APPSC Lab Assistant (Mining) 2026 — One OC (Local) Vacancy in Zone VI

The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) invites online applications for one Lab Assistant post in the A.P. Mining Subordinate Service under Notification 34/2026. The initial brief notice was issued on 13 October 2026; the 31-page detailed notification dated 6 November 2026 fixes the single opening as Zone VI — OC (Local). This distinction is decisive: it is not one statewide vacancy to be redistributed among six zones, and the present roster does not earmark an additional woman or Meritorious Sportsperson vacancy.

Candidates need a recognised B.Sc. degree with Chemistry, held by 6 November 2026. Online forms are available from 6 to 26 November 2026, ending at 11:59 PM. The notified pay scale is ₹35,570–₹1,09,910. Selection rests on a 300-mark Computer Based Recruitment Test (CBRT), followed by a separately qualifying Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) for candidates shortlisted for further selection.

📌 A single Zone-VI post: the exact roster

Annexure I specifies one OC (Local) seat in Zone VI. The Local classification is governed by the Andhra Pradesh Presidential Order 2025 and the 2026 implementation orders, rather than by a general assumption that every Andhra Pradesh resident is eligible for every zonal roster. An applicant must assess the notified study/residence basis for Zone-VI local status. Although the single seat is OC, the separate rules about age concessions and access to open competition should not be confused with a new reserved seat.

🎓 Educational qualification — Chemistry is essential

A candidate must possess a Bachelor of Science degree with Chemistry awarded by a university established/incorporated under a relevant Central, Provincial or State Act, or an institution recognised by the University Grants Commission. 6 November 2026 is the qualification cut-off date. The notice does not establish eligibility for a B.A., B.Com., or a B.Sc. programme without Chemistry, nor does it impose a minimum examination percentage or a compulsory period of prior laboratory experience.

The job is specifically a Lab Assistant in the Mining Subordinate Service. It is a different recruitment from Technical Assistant in Mines and Geology (32/2026) and Assistant Chemical Examiner in Prohibition and Excise (35/2026). The published syllabus emphasizes chemistry theory and problem solving; it does not promise a particular mine laboratory, named instruments on appointment or a particular district posting.

🎂 Age limits and relaxation

The standard age band is 18 to 44 years on 1 July 2026. The detailed notification grants five years' upper-age relaxation to eligible SC, ST, BC and EWS candidates. Other notified concessions have distinct methods: eligible ex-servicemen and qualifying NCC instructors may deduct the prescribed service period plus three years; regular A.P. State Government employees may deduct qualifying regular service up to five years; and eligible retrenched temporary State Census employees with at least six months' service receive three years. These concessions are subject to the conditions in Paragraph 5, including its restrictions; they do not change the single OC (Local) vacancy classification.

BC applicants claiming non-creamy-layer benefit need the relevant competent-authority certificate issued on or after 1 April 2026. For EWS claims, the notice refers to 2025–26 family income and a digital certificate issued on or after 1 April 2026 by the competent authority. APPSC states that SC/ST/BC/EWS claims from other states do not carry Andhra Pradesh reservation benefits. Local status must be proved separately under the zonal rules.

💰 Pay scale and actual application charges

The published pay scale is ₹35,570–₹1,09,910. This is a service pay scale, not a guaranteed maximum starting salary or the amount of monthly take-home pay. The advertisement does not provide a separate allowance figure or fixed gross-pay amount.

The examination-fee exemption covers eligible SC/ST/BC candidates, ex-servicemen, A.P. residents belonging to households with the prescribed Household Supply White Card, and qualifying unemployed youth with the required declaration. The exemption is for the ₹80 examination component, not a blanket waiver of the ₹250 processing fee. Applicants from other states generally pay both components under the notice; the ex-servicemen exception must be read as written. Once remitted, fees are ordinarily neither refundable nor adjustable.

📝 Written selection — 300 marks, one-third negative marking

APPSC prescribes a single-level online CBRT, not a preliminary Screening Test. Both objective papers are of degree standard, and attendance in both is compulsory. Each paper is 150 questions, 150 marks, 150 minutes. Wrong answers incur a deduction of one-third of the marks assigned to the question. Where multiple sessions are used, APPSC may apply normalization and announce percentile-based results under its Annexure-V method.

📊 CBRT marks by paper

Qualifying percentages in the aggregate written examination are 40% for OC, Sportspersons, Ex-Servicemen and EWS; 35% for BC; and 30% for SC/ST. These are the pre-declared minimum qualifying thresholds, not a prediction of the final last-selected mark. With only one OC (Local) seat, obtaining a minimum percentage does not itself confer selection.

📊 Official minimum written qualifying percentages

What the Chemistry paper covers

Inorganic Chemistry spans the Schrödinger equation and orbitals; electron configurations and periodicity; ionic, covalent and other bonds; redox balancing; Brønsted/Lewis acids and HSAB; s-, p- and transition-metal chemistry; metallurgy; radioactivity and nuclear reactions; coordination compounds; and pollution chemistry.

Organic Chemistry tests electronic effects and reactive intermediates; major aliphatic functional groups; stereochemical projections, configuration and elimination/substitution mechanisms; Grignard and organolithium reagents; active-methylene chemistry; aromatic electrophilic substitution; carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins and lipids; and UV–visible, IR and NMR fundamentals.

Physical Chemistry covers real-gas properties; thermodynamics and free energy; phase rule, solutions and colligative properties; ionic equilibria and conductance; electrochemical cells and the Nernst equation; kinetics and Arrhenius behavior; photochemistry; homogeneous/heterogeneous/enzymatic catalysis; colloids, gels, emulsions and micelles. These are the syllabus's three principal divisions, not three additional separately scored examination papers.

General Studies and Mental Ability covers international, Indian and Andhra Pradesh current affairs; science and IT; Indian and AP history/geography; constitutional governance; economics; environmental sustainability; disaster management using remote sensing/GIS; logical reasoning; and tables, graphs and descriptive statistics.

💻 Qualifying CPT — separate from written merit

The Computer Proficiency Test is a compulsory qualifying condition for provisionally shortlisted candidates, as stated in Paragraphs 9.5 and 14.2 of the detailed notification. The scheme is 100 marks over 60 minutes; its score is not added to the 300-mark CBRT merit. The Annexure lists 30 marks for SC/ST/PBD, 35 for BC and 40 for OC as the CPT minimum qualifying standards. The printed generic PBD threshold does not create a PBD-reserved vacancy for this particular post.

📊 CPT assessment components

The practical work includes operating systems, file handling, office documents, keyboarding and editing, spreadsheets, formulae and charts, and presentation slides/animations. The syllabus says typing may be a mandatory component according to applicable norms, but it does not prescribe an exact words-per-minute threshold in this advertisement.

📍 Examination centres, keys and objections

The indicated CBRT centres are Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupathi and Ananthapuramu. Candidates may record three centre preferences; APPSC can change or allot centres subject to arrangements. No actual CBRT or CPT test date has been announced in this detailed notice.

After the exam, APPSC provides for an initial answer key and objections within three days of its publication, at ₹100 per challenged question/key; a sustained genuine objection is eligible for reimbursement under the notified procedure. This is a future procedure, not an announcement that an answer key has already been released. The question paper is set in English and translated into Telugu; the English version governs valuation where interpretation differs.

🖥️ How to submit the application successfully

1. At APPSC's official website, register for One Time Profile Registration (OTPR) if you do not already have an ID; retain the registered mobile number and email address. OTPR registration alone is not an application.
2. Sign in with the OTPR credentials, open Online Application Submission, choose Notification 34/2026, and fill the form with correct B.Sc. Chemistry, age, category and Zone-VI local-status particulars.
3. Complete the required fields, verify the examination-centre preferences and certificate claims, and press Save & Submit. Merely selecting Save does not lodge the application.
4. Pay the applicable processing and examination fees successfully; retain the payment reference and download the completed application PDF. Submit by 26 November 2026 at 11:59 PM.
5. Where the Commission enables corrections after the closing date, the permitted period lasts up to seven days from the last date and costs ₹100 per correction. Name, fee and age-relaxation-affecting fields cannot be corrected through that facility.

Keep the original B.Sc. qualification evidence, class/study or residence records necessary for local status, and community/non-creamy-layer/EWS evidence only if claiming the appropriate benefits. Government employees must notify their Head of Office/Department about the application. The precise hall-ticket, CBRT, CPT, key and result publication dates have not been fixed in this notice.

🔗 Original recruitment authority

• APPSC official portal — application and current announcements
• APPSC Recruitment Notifications — search Notification 34/2026