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.

APPSC Technical Assistant 2026 — Computer Proficiency Test (CPT), Official Scheme & Syllabus

Notification 32/2026, Annexure-II pages 16–18 | Qualifying practical test after written shortlist | CPT date not yet announced.

The Computer Proficiency Test is a separate 60-minute, 100-mark practical-type assessment in office automation with computers and associated software. APPSC requires candidates provisionally shortlisted after the written recruitment test to qualify CPT before they can be considered for final selection. The Commission's current notice does not add CPT marks to the 300-mark written ranking calculation.

Passing standard

The official CPT table does not publish a separately labelled EWS threshold; avoid assuming an additional unlisted category-specific number. The precise CPT date, city allocation and individual reporting venue remain subject to later official notice.

Part-A — computer foundations, operating systems and online work

• Computer components: input, output and peripheral devices (keyboard, mouse, scanner, touchscreen, camera, barcode and biometric devices, printer, monitor, speaker, plotter), main memory (RAM/ROM), control and arithmetic units, secondary storage and computing concepts.
• Software classification: system, application, embedded, proprietary and open-source software—primarily purposes and characteristics.
• Operating systems: what an OS does, single-user and multi-user concepts; Windows GUI versus character interface, file and folder operations, application handling and peripheral setup.
• Linux and Mac OS basics: directory/file handling, permissions, user management, platform features and elementary commands. These are listed as basic concepts; the notice does not demand administering enterprise servers.
• Networking and internet: minimum hardware/software for connectivity, protocols, browsers, IP addresses, file downloads/uploads and connecting to a network.
• Email and web: composing, sending/receiving messages, mailing lists, web search and web navigation.

These are the syllabus areas printed under Part-A. Part-A may assess knowledge using MCQs; the notice specifies 20% of total CPT marks, but uses permissive wording for test design rather than a guaranteed fixed count of questions.

Part-B — hands-on office productivity

The detailed syllabus explicitly accepts MS Office or comparable open-source suites (such as LibreOffice/OpenOffice), across supported operating systems.

Word processing: create, open, save and print documents; page setup, headers/footers and page numbering; font/paragraph formatting, bullet lists, borders and shading, tables and sorting; images, shapes and WordArt; find/replace, bookmarks/hyperlinks, styles/templates, footnotes, cross-references and mail merge. The purpose is accurate, organised document creation rather than only keyboard shortcuts.

Spreadsheets: enter/edit data, reference cells, write formulas and use functions; copy/auto-fill, formatting, sorting and subtotals, rows/columns and merging/splitting; conditional formatting and graphs/charts. The syllabus also includes worksheet printing, document protection, CSV, simple macro and data-as-database concepts. Prepare to connect data, formulas and chart presentation within a usable file rather than memorise a list of menu names.

Presentation software: create slides using layouts/templates, work with text, shapes, pictures, tables and graphics, apply masters and themes, transitions/timings and animation, and set up/run a slide show. The practical expectation is a coherent presentation file using available tools.

Official component weighting — this is one 100-mark CPT, not five different exams

📊 Official CPT assessment component weights

The notice says typing speed may be made mandatory for qualifying under applicable norms. It does not publish a fixed words-per-minute passing speed in this notification, so no such number can be claimed as an official requirement.

What a realistic self-check can cover

A candidate can test whether they can type and format a brief official letter (headings, margins, table, footer), prepare a spreadsheet (formula, conditional formatting, chart), and build a small presentation with consistent layouts. Such exercises are practice suggestions, not announced APPSC tasks. The actual task prompts, keyboard layout, software version, pass criteria beyond published category scores and test venue must come from later official exam instructions.

Sequence after written examination

The written test determines the merit rank under the 300-mark written scheme. Only provisionally shortlisted candidates proceed to the qualifying CPT. A candidate who fails CPT cannot be appointed merely on a high written score. Conversely, a high CPT score does not constitute an additional merit award outside the rules. Original documents/local category and medical suitability remain relevant before appointment.

Government reference: APPSC official notification and examination updates.