APPSC Technical Assistant (Mines & Geology) Recruitment 2026 — 36 Zonal Posts

Notification No. 32/2026, dated 6 November 2026 | Andhra Pradesh Mines and Geology Sub Service | Last date: 26 November 2026, 11:59 PM.

The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has invited online applications for 36 Technical Assistant positions in a zonal cadre. The degree requirement is specific: B.Sc. Geology. The examination has two equally weighted degree-standard written papers, but the later Computer Proficiency Test is a qualifying condition, not an additional 100 marks in the final written merit. This distinction matters as much as the local-zone preference system: an applicant can clear the written cut-off yet still fail the compulsory computer test.

📌 Recruitment overview

The advertised scale of ₹35,570–₹1,09,910 is a pay scale, not a promise that every newcomer receives the maximum amount or that the starting basic equals take-home pay. The precise examination and hall-ticket dates have not been published in this 29-page notification.

🗺️ Six zones and the actual vacancy register

The total is 36, split into 30 Local and 6 Open seats. The Presidential Order 2025 framework provides 95% local reservation within each zone subject to the relevant recruitment rules, and the Annexure-I roster publishes the current zone-specific Open/Local seat allocation shown above. These are not six unrelated recruitment notices: all zones belong to one Technical Assistant recruitment under Notification 32/2026. The Commission decides allotment according to eligible preferences and applicable rules.

🥧 Distribution of 36 APPSC Technical Assistant vacancies across six zones

Two zones—V and VI—account for 22 of the 36 seats. That is an arithmetic observation about available positions, not evidence of easier selection: local eligibility, reservation, candidature strength and marks decide the actual result. The district membership of every zone is listed above so applicants can check the right local-area documents before entering preferences.

Vertical community reservations versus overlapping horizontal reservation

The SC total is 9 (six SC-I and three SC-II); BC has 5 (three BC-A and two BC-B). The notification gives five Women/OC horizontal reservations, distributed Zone I: 1, Zone V: 2 and Zone VI: 2. Those five are within the 36, not five extra vacancies. In the reservation section it also specifies 3% Meritorious Sports Persons horizontal reservation under the applicable rules, without listing a separate add-on seat count. The notification expressly says no PwBD reservation is provided for this particular post under the cited Mines & Geology department order; this should not be confused with general reservation provisions of unrelated APPSC vacancies.

📊 Community-wise vacancy composition in the 36-seat notified roster

🎓 Which graduates are eligible?

A candidate must hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology awarded by a recognised university/institution within the terms of Para 3. The academic qualification must already be possessed as of 6 November 2026, the date of this detailed notification. A different Bachelor degree or a Geology subject studied informally cannot simply be treated as a B.Sc. Geology credential.

The Commission provides preference, not a compulsory additional experience threshold, for applicants with at least one year of practical experience in one or more of these areas:

• Mineral deposit investigation and exploration work;
• Geological field mapping and field interpretation;
• Mining work with geological relevance;
• Underground water-resource investigation.

For a degree holder without that one year, the advertisement does not say the application is automatically barred. Conversely, possessing the preferred experience does not replace the B.Sc. Geology requirement. Because the 6 November 2026 notice is also the experience reference date, the experience claimed should be documentable by that date. The published preference matters in tie-breaking where preferential qualification has priority under the notice; no separate numerical weightage for experience is announced.

🎂 Age, local eligibility and community documents

The age reckoning date is 1 July 2026: 18–44 years normally. Under Para 5, eligible SC, ST, BC and EWS candidates receive five years upper-age relaxation. Ex-servicemen and eligible NCC instructors receive service-linked concessions described in the notice; qualifying regular Andhra Pradesh government service may be deducted up to five years, whereas employees of corporations/municipalities do not receive that same state-government-employee concession. Qualifying retrenched temporary Census employees with at least six months' service receive three years.

Local status is a documentary issue, not merely the applicant's current address. Paras 6.1–6.2 explain the study/residence route, including the study period around Class VII, and the notified zone grouping. When the person actually studied in a recognised institution through Class VII, the notice requires study certificates; a residence certificate is not a substitute. Only candidates who meet the stipulated alternative non-study circumstances should rely on the relevant residence certificate. APPSC also specifies a local-status document route for eligible migrants from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh during the stated 2014–2024 period.

BC applicants seeking reservation must have the prescribed Non-Creamy Layer certificate issued on or after 1 April 2026, and EWS applicants the digital EWS certificate, with income test for FY 2025–26, issued on or after 1 April 2026 by the competent Revenue Authority. The notice says out-of-state BC/SC/ST/EWS certificates do not confer Andhra Pradesh state reservation benefits for this recruitment.

💳 Application and examination fee — do not confuse exemption with full waiver

SC/ST/BC candidates, eligible ex-servicemen, qualifying Andhra Pradesh white-card families and eligible unemployed youth may claim only the ₹80 examination fee exemption as specified in Para 8. APPSC gives conditions, including state domicile restrictions on some exemptions; applicants from other states should not assume a fee concession. The fee is non-refundable once remitted. Pay through the Commission's online payment gateway; it does not accept an offline draft or postal order.

📝 Complete the online application properly

1. Open the APPSC official application portal and create or verify the One Time Profile Registration (OTPR). An OTPR ID alone is not an application for Notification 32/2026.
2. Sign in, choose Notification 32/2026, and confirm your Geology degree, age and local/non-local data. Pay particular attention to study certificates, zone preferences and community category, because changes after submission are limited.
3. Select the examination-centre preferences, complete the notification-specific fields, and use Save & Submit—merely pressing Save leaves an incomplete application.
4. Complete the required online payment successfully; retain the generated reference number and download the submitted application PDF for your own records.
5. Keep your registered phone and email functional. Upload your own JPG photograph and signature, and retain the degree, local-status and category documents for later verification.

The application window ends 26 November 2026 at 11:59 PM. The notification permits certain corrections after closure for up to seven days, charging ₹100 for each permitted correction, but expressly excludes changes to name, fee and age-relaxation-affecting fields. No separate announced dated correction event or already-issued hall ticket should be inferred from this future facility.

🧪 Selection — 300-mark written merit, then a qualifying computer test

Both written papers require attendance. For each incorrect answer, one-third of the prescribed marks for that question is deducted. If the Commission holds multiple CBRT sessions, it may normalize scores; the notification says the normalized General Ranking List is computed to five decimal places. The question paper is set in English and translated into Telugu; the English version governs valuation in case of a difference.

Minimum aggregate qualifying marks in the written examination

The 120/105/90 marks are direct calculations from the published 300-mark scheme, not expected selection cut-offs. The notice separately provides a rank-based consideration rule for SC/ST candidates in the specified circumstance of insufficient eligible candidates. Merely reaching a qualifying percentage is not a guarantee of selection; merit, local zone, reservation, and eligibility scrutiny still apply.

For the 60-minute, 100-mark CPT, the notified qualifying levels are SC/ST 30, BC 35, OC 40 marks. The CPT assessment is office automation work involving computer basics, Word-like document creation, spreadsheet formulas/charts, PowerPoint-style presentation and typing. APPSC provides the detailed components and syllabus in Annexure-II. Separate pages below explain both examinations without pretending they are the same test.

📍 Examination centres, objection rights and appointment safeguards

The four named CBRT centre cities are Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Anantapuramu. Applicants can give three preferences; APPSC may allocate a different centre or create more centres based on arrangements. The exam date and hall ticket issue date are not yet announced. A general official CBRT mock-test facility exists on the APPSC website; it is an interface familiarisation facility, not a published practice paper for this recruitment.

After the examination, APPSC will publish an initial answer key. Objections must be lodged within three days of that publication, at ₹100 per objection; a sustained objection is eligible for reimbursement. A final key is adopted after subject-expert review. APPSC specifies no waiting list for this recruitment under the cited rules. Selected candidates remain subject to documents and medical fitness checks.

🔗 Government sources and candidate help

• APPSC recruitment notifications and current updates
• APPSC official applications, OTPR and candidate login

The original 29-page Notification 32/2026 contains the annexures governing exact zonal reservations (Annexure-I), both written papers and CPT syllabus (Annexure-II), application/CBRT instructions (Annexure-III), community certificates (Annexure-IV), and multi-session normalization (Annexure-V). For subsequent notices, use only the Commission's official portal.