Everything on this page comes from the last Sachivalayam notifications we could read in full, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Notification No. 01/2019 (Panchayat Secretary Grade-V) and the Revenue Department's 2020 notification for Village Revenue Officer Grade-II, together with the 2019 Government orders and the GSWS Act, 2023 as amended in 2025 and 2026. As of 10 October 2026 there is no 2026 notification. Treat the figures as the last official cycle's, and check the new notification against them when it comes. The topic lists are on the syllabus page.
Status as of 10 October 2026
| Item | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 notification | Not issued by any department | APPSC list checked; department portal did not resolve |
| Post counts quoted online (14,000, 37,000) | Not in any official document | – |
| Last readable notifications | 01/2019 (Panchayat Secretary Grade-V), VRO Grade-II (January 2020) | Department notifications |
| Names of the offices | Swarna Gramam (village) and Swarna Wardu (ward), deemed effective 13-01-2026 | Act 17 of 2026 |
"Sachivalayam recruitment" was never one exam. Each line department notified its own posts under its own service rules; Note 3 to Section 9 of the Act says the functionaries are governed by the service rules of their respective line departments. Watch the Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu department, the line departments (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Revenue, Health and others) and APPSC.
The 2019 cycle in one table
| Feature | Notification 01/2019 (Panchayat Secretary Grade-V) |
|---|---|
| Posts | 7,040 |
| Age | 18 to 42 as on 01-07-2019 |
| Qualification | A degree from a recognised university (G.O.Ms.No.148) |
| Applications | Online, 27-07-2019 to 10-08-2019 |
| Written test | OMR-based objective test, around 01-09-2019 |
| Marks | 150: Part A 75 + Part B 75, with negative marking |
| Qualifying marks | 40% OC, 35% BC, 30% SC, ST and PH |
| Tie-break | Age; the older candidate ranked higher |
| Pay | Rs 15,000 consolidated for a two-year probation, then the scale of Rs 15,030–46,060 (2019 figures) |
The written test
Every post had a single objective test of 150 questions, 150 marks and 150 minutes on an OMR sheet. The split differed by post family.
General posts (Panchayat Secretary Grade-V type)
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | General Studies and Mental Ability | 75 | 75 | 75 minutes |
| Part B | History, Economy, Geography, Politics and related areas (AP focus) | 75 | 75 | 75 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 150 | 150 minutes |
Technical posts (Village Revenue Officer Grade-II type, 2020)
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | General Studies and Mental Ability | 50 | 50 | 50 minutes |
| Part B | Subject (Drawing and Survey for VRO) | 100 | 100 | 100 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 150 | 150 minutes |
For general posts the two parts are equal; for technical posts the subject carries two-thirds. The Ward Administrative Secretary and the other general posts are reported to have followed the 75 + 75 scheme under their own departments; we hold the official text only for the Panchayat Secretary and VRO papers, and the syllabus page marks which post-wise schemes we do not have.
Negative marking
Notification 01/2019 said the test carried negative marking; the penalty was reported as one-fourth of a mark per wrong answer. The 2020 VRO Grade-II notification states it as 0.25 mark per wrong answer. The arithmetic (ours, from that scheme): four wrong answers cancel one right one. A pure guess among four options is worth about zero on average (+1 × 1/4 − 0.25 × 3/4 = +0.0625); once you can eliminate one option the expected gain is positive. So the rule to test in mocks is: attempt if you can strike out at least one option, leave it only when you know nothing. This is the single item to read first in the next notification, because it changes attempt strategy.
Qualifying marks
| Category | Minimum | On 150 marks (arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| OC | 40% | 60 |
| BC | 35% | 52.5 |
| SC, ST, PH | 30% | 45 |
These are floors for being considered. The last-selected mark in a district and category was set by competition and is a different number; see cut-off.
Selection and appointment
Selection was by merit in the written test, within the district, after the qualifying marks and after reservations. The documents say:
- Unit of appointment: the district. The 2020 VRO notification made each district a unit of appointment, with a District Selection Committee selecting and the District Collector appointing. For Panchayat Secretaries, G.O.Ms.No.148 makes the District Collector the appointing authority and the District Collector (Panchayat Wing) the authority to post and transfer Grades III to VI within the district.
- Reservations. The 2020 notification applied the reservations under Rules 22 and 22A of the AP State and Subordinate Service Rules: community (SC, ST, BC), persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen and the other categories under Rule 22, and the reservation for women under Rule 22A.
- Local status. Local-status rules decided which district a candidate could apply for in 2019-20 (the Presidential Order then in force). The order has since changed: see "What a 2026 notification may change".
- Tie-break. By age, the older candidate higher (2019); the 2020 VRO notification added a second tie-break, the earlier date of acquiring the qualifying certificate.
- Marks and key. The 2020 notification said the answer key and each candidate's marks would be displayed on the website and that no separate memorandum of marks would be issued.
- Medical fitness and residence. Appointment was subject to medical fitness, and the selected candidate had to reside in the village or secretariat jurisdiction where posted (2020 notification; the G.O.Ms.No.149 job chart has the same residence rule for village functionaries).
The Panchayat Secretary and VRO notifications describe selection on written-test merit alone, with no interview. Other posts can have a qualification-linked or physical test; the notification for the post decides.
After selection: probation and tests (2019 figures)
- Two years' probation at a consolidated Rs 15,000 per month (G.O.Ms.No.110, para 14(vii); G.O.Ms.No.148, Rule 8), then the department's scale: Rs 15,030–46,060 for Panchayat Secretary Grade-V, Rs 14,600–44,870 for Grade-VI (Digital Assistant) and for VRO Grade-II (2015 pay scales). These are historical figures; current scales are not verified.
- Departmental tests within probation: the Accounts Test for Local Body Employees (Papers I and II) and the Computer Proficiency Test for Grade-V; the Accounts Test for Grade-VI; the office-automation proficiency test within six months for VRO Grade-II (2020).
Details, with the job charts, are in our salary and job profile guide.
On the day of the OMR test
Our suggestions, not official instructions:
- Practise on an OMR sheet. Bubbling time comes out of the same 150 minutes, and in the technical posts Part A and Part B have their own clocks (50 and 100 minutes).
- Bubble every 25 questions rather than all at the end.
- Read the negative-marking line on the question booklet. If the penalty differs from one-fourth, change your attempt rule on the spot.
- Part A in 2019 tested comprehension in both Telugu and English. If the question paper is set in both languages and a Telugu rendering is unclear, read the English version.
What a 2026 notification may change
None of this is a forecast; it is the list of items that are open until a notification fixes them.
| Item | 2019-20 position | What to check in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Names | Village and ward secretariats; Ward Education and Data Processing Secretary; Ward Welfare and Development Secretary | Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu (Act 17 of 2026); Ward Data Processing Secretary and Ward Welfare and Education Secretary (Act 25 of 2025); Survey Assistant for the former Village Surveyor |
| Conducting body | Each line department, district-wise | A department, the Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu department, or APPSC |
| Mode | Offline OMR | OMR or computer-based |
| Part A / Part B split | 75 + 75 (general); 50 + 100 (technical) | Any change in marks, questions or time |
| Negative marking | One-fourth (reported for 2019; 0.25 in the 2020 VRO notification) | The exact figure |
| Qualifying marks | 40 / 35 / 30 | Same or revised |
| Age | 18–42 as on 1 July of the year | APPSC's 2026 notifications use 18–44 under G.O.Ms.No.187 (14-09-2026); whether a department notification adopts it is unknown |
| Local cadre | District-wise under the earlier Presidential Order | The AP Presidential Order 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.45 GA, 20-04-2026) now governs APPSC recruitment, with 95% of posts in a local cadre reserved for locals and 5% open, and OTPR records district, zone and multi-zone; whether and how it applies to secretariat posts will be in the notification |
| Post counts | 7,040 Panchayat Secretary Grade-V (2019); 245 VRO Grade-II (2020) | Figures of 14,000 or 37,000 posts online are unverified |
| Qualification | Degree (Grade-V); computer-related degree or diploma (Grade-VI); SSC plus NCVT Draughtsman (Civil) with Surveying (VRO 2020) | Reports of a degree requirement for VRO are unverified |
What this means for your attempt strategy
Our arithmetic from the 2019-20 scheme, not a department's advice:
- Time: 150 questions in 150 minutes is 60 seconds a question. In the technical posts the clocks are separate: 60 seconds a question in both parts.
- Break-even for guessing: +1 right, −0.25 wrong, so an attempt helps on average once your chance of being right is above 20%, which in practice means after you have eliminated one option.
- Where the marks are: for general posts, Part A and Part B are equal, and Part A is common to every post. For technical posts, two-thirds of the marks are in the subject paper.
- Qualifying marks are not the target. 60, 52.5 and 45 out of 150 only get you considered. The district-and-category last-selected mark is what decides.
Plan around these numbers in our preparation strategy.
Related: Syllabus · Cut-off · Preparation strategy · Andhra Pradesh state guide · తెలుగులో