization when necessary. The brief does not provide an examination date, examination centre list, answer-key release date or hall-ticket release date. Candidates should not treat any date circulating without an official notice as confirmed.

Mining Engineering: the eleven notified clusters, rather than a generic syllabus

The official Paper-II annexure runs from pages 4–5. Its eleven numbered headings can be organised into four connected practical fields:

The full paper-by-paper study map and an individual Mining Engineering subject breakdown are in the connected exam page. This table is an editorial organisation of the published headings, not APPSC's marking allocation between subjects. No chapter-level marks or number of questions per heading is announced in the provided PDF.

A second hurdle after the written paper: Computer Proficiency

The supplied pages 6–10 contain the scheme and detailed practical subjects for the Computer Proficiency Test (CPT). It is a 60-minute, 100-mark test in office automation and computer applications, with published category-specific minimums.

Its five published assessment components are objective computer fundamentals, word-processing/typing, document-object work, spreadsheets and presentations. Applicants who concentrate only on Mining Engineering should also practise creating real Word documents, spreadsheet formulas and presentations. These are covered in the actual annexure; they are not assumptions about work duties.

CPT is not another 100 points to add to the written 450

The 450 marks describe the written examination. The CPT has distinct minimum qualifying marks; do not advertise the selection as a simple 550-mark ranking without an express official provision to that effect. No fixed shortlist ratio, next-round date or merit cut-off has been announced in the ten-page brief.

📅 Applications, deadline and official follow-up

Only online applications through APPSC are invited. The brief expressly rejects other submission modes. APPSC uses One Time Profile Registration (OTPR) for candidate profiles; applicants should complete the separate application for Notification 31/2026, not confuse maintaining a profile with having applied. The detailed notice and the portal's submission acknowledgement are the controlling sources for the precise final steps.

The brief notice does not specify the standard application fee, any examination-fee concessions, application correction dates, category-wise vacancy allotment or exact age-relaxation breakdown. Those are not guessed here from other APPSC notifications. The detailed notification released on 6 November may supply them and must be checked directly.

Who should examine this notification especially carefully?

• Mining Engineering graduates: ensure the degree name, recognition and date of qualification match the notified path.
• Holders of the named ISM Dhanbad Mining Engineering diploma or equivalent: the brief explicitly offers this alternate path; keep the evidence of equivalence available where relevant.
• Applicants from outside Andhra Pradesh: the brief does not contain a reservation roster. It is therefore premature to promise an Open/Local seat count or a particular community concession from this document alone.
• Candidates preparing only technical subjects: Paper-I has a separate, compulsory 150-mark general section. Balancing both papers while prioritising the 300 technical marks follows the actual published weighting.

Final source distinction

The one vacancy, pay scale, degree/diploma alternatives, 18–44 age band, 6–26 November application window, 450-mark CBRT scheme, eleven Mining Engineering topics and CPT scheme come from the official ten-page brief notification. The APPSC portal separately confirms that the Detailed Notification 31/2026 was published on 6 November. The detailed notification governs additional terms such as the final reservation roster, fee concessions and relaxation conditions; those specific rules must be checked in that notice. Read that full notice before applying.