As on 19 October 2026. Sources: the scheme and syllabus annexures of the APPSC notifications on psc.ap.gov.in (Group-II 11/2023 and 37/2026, Executive Officer Gr-III 23/2026, Hostel Welfare Officer 25/2026, Assistant Statistical Officer 20/2026, Forest Section Officer 17/2026, and the 13 October 2026 brief notifications 27, 30 and 36/2026). Each notification prints its own annexure; the heads below are the ones that recur. Read the annexure of the notification you applied for before you plan.
Every APPSC recruitment test in 2026 starts with the same paper. Whether you applied for Group-II, Assistant Executive Engineer, Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, Executive Officer in Endowments, Hostel Welfare Officer, Assistant Statistical Officer, Industrial Promotion Officer or a forest post, Paper I is General Studies and Mental Ability: 150 objective questions, 150 marks, 150 minutes, degree standard, one-third of a mark deducted for every wrong answer. The Group-II screening test is this paper by itself. This page is the one syllabus page for all of them, with a topic map that points to the notes on this site, and a plan that fits beside the subject paper.
The paper at a glance
| Questions | 150 objective, four options |
| Marks and time | 150 marks, 150 minutes (one minute a question) |
| Standard | Degree level (Group-I screening is degree level too, with 120 questions) |
| Negative marking | One-third of the marks of the question for each wrong answer (G.O.Ms.No.235, 6 December 2016) |
| Mode | Computer-based (CBRT) for most 2026 single-level tests; OMR for the Group-II screening test and the January to February 2027 OMR spell |
| Normalisation | Applied when the test runs in more than one session |
| Minimum marks | Where the notification prescribes them: 40 percent OC and EWS, 35 BC, 30 SC, ST and PwBD |
| Language | Bilingual question paper, English and Telugu (Urdu where notified) |
The ten syllabus heads and what each actually asks
APPSC prints the Paper I syllabus as ten numbered items. The names shift slightly between notifications; the content does not.
| # | Head as printed | What the questions look like | Notes on this site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Events of national and international importance | Awards, summits, appointments, sports, schemes launched in the last 12 months; Andhra Pradesh government decisions, budget and Socio-Economic Survey figures | AP current affairs, October 2026, How to study current affairs, Budget and Socio-Economic Survey essentials |
| 2 | Current developments in science and technology, and general science | Everyday physics and chemistry, biology and health, space and defence programmes, ICT terms | Physics and chemistry notes, Biology and health notes, Computer awareness and S&T |
| 3 | History of India with emphasis on Andhra Pradesh, and the Indian national movement | Dynasties of the Andhra region from the Satavahanas to the Qutb Shahis, the Andhra movement, 1953 and 1956, the 2014 Reorganisation | Ancient history, Medieval history, Andhra movement to 2014, Indian history notes |
| 4 | Geography of India with focus on Andhra Pradesh | Rivers and projects, soils and crops, districts and ports, climate and cyclones, minerals and industries | Rivers and irrigation projects, 28-district fact sheet, Geography notes, Indian and world geography |
| 5 | Indian Constitution and polity, with focus on Andhra Pradesh | Articles and amendments, Panchayati Raj and the Sachivalayam system, the Reorganisation Act 2014, state institutions | Indian polity notes, AP polity and Panchayati Raj, Reorganisation Act explained |
| 6 | Indian economy and the Andhra Pradesh economy | National income, budget terms, inflation, banking, agriculture and industry, AP schemes and sector shares | Indian economy basics, AP economy and budget, Government schemes |
| 7 | Sustainable development and environmental protection | Biodiversity, climate agreements, pollution control, renewable energy, environmental laws | Forests, wildlife and national parks, Environment, cyclones and disasters |
| 8 | Disaster management | NDMA framework, cyclone and flood preparedness on the Andhra coast, drought in Rayalaseema | Environment, cyclones and disasters |
| 9 | Logical reasoning, analytical ability and data interpretation | Series, coding, blood relations, directions, syllogism, seating, tables and charts | Reasoning and arithmetic shortcuts, Data interpretation and mental ability |
| 10 | Data analysis | Tabulation, visual representation, averages, percentages and ratios read from data, basic probability | Data interpretation and mental ability |
Some notifications fold heads 9 and 10 into one "Mental Ability" item and add "Indian society and social issues" or "Science and technology policy" as separate heads; the Group-II screening paper names five blocks of 30 questions each (Indian History, Geography, Indian Society, Current Affairs, Mental Ability). The reading list above covers all of these variants.
Weightage: what 150 questions usually divide into
APPSC does not publish a question split for the single-level Paper I. From the papers we hold (Group-II 2024 screening, Group-I 2024 screening, Forest Beat Officer 2025 Paper I, the July 2026 OMR spell) the distribution is stable enough to plan around:
| Block | Typical share | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Current events (national + AP) | 15 to 20 percent | 22 to 30 |
| Mental ability, reasoning, data | 20 percent | about 30 |
| History and culture (India + AP) | 15 percent | 20 to 25 |
| Geography (India + AP) | 10 percent | about 15 |
| Polity and governance | 10 percent | about 15 |
| Economy (India + AP) | 10 percent | about 15 |
| General science and S&T | 10 percent | about 15 |
| Environment and disaster management | 5 to 10 percent | 8 to 15 |
Treat these as planning weights, not promises. The one constant across every paper is that about half the marks come from blocks you can finish in six weeks (reasoning, data, polity, geography) and the other half from blocks that reward daily reading over months (current events, history, economy).
How Paper I differs by exam
| Exam | Paper I role | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Group-II (37/2026) | The screening test is Paper I alone; Mains is two separate papers | OMR mode; the five-block split; the cut-off for Mains is decided on this paper |
| Group-I (07/2026) | Screening test, 120 questions, 120 marks | Same heads at a harder level; qualifying only, marks not carried to Mains |
| AEE (27/2026), AMVI (36/2026), IPO (24/2026), ASO (20/2026), EO Gr-III (23/2026), HWO (25/2026) | Paper I of a two- or three-paper single-level test, counted in the merit | 150 of 300 or 450 marks; the subject paper decides the rank but Paper I decides who clears the minimum |
| Forest Section Officer (17/2026), Forest Beat Officer (18/2026) | Paper I after a qualifying English and Telugu test | Same heads; Paper III is General Forestry |
| DIET and SCERT Lecturers (30/2026) | Expected to be Paper I of the single-level test; scheme in the detailed notification due by 18 November | Plan on it, confirm in the annexure |
A ten-week plan that fits beside the subject paper
Most 2026 applicants also have a subject paper (engineering, education, statistics, automobile, Hindu philosophy). This plan gives Paper I one fixed hour a day plus a weekend mock, and leaves the rest of the day to the subject.
| Weeks | Daily hour | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Reasoning and data interpretation: one topic a day, 30 questions timed | 50-question mixed mental-ability set |
| 3 to 4 | Polity (Constitution first, then AP institutions and the Reorganisation Act) | 50-question polity set, then revise errors |
| 5 to 6 | Geography (India then AP: rivers, districts, climate, minerals) and environment and disaster management | 50-question set |
| 7 to 8 | History (AP dynasties and the Andhra movement first, then national movement) | 50-question set |
| 9 | Economy (budget terms, AP Socio-Economic Survey headline numbers, schemes) and general science | 50-question set |
| 10 | Current events consolidation: the last 12 months month by month, AP first | Two full 150-question fixed-paper mocks, one in each session timing |
From week 1, read AP current events for 15 minutes a day from the official sources (CMO and I&PR releases, PIB) and keep a dated note; this block cannot be crammed in week 10.
Negative marking arithmetic
One-third negative marking means a blind guess among four options loses marks on average, a guess between two options gains. If you can eliminate two options, answer; if you cannot eliminate any, skip. In a 150-question paper with 20 unsure items, answering all 20 as pure guesses costs about 1.7 marks on average; answering only the 10 where two options are eliminated gains about 3.3. Practise this rule on timed sets, because the habit, not the knowledge, is what the penalty tests. See negative marking and time management and percentile, cut-off and normalisation explained.
Prepare with Pareeksha
Paper I is the same paper for every APPSC exam you may sit in the next six months, so practise it on fixed papers: every candidate sits the same paper, the percentile is real, and your weak block shows up by week two. Start from the exam you applied for: APPSC Group-II, Group-I, AEE, AMVI, Industrial Promotion Officer, Executive Officer Gr-III, Hostel Welfare Officer, Assistant Statistical Officer, Forest Section Officer, Forest Beat Officer; the full AP shelf is on the Andhra Pradesh exam list.
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