Andhra Pradesh Science, Technology and Institutions: Sriharikota, IIT Tirupati, AIIMS and More

Questions on Andhra Pradesh science, technology and institutions look easy and then catch candidates on one detail: the year, the place, or the district. Sriharikota is the best-known name, but the same paper may ask where the Central Tribal University works from, which institute is mentored by which older one, or whether a university was set up under a State Act or a Central Act. This guide collects the institutions that matter for APPSC, AP Police and similar State examinations, with the founding year and the place checked against official pages where we could open them, and with a clear label where we could not.

The post is organised around three clusters. The first is space, centred on the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and the atmospheric research laboratory at Gadanki. The second is the group of national institutes promised by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014: IIT, IIM, IISER, NIT, IIITs, a central university, a tribal university, a petroleum institute and an AIIMS. The third is the older State universities and research institutes, including Andhra University, Sri Venkateswara University and the agricultural university.

For the legal background of the national institutes, read the Reorganisation Act explainer, which covers the Thirteenth Schedule in detail. This post does not repeat it; it tells you what actually came up on the ground. For budget and growth numbers see the AP economy and budget notes, for ports, special economic zones and industrial clusters see the minerals, industries, SEZs and ports notes, and for the older learning centres of the Satavahana and Chalukya periods see the ancient history post. Time-sensitive statements below carry "as on October 2026".

1. Sriharikota: SDSC SHAR

What it is and where it is

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, written SDSC SHAR, is the spaceport of India. It sits on Sriharikota, a spindle-shaped island between Pulicat Lake and the Bay of Bengal, with the Buckingham Canal on its western side (SDSC SHAR website). The centre's own page gives the total area as 43,360 acres, or about 175 sq km, with a 50 km coastline, and says the site is a short drive east of Sullurupeta town on the national highway. The island was chosen in 1969 for India's rocket launch station.

District is a classic trap. The SDSC SHAR page and the ISRO page both describe the centre as lying in Nellore district, using the older district name. The Andhra Pradesh district reorganisation of 4 April 2022 created Tirupati district partly out of erstwhile Nellore district, and the Tirupati district website lists the Sullurpet revenue division. Sriharikota is not named in the mandal list we could open, so treat the present-day district as something to confirm. For an exam, the safest answer is "Sriharikota, near Sullurupeta, in the SPSR Nellore and Tirupati area", and in a question that offers only one of the two, pick the one that matches the date of the source the question uses.

Key dates

Year or date	Event	Source
1969	Island chosen for India's rocket launch station	SDSC SHAR website
9 October 1971	Station becomes operational with the Rohini-125 sounding rocket	SDSC SHAR website
10 August 1979	First experimental SLV-3 flight, partially successful	ISRO SLV page and timeline
18 July 1980	SLV-3 places the Rohini satellite RS-1 in orbit	ISRO SLV page and timeline
1993	First launch pad set up	PIB, 29 January 2025
5 September 2002	Renamed Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR after the former ISRO chairman	SDSC SHAR website
2004	Second launch pad set up	PIB, 29 January 2025
14 July 2023	Chandrayaan-3 launched on LVM3 M4	ISRO timeline
2 September 2023	Aditya-L1 launched on PSLV-C57	ISRO timeline
16 January 2025	Union Cabinet approves the Third Launch Pad	PIB, 16 January 2025
29 January 2025	100th launch from Sriharikota: GSLV-F15 with NVS-02	PIB, 29 January 2025 and Year End Review 2025
30 July 2025	NISAR launched on GSLV-F16 from SDSC SHAR	PIB Year End Review 2025

Notice that the two statements about the 1993 and 2004 pads come from a minister's remarks reported by PIB, so quote them as "as stated by the Union Minister of State for Space in January 2025", not as a Gazette date.

What SDSC SHAR does

ISRO's page lists the functions in plain terms. The centre produces solid propellant boosters for ISRO's launch vehicles, carries out static testing of solid motors, integrates launch vehicles and conducts launches. It has two launch pads from which the PSLV and the GSLV are launched, a separate pad for sounding rockets, and a telemetry, tracking and command network with a mission control centre. A rocket therefore passes through three stages of work at the same place: casting and testing the solid motors, assembling the vehicle, and flying it. That combination, and not only the launch pad, is why the site is a "spaceport".

Sounding rockets and orbital rockets. A sounding rocket is a small suborbital rocket that carries instruments to study the upper atmosphere, and the Rohini-125 of 1971 was one. An orbital launch vehicle such as the SLV-3, PSLV, GSLV or LVM3 puts a satellite into orbit. Exams like the pairing "9 October 1971, Rohini-125, sounding rocket" and "18 July 1980, SLV-3, RS-1, satellite".

Recent milestones to know, as on October 2026

• Third Launch Pad. The Union Cabinet approved it on 16 January 2025 at a total cost of Rs 3,984.86 crore, targeted for 48 months. It is meant for the Next Generation Launch Vehicles and as a standby for the second pad, and it will support LVM3 vehicles with a semi-cryogenic stage and future human spaceflight missions (PIB).
• The 100th launch. On 29 January 2025 ISRO marked its 100th launch from Sriharikota with GSLV-F15 carrying NVS-02. The vehicle placed the satellite in the planned transfer orbit, but the oxidiser valves feeding the thrusters did not open, so the planned orbit raising could not be done (PIB Year End Review 2025). A careful answer says "the launch succeeded, the satellite's later orbit raising did not", because that is what the document says.
• A failed mission. PSLV-C61 with EOS-09 was attempted on 18 May 2025. The vehicle performed normally until the second stage, and an observation in the third stage meant the mission could not be accomplished (PIB). Do not list it among successful PSLV missions.
• NISAR. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite launched on GSLV-F16 on 30 July 2025 at 17:40 IST, the first joint Earth observation satellite of the two agencies, weighing 2,392 kg (PIB).
• SpaDeX. PSLV-C60 launched the two docking experiment satellites on 30 December 2024, and they docked on 16 January 2025 (PIB).
• Private sector and human spaceflight tests. The first static test of the KALAM 1200 motor, the first stage of a private company's launch vehicle, was carried out at SDSC SHAR on 8 August 2025: a monolithic composite motor 11 m long and 1.7 m in diameter with 30 tonnes of propellant. The first Integrated Air Drop Test for the Gaganyaan crew module parachutes was done at the centre on 24 August 2025 (PIB Year End Review 2025).

A second launch complex elsewhere

Do not assume every future launch will be from Andhra Pradesh. ISRO is building a dedicated SSLV Launch Complex at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) district of Tamil Nadu, mainly for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and for non-government entities (PIB). It adds to, and does not replace, Sriharikota. A question that asks "which State hosts India's main spaceport" still has the answer Andhra Pradesh.

2. Other space and atmospheric science in the State

NARL, Gadanki

The National Atmospheric Research Laboratory at Gadanki near Tirupati is an autonomous society under the Department of Space (ISRO pages). It is best known for the 53 MHz high-power MST radar, which probes the mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere. ISRO's contribution note also lists a 1.28 GHz lower atmospheric wind profiler, a low-cost 445 MHz wind profiler for meteorological use and the 30 MHz Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer, GIRI, which measures plasma irregularities that matter for space weather. The year of the laboratory's creation is not stated on the pages we opened, so use "check the NARL history page" if a question asks for it.

Remember the pairing: Sriharikota launches rockets, Gadanki studies the air and ionosphere with radars. Both fall under the Department of Space.

Sri Venkateswara University and the radar centre

Sri Venkateswara University's home page carries a link to an "MST Radar Centre", reflecting the research tie with Gadanki. The page alone does not tell you how the two are related institutionally, so do not assume a joint legal status.

Defence and industry research at Visakhapatnam

The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory is a DRDO laboratory in Visakhapatnam, within the Naval Systems and Materials cluster, which also covers laboratories at Kochi, Ambernath, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Jodhpur, and whose Director General's headquarters is at Visakhapatnam (DRDO website). The founding date is not stated on the page we opened, so look it up on the DRDO site if an exam needs it.

The Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, AMTZ, was incorporated on 30 April 2016 and its foundation stone was laid on 19 August 2016, with its campus at Pragati Maidan, VM Steel Project area in Visakhapatnam (AMTZ website). It is a manufacturing hub for medical devices, so ask yourself whether a question wants an institution of learning or a cluster of industry; AMTZ is the second.

3. The Thirteenth Schedule promise and how it was met

Section 93 of the Reorganisation Act and its Thirteenth Schedule committed the Centre to take steps to establish a set of institutions in the successor State. A Lok Sabha reply of the Ministry of Education as reproduced in a news aggregator lists what is now in place, and several PIB releases confirm the details. The comparison table below puts the main institutions side by side.

Institution	Place	Year in official sources	Notes
IIT Tirupati	Yerpedu area near Tirupati	Established 2015	Academic session began 2015-16; mentored by IIT Madras
IIM Visakhapatnam	Gambheeram, Anandapuram mandal	First classes 21 September 2015	Declared an institution of national importance under the IIM Act, 2017
IISER Tirupati	Srinivasapuram, Yerpedu mandal	Established 2015	PIB, 10 October 2018
NIT Andhra Pradesh	Tadepalligudem, West Godavari	Society registered 20 August 2015	Mentor NIT Warangal at the start
IIITDM Kurnool	Kurnool district	Established 2015	Fully funded technical institution
IIIT Sri City	Sri City, Tirupati district	Established 2013	Public-private partnership model
AIIMS Mangalagiri	Mangalagiri, Guntur district	Established 29 January 2018	Started MBBS in 2018 at Vijayawada
Central University of Andhra Pradesh	Ananthapur district	Approved 16 May 2018	Transit campus first
Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh	Vizianagaram district	Established 2019	Transit campus at Kondakarakam
IIPE Visakhapatnam	Sabbavaram, Anakapalli district	Established 2016	IIPE Act, 2017

The 2015 cohort

Five of the national institutes began in 2015: IIT Tirupati, IIM Visakhapatnam, IISER Tirupati, NIT Andhra Pradesh and IIITDM Kurnool. If a question asks "which of these was started in 2018", the answer is AIIMS Mangalagiri or the Central University of Andhra Pradesh, not the 2015 group, and if it asks about 2016, the answer is IIPE. The exceptions are IIIT Sri City at 2013 because it came from an earlier central scheme, and the Central Tribal University at 2019.

4. The national institutes, one by one

IIT Tirupati

IIT Tirupati was established in 2015 as one of the new IITs and was mentored in its early years by IIT Madras (IIT Tirupati Director's Report, convocation 2025). It began on a temporary campus on the Tirupati-Renigunta Road and grew into a residential campus on about 548 acres on the Yerpedu side of Tirupati, in the backdrop of the Seshachalam hills. The Phase A campus, with 1,31,500 sq m built up, was completed in 2023, and a master plan for 12,000 students has been prepared. A PIB release of 7 May 2025 says the Union Cabinet approved the Phase B expansion of IIT Tirupati and four other new IITs at Rs 11,828.79 crore over 2025-26 to 2028-29 and that the IITs at Palakkad and Tirupati started their sessions in 2015-16 from temporary campuses and now work from permanent campuses. In the earlier Cabinet approval of 24 October 2017, Rs 7,002 crore was approved for the permanent campuses of six new IITs, with a target of 31 March 2020 for completion (PIB, 27 October 2017). The actual completion came later, which is a good example of a promised date that did not hold.

IIM Visakhapatnam

The Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam is an institution of national importance under the IIM Act, 2017 and, according to the Institute's own factsheet, is mentored by IIM Bangalore. Classes of the first flagship programme batch began on 21 September 2015, with the first regular session beginning on 28 September 2015. The Government of Andhra Pradesh allotted 241.50 acres at Gambheeram village, and the permanent campus was inaugurated virtually on 20 February 2024 (IIMV website). The institute offers eight degree-granting programmes, including a doctoral programme, a flagship PGP and an Executive MBA (IIMV website, as on October 2026). The page we opened does not name the temporary campus, so do not state it as fact.

IISER Tirupati

IISER Tirupati was established in 2015 under the Reorganisation Act, as stated in the Cabinet release of 10 October 2018, which approved permanent campuses for Tirupati and Berhampur at a total of Rs 3,074.12 crore, of which Rs 1,491.34 crore was for Tirupati. At that time both institutes were working from transit campuses, and the buildings were to be completed by December 2021. The institute's address is Srinivasapuram, Yerpedu mandal, Tirupati district, and it offers a BS-MS programme, integrated PhD and PhD (IISER Tirupati website). The sequence is a common test: IISER Tirupati is 2015, IISER Berhampur is 2016.

NIT Andhra Pradesh

The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval on 25 May 2016 for the National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh, registered as a society under the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001 with effect from 20 August 2015. The release says it started in a temporary campus in West Godavari district, with NIT Warangal as the mentor institute for the first two to three years, and that the Government of Andhra Pradesh had provided land in the district for a permanent campus. A Bill to include it in the First Schedule of the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 was approved at the same time. Whether the institute is now fully under that Act is something to check in the latest notification.

The IIITs

India has several IIITs of different kinds, and Andhra Pradesh has more than one, so be precise.

• IIITDM Kurnool, the Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Kurnool, was established in 2015 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, as its own recruitment brochure says, and is a centrally funded technical institution.
• IIIT Sri City, in Sri City on the Tamil Nadu border, was established in 2013 and has the three-way public-private partnership structure of the Government of India, the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Sri City Foundation. It describes itself as an Institute of National Importance by Act of Parliament (IIIT Sri City website).
• RGUKT, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, is a State university set up by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and recognised under sections 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956 (RGUKT website). It has campuses at Nuzvid, RK Valley, Srikakulam and Ongole. Its founding year and the years of its newer campuses are widely reported as 2008 and 2016, but the pages we opened did not state them, so check before quoting.

A frequent mix-up is calling RGUKT an IIIT. It is a State university whose campuses have been popularly called IIITs, and it is not the same as IIITDM Kurnool or IIIT Sri City.

AIIMS Mangalagiri

AIIMS Mangalagiri is one of the institutions set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. The institute's own list of documents gives 29 January 2018 for its establishment, and its website says that in 2018 it started functioning from a new temporary campus at Government Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, with the 2018 and 2019 MBBS batches of 50 students each. OPD services began at the permanent campus at Mangalagiri, Guntur, in March 2019, and the 2020 batch of 125 MBBS students began in Mangalagiri. A PIB release of 25 February 2024 records that five AIIMS, including Mangalagiri, were dedicated to the nation on that day.

Central University of Andhra Pradesh and Central Tribal University

The Union Cabinet gave in-principle approval on 16 May 2018 for the Central University of Andhra Pradesh at Janthaluru village in Ananthapur district, with Rs 450 crore for the first phase. It was to start in a transit campus under a society so that teaching could begin in 2018-19, mentored by an existing central university, until the Central Universities Act was amended.

The Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh was approved by the Cabinet on 8 November 2018 for Relli village in Vizianagaram district, with Rs 420 crore for the first phase, as provided under the Thirteenth Schedule. The University's website says it was established in 2019, works from a transit campus at Kondakarakam village in Vizianagaram district and is governed by the Central Universities Act, 2019. Notice the difference between the village named for the permanent site (Relli) and the village where classes are held (Kondakarakam). A question may use either; read it carefully.

IIPE Visakhapatnam

The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy was set up as a Petroleum University commitment under the Thirteenth Schedule. The Cabinet approved it on 12 April 2017 to be created through an Act of Parliament; the institute says it was established in 2016 under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and became an institution of national importance by the IIPE Act, 2017, numbered Act 3 of 2018. The State allotted 200 acres free of cost at Sabbavaram mandal; PIB records that it was registered as a society on 18 April 2016 and began in the 2016-17 session on the Andhra University campus with two undergraduate programmes, Petroleum Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Its present address is Vangali, Sabbavaram, in Anakapalli district.

SPA Vijayawada

The School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, is one of three SPAs under the Ministry of Education and describes itself as an Institute of National Importance focusing on architecture and planning since 2008 (SPAV website). It is not in the Thirteenth Schedule list and predates the 2014 Act, which is the reason it can appear as an odd one out.

5. State universities and older institutions

University	Place	Year	Distinguishing fact
Andhra University	Visakhapatnam (Waltair)	1926	University says it was set up by the Madras University Act
Sri Venkateswara University	Tirupati	1954	Campus of 1,000 acres; serves Rayalaseema
ANGRAU	Lam, Guntur	12 June 1964 as APAU	Renamed 7 November 1996
Dr YSR Horticultural University	Venkataramannagudem	Reported 2007	State Act; verify
Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University	Tirupati	Reported 2005	State Act; verify
National Sanskrit University	Tirupati	Central Act, 2020 (reported)	Verify

Andhra University. The university's website says it was established in 1926 by the Madras University Act to serve the Andhra linguistic region as a residential teaching-cum-affiliating multi-disciplinary university. It is at Waltair Junction, Visakhapatnam, and its site carries a "100 Years" banner for the centenary. For an exam, 1926 and Visakhapatnam are the safe pair. The first and later vice-chancellors, and any earlier location, were not on the pages we opened, so skip them unless the question supplies them.

Sri Venkateswara University. The university states it was established in 1954 in Tirupati on a campus of 1,000 acres to meet the educational needs of the Rayalaseema people, and calls itself the second largest university in the State. The year is the only fact an examiner can rely on from the page.

Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University. ANGRAU was established as the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University on 12 June 1964 under the APAU Act of 1963, and renamed Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University on 7 November 1996 in honour of the Kisan leader. Its history page records that, near the completion of its Golden Jubilee, it gave birth to a new State agricultural university for Telangana through bifurcation. Its administrative office is at Lam, Guntur. As shown on its website in October 2026, it has 12 constituent colleges, 6 affiliated colleges, 6 regional agricultural research stations and 27 research stations, and counts will change, so write them "as on October 2026".

Dr YSR Horticultural University and Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University. These two State universities are widely reported as established in 2007 and 2005 respectively under State Acts, with the horticultural university at Venkataramannagudem in West Godavari and the veterinary university headquartered at Tirupati. We could not open a first-hand page for either, so confirm the year, Act number and renaming before quoting them.

6. Research institutes beyond universities

• ICAR-NIRCA, Rajahmundry. The institute's site traces organised tobacco research to the mid-1930s, with the Cigarette Tobacco Research Station at Guntur, and says the Government of India formed the Indian Central Tobacco Committee, which set up the Central Tobacco Research Institute in 1947. The institute now works under the name NIRCA and also covers other commercial crops. The exact date of the name change was not on the page we opened.
• NARL, Gadanki. See section 2.
• NSTL, Visakhapatnam. See section 2.
• AMTZ, Visakhapatnam. See section 2.

Agricultural research is covered in more depth in the agriculture and irrigation notes.

7. Memory aids and exam traps

The place-and-year sheet. Make a one-page sheet with four columns: institution, place, year, "mentor or Act". Fill it from the tables above, then add the hedged items only after you verify them. Revise it by covering the year column and reciting.

Three words to separate. "Established", "approved" and "inaugurated" are different events. The Central University of Andhra Pradesh was approved in May 2018, began teaching from a transit campus, and has had a permanent campus planned separately. The IIM Visakhapatnam permanent campus was inaugurated on 20 February 2024, long after the first classes in 2015. When a question says "established in", prefer the founding year the institute gives for itself.

Mentor institutes. A mentor institute guides a new institute in its early years. IIT Madras mentored IIT Tirupati, IIM Bangalore mentors IIM Visakhapatnam, and NIT Warangal was named the mentor of NIT Andhra Pradesh in the 2016 Cabinet release. Questions often switch the pairs.

District names move. The 2022 and 2025 reorganisations changed the district of several campuses: Yerpedu, Sri City and Sullurupeta now fall in Tirupati district, Sabbavaram in Anakapalli district. The district at the time of the source is what a question usually wants. Our district fact sheet lists the 28 present districts.

Costs and dates get revised. A project target such as 31 March 2020 for IIT permanent campuses, or December 2021 for IISER campuses, is a target date and not a completion date. Use "approved" or "targeted", never "completed", unless the source says so.

8. Worked examples

Example 1. Which institution was mentored by IIT Madras? The answer is IIT Tirupati. A candidate who remembers only that the new IITs had mentors may pick IIT Hyderabad, which is a fellow institution but is not the mentor of the Tirupati institute.

Example 2. A student says AIIMS Mangalagiri began MBBS classes at Mangalagiri in 2018. The institute's own page says the 2018 and 2019 batches studied at Government Siddhartha Medical College in Vijayawada, and the 2020 batch of 125 students started academics in Mangalagiri. The student is wrong about the place.

Example 3. How many launch pads at Sriharikota for PSLV and GSLV, and what is under approval? The centre has two pads for PSLV and GSLV and a Third Launch Pad has been approved by the Union Cabinet. Do not add the Kulasekarapattinam pad, which is in Tamil Nadu.

Example 4. Which year was Sriharikota renamed after Satish Dhawan? 2002, on 5 September. A student who picks 1971 has confused the renaming with the first launch.

Example 5. Is RGUKT an IIIT? No. It is a State university, recognised under the UGC Act. The two IIITs discussed here are IIITDM Kurnool and IIIT Sri City.

Key facts for exams

• SDSC SHAR: area 43,360 acres, operational 9 October 1971 with Rohini-125, renamed on 5 September 2002, two pads for PSLV and GSLV, Third Launch Pad approved on 16 January 2025 at Rs 3,984.86 crore.
• Launch history: SLV-3 flights on 10 August 1979 and 18 July 1980 (RS-1); 100th launch from Sriharikota on 29 January 2025; NISAR launched on 30 July 2025.
• NARL, Gadanki: autonomous society under the Department of Space, 53 MHz MST radar.
• 2015 cohort: IIT Tirupati, IIM Visakhapatnam, IISER Tirupati, NIT Andhra Pradesh, IIITDM Kurnool.
• IIT Tirupati: mentor IIT Madras, about 548 acres; IIM Visakhapatnam: mentor IIM Bangalore, Gambheeram, 241.50 acres, permanent campus inaugurated 20 February 2024.
• AIIMS Mangalagiri: established 29 January 2018, first batches taught in Vijayawada, OPD at Mangalagiri from March 2019.
• Central Tribal University: approved 8 November 2018 for Relli village, established 2019, works from Kondakarakam village.
• IIPE Visakhapatnam: society registered 18 April 2016, IIPE Act 2017, Act 3 of 2018.
• Universities: Andhra University 1926, Sri Venkateswara University 1954, ANGRAU 12 June 1964 as APAU and renamed on 7 November 1996.

Ten practice questions

1. The Sriharikota launch station was renamed Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR in: A) 1971 B) 1980 C) 2002 D) 2015 Answer: C. The renaming was on 5 September 2002. The station became operational in 1971.

2. The Rohini-125 flight of 9 October 1971 was a: A) satellite launch B) sounding rocket flight C) lunar probe D) reusable vehicle test Answer: B. Rohini-125 was a small sounding rocket that opened the station.

3. The Union Cabinet approved the Third Launch Pad at Sriharikota on: A) 16 January 2025 B) 29 January 2025 C) 30 July 2025 D) 14 July 2023 Answer: A. The date is 16 January 2025. 29 January 2025 was the 100th launch, and 30 July 2025 was the NISAR launch.

4. Which institute served as the mentor of IIT Tirupati in its early years? A) IIT Hyderabad B) IIT Madras C) IIT Bombay D) IIT Kharagpur Answer: B. IIT Madras mentored IIT Tirupati.

5. The permanent campus of IIM Visakhapatnam is at: A) Sabbavaram B) Yerpedu C) Gambheeram D) Mangalagiri Answer: C. Gambheeram village, Anandapuram mandal.

6. The first MBBS batches of AIIMS Mangalagiri studied at a temporary campus in: A) Guntur B) Vijayawada C) Tirupati D) Visakhapatnam Answer: B. They studied at Government Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada.

7. The 53 MHz MST radar is associated with which institution in Andhra Pradesh? A) SDSC SHAR B) IIT Tirupati C) NARL, Gadanki D) AMTZ Answer: C. NARL operates the MST radar.

8. ANGRAU was originally established as: A) Andhra University of Agriculture B) Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University C) Rayalaseema Farm University D) Krishna Agricultural Institute Answer: B. It was established as APAU on 12 June 1964.

9. The Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh currently works from a transit campus at: A) Relli B) Kondakarakam C) Janthaluru D) Sabbavaram Answer: B. Relli was named as the permanent site in the 2018 approval. Janthaluru is for the Central University of Andhra Pradesh.

10. IIPE Visakhapatnam was set up in fulfilment of which Thirteenth Schedule commitment? A) Tribal University B) Petroleum University C) AIIMS-type hospital D) Agricultural University Answer: B. The Cabinet release says the institute was set up as committed under the Thirteenth Schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sriharikota in Nellore district or Tirupati district? Official ISRO and SDSC SHAR pages still say Nellore district. District reorganisation on 4 April 2022 created Tirupati district partly from Nellore, and Sullurpet is in it. Confirm the current district from the latest notification and answer according to the date of the question.

Which Andhra Pradesh institutions began in 2015? IIT Tirupati, IIM Visakhapatnam, IISER Tirupati, NIT Andhra Pradesh and IIITDM Kurnool. IIPE followed in 2016, AIIMS Mangalagiri in 2018 and the Central Tribal University in 2019.

Are all these institutes in the Thirteenth Schedule? The Schedule lists categories such as an IIT, IIM, NIT, IISER, IIIT, central university, petroleum university, agricultural university, tribal university and a super-specialty hospital. Some bodies, such as SPA Vijayawada and IIIT Sri City, were set up outside that list. See the Reorganisation Act explainer for the legal text.

Is RGUKT the same as an IIIT? No. RGUKT is a State university with campuses at Nuzvid, RK Valley, Srikakulam and Ongole. IIITDM Kurnool and IIIT Sri City are the two IIITs covered in this post.

How should I write a status such as "permanent campus completed"? Write "as on" a month and year, and say who reported it. Many target dates changed, so a promised date is not evidence of completion.

Where can I verify founding years? Use the institute's own website, the Gazette or Act, and PIB releases. Avoid coaching sites and unsourced lists.

Related reading

• AP Reorganisation Act 2014 explained
• AP economy and budget notes
• AP minerals, industries, SEZs and ports
• AP ancient history: Satavahanas to Eastern Chalukyas
• AP district-wise fact sheet, 28 districts
• AP agriculture, irrigation and crops
• AP GK top 100 questions
• Telugu version of this post

Practise on pareeksha.in

Once the place-and-year sheet is ready, test recall with timed questions on pareeksha.in, where the platform offers 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams and 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks. Check any current status in a practice question against the official source it names.

Sources and verification

Pages opened for this post:

• SDSC SHAR website, About Us page, and ISRO's SDSC SHAR page (isro.gov.in).
• ISRO Timeline page, ISRO SLV page, ISRO NARL page and ISRO's note on NARL's contribution (isro.gov.in).
• PIB: Cabinet approval of the Third Launch Pad, 16 January 2025; Department of Space Year End Review 2025; ISRO's 100th launch, 29 January 2025; factsheet on India's space programme.
• PIB: Cabinet approves expansion of five IITs including Tirupati, 7 May 2025; permanent campuses of six new IITs, 27 October 2017; permanent campuses of IISERs at Tirupati and Berhampur, 10 October 2018; ex-post facto approval for NIT Andhra Pradesh, 25 May 2016; IIPE Visakhapatnam, 12 April 2017; Central University of Andhra Pradesh, 16 May 2018; Central Tribal University, 8 November 2018; five AIIMS dedicated, 25 February 2024.
• IIT Tirupati Director's Report, convocation 2025 (iittp.ac.in).
• IIM Visakhapatnam institute page and about page (iimv.ac.in).
• IISER Tirupati About page, AIIMS Mangalagiri About Us page, Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh About Us page, IIIT Sri City About page, RGUKT home page, IIITDM Kurnool recruitment brochure, IIPE institute page, SPA Vijayawada About page.
• Andhra University home page, Sri Venkateswara University history page, ANGRAU home page and Historical Milestones page, ICAR-NIRCA Rajahmundry home page.
• DRDO Naval Systems and Materials cluster page, AMTZ home page, Tirupati district website pages (about and mandals).
• A reproduction of a Ministry of Education reply in Parliament on new institutions (hosted on staffnews.in), used only as a cross-check of the list of Andhra Pradesh institutions.

Not verified and hedged in the text: the present-day district of Sriharikota; the founding date of NARL and NSTL; the date of the ICAR-NIRCA renaming; the year, Act and renaming of Dr YSR Horticultural University, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University and National Sanskrit University (search summaries only); the founding year and campus years of RGUKT; the temporary campus of IIM Visakhapatnam; the date of dedication of IIITDM Kurnool; the ongoing status of NIT Andhra Pradesh under the NITSER Act; and the first vice-chancellor and earlier location of Andhra University.