APPSC Group 2 Screening Test: A 90-Day Plan Built on the Official Five-Block Syllabus

Most Group 2 preparation plans on the internet are built from memory of what the old syllabus looked like. They give weeks to polity, weeks to economy, a block for general science, and they promise that 90 days is enough. The current official syllabus is different. When the Commission published the Group-II syllabus on 27 April 2023, and again when it issued Notification No. 11/2023 on 7 December 2023, the screening test was defined as a single paper of 150 questions in five blocks of 30 marks each: Indian history, geography, Indian society, current affairs and mental ability. Polity, economy and science and technology moved to the Mains.

That change should reshape a 90-day plan. If you spend your first six weeks on polity and economy because an old guide told you to, you will arrive at the screening test under-prepared in the very blocks that carry 40 per cent of the marks, geography and Indian society, and you will have studied other subjects that belong to the Mains. This guide builds a plan from the official text. It explains each block, gives a thirteen-week table, shows how to handle negative marking, and ends with ten practice questions that follow the syllabus.

For the second stage, read the Group 2 Mains syllabus and strategy. For a comparison of all four Groups, read APPSC Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 compared.

As on 7 October 2026. The scheme and syllabus are taken from APPSC Notification No. 11/2023 and the syllabus document of 27 April 2023. The Commission's notification page lists no new Group 2 notification; the 2023 cycle's selection notification was posted on 28 January 2026. When the next notification arrives, compare its scheme with this guide before you follow it.

The screening test in numbers

Item	Detail
Name	Screening Test (preliminary), Group-II Services
Paper	General Studies and Mental Ability, objective type, degree standard
Questions, time, marks	150 questions, 150 minutes, 150 marks
Negative marking	One-third of the marks prescribed for the question
Mode	Offline, OMR-based
Purpose	Shortlisting for the Mains, in a ratio the Commission decides
Counts for final merit	No. The notification states that selection is on merit in the Mains

The last row matters for motivation and strategy. Because screening marks do not count towards the final ranking, the screening test is a gate. You need to clear the Commission's shortlist line with a comfortable margin, but there is no reward for scoring far above it, and no reason to sacrifice all Mains preparation to chase a high screening score. Since the shortlist ratio is decided later, no one can tell you the exact cut-off in advance, so aim to be dependably above average in every block rather than excellent in two and weak in three.

The five blocks, decoded

Every block is worth 30 marks, which is 20 per cent of the paper. This is one of the most useful facts in the syllabus. It means no block is a minor subject. Here is what each one lists.

Block 1: Indian history (30 marks)

The syllabus is organised by period. Ancient history covers the salient features of the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Vedic age, the emergence of Buddhism and Jainism, the Mauryan and Gupta empires (their administration, socio-economic and religious conditions, art, architecture and literature) and Harshavardhana and his achievements. Medieval history covers the Chola administrative system, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, Bhakti and Sufi movements, Shivaji and the rise of the Maratha Empire, and the advent of Europeans. Modern history covers the 1857 revolt and its impact, the rise and consolidation of British power, changes in administration and in social and cultural spheres, the social and religious reform movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the national movement with its stages and contributors from different parts of the country, and post-independence consolidation and reorganisation.

Notice that this block is about Indian history, not Andhra Pradesh history. The history of Andhra Pradesh appears in the Mains. In the screening test, Andhra Pradesh enters through geography (the state's physiographic features, climate, drainage, soils and vegetation, along with its economic geography) and through current affairs. So do not spend your first month on Satavahanas and Kakatiyas for the screening. Spend it on the national story, and keep Andhra history for the Mains phase.

Study method: use the three-period structure of the syllabus itself. For each period, list rulers or movements, administration, society and economy, religion, art and literature, and what changed. Use a timeline for modern history. Questions in this block frequently pair a ruler with an achievement, a source with a period, or a movement with a leader.

Block 2: Geography (30 marks)

The syllabus has three parts. General and physical geography covers the earth in the solar system, the interior of the earth, major landforms, the structure and composition of the atmosphere, ocean water (tides, waves and currents), and the physiographic features, climate, drainage, soils and vegetation of India and Andhra Pradesh, as well as natural hazards and disasters and their management. Economic geography of India and Andhra Pradesh covers natural resources and their distribution, agriculture and agro-based activities, the distribution of major industries and industrial regions, and transport, communication, tourism and trade. Human geography covers human development, demographics, urbanisation and migration, and racial, tribal, religious and linguistic groups.

This is the block where a candidate from Andhra Pradesh has an advantage, because the state is named in all three parts. Use a blank outline map and draw rivers, projects, ports, mineral belts and agricultural zones until you can do it without a book. Know the basic geography of the Godavari and Krishna systems, the Rayalaseema and coastal contrast, the lagoon and delta features of the coast, and the major ports. Questions are easier to answer once a place has a picture attached.

Block 3: Indian society (30 marks)

This block is the one most candidates underestimate because it has no textbook name in the school curriculum. The syllabus lists the structure of Indian society (family, marriage, kinship, caste, tribe, ethnicity, religion and women), social issues (casteism, communalism and regionalisation, crimes against women, child abuse and child labour, youth unrest and agitation), and welfare mechanisms (public policies and welfare programmes, and constitutional and statutory provisions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minorities, Backward Classes, women, the disabled and children).

You do not need a long book. You need a short, structured set of notes with three layers. The first is concepts and definitions: what is kinship, what is a caste versus a tribe, what is regionalisation. The second is issues with their legal responses: for each issue, which Act or constitutional provision responds to it. The third is welfare mechanisms: for each group, the constitutional safeguards and the main statutes. For example, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was enacted in 1989. Build a table with the columns group, constitutional provision, main law and institution.

Block 4: Current affairs (30 marks)

The syllabus asks for major current events and issues in three areas: international, national and the State of Andhra Pradesh. It is the only block with no fixed boundary, and that is why it needs a daily habit rather than a month of revision. Read one newspaper or a government press-release feed for 20 to 30 minutes daily, and write a three-line note for each important item: what happened, who is involved, why it matters. Keep the Andhra Pradesh section separate and include state-level policies, major projects, appointments to institutions, awards and events.

The best practice is monthly. At the end of every month, write a one-page summary in your own words and recite it a week later without looking. Twelve one-page summaries are far more useful in the last fortnight than a large bundle of daily notes.

Block 5: Mental ability (30 marks)

The syllabus lists three clusters. Logical reasoning (deductive, inductive and abductive) covers statement and assumptions, statement and argument, statement and conclusion, and statement and courses of action. Mental ability covers number series, letter series, odd man out, coding and decoding, relations and shapes with their sub-sections. Basic numeracy covers number system, order of magnitude, averages, ratio and proportion, percentage, simple and compound interest, time and work and time and distance, and data analysis using tables, bar diagrams, line graphs and pie charts.

This is the most trainable block. It is also the one that drains time on the exam day, because a numerical question may need two minutes. Practise with a timer from week one, and set a target of 45 seconds for easy questions and 90 seconds for harder ones. Learn squares up to 30 and cubes up to 20, and the fraction-percentage equivalents (one-eighth is 12.5 per cent, one-sixth is about 16.67 per cent, and so on), because these save seconds on every question that uses them.

What is not in the screening syllabus, and why that matters

The printed syllabus has no separate heading for polity, the Constitution, economy, general science or environment. Those are Mains subjects: the Constitution in Paper I and economy, science and technology in Paper II. Parts of them still brush the screening test indirectly. Indian society asks about constitutional and statutory provisions for particular groups. Geography asks about natural hazards and disaster management. Current affairs can touch any field.

Two practical consequences follow. First, do not give these subjects full weeks in the 90-day plan. Give them awareness-level attention: read about them in the context of current affairs and society, and keep a note when a news item connects to a constitutional provision. Second, do not discard your polity and economy time entirely, because you will need them for the Mains. A sensible approach is a light weekly session on one Mains subject so that the later 60-day Mains phase is not a first reading. The printed syllabus is still the contract. If you prepare strictly from it, you will not be surprised by its structure.

Four preparation rules

1. Prepare to the syllabus, not to a Group name. The official blocks are the final guide.
2. Equalise the blocks. Each block is 30 marks. A block where you score only 12 of 30 gives away 18 marks, and 18 marks lost in a weak block count exactly as much as 18 marks lost in a strong one.
3. Practise questions daily from week one. Reading without questions feels productive but does not build recall.
4. Review on a schedule. Revisit new material after one day, three days, seven days and twenty-one days.

Three preparation days before day one

Spend the first three days on setup rather than study.

1. Print the five-block syllabus and mark each line as strong, medium or weak.
2. Take a 60-minute diagnostic of 75 questions drawn evenly across the five blocks. Do not worry about the score. Note which block cost you most.
3. Pick one or two resources per block and stop shopping for more. School textbooks at the upper-school level are a reliable base for history, geography and society, supplemented by a good atlas, and for current affairs a single daily source and one monthly summary.

If your diagnostic shows fewer than half your answers right in a block, increase that block's daily time by about a fifth.

The 90-day plan in three phases

Phase	Days	Aim	Rough split
1. Foundation	1-30	First pass of every block; understand, do not memorise	80 per cent reading, 20 per cent questions
2. Depth	31-60	Second pass, past papers, topic tests	50 per cent reading, 50 per cent questions
3. Mock and revision	61-90	Full papers, error analysis, revision	50 per cent mocks and analysis, 50 per cent revision

In Phase 1, avoid trying to memorise during the first reading; understanding comes first and memory follows with repetition. In Phase 2, use past papers and topic tests heavily and keep an error log. In Phase 3, you practise the exact conditions of the test: 150 questions in 150 minutes.

Week-by-week table

Week	Main subject	Daily secondary work	Weekend
1	Ancient Indian history	Number system, number series; current affairs	Diagnostic review; 30-question quiz
2	Medieval Indian history	Ratio and proportion, averages; current affairs	History quiz
3	Modern Indian history to 1857	Percentage, coding-decoding; current affairs	Timeline writing
4	National movement and post-independence consolidation	Profit and loss, relations; current affairs	History mini test (50 questions); monthly current-affairs summary
5	General and physical geography	Simple and compound interest, directions; current affairs	Map practice
6	India and Andhra Pradesh: relief, climate, drainage, soils, vegetation, disasters	Time and work, odd man out; current affairs	Geography quiz
7	Economic geography of India and Andhra Pradesh	Time and distance, statement and conclusion; current affairs	Map and table revision
8	Human geography; structure of Indian society	Data interpretation: tables; current affairs	Geography mini test; first full mock around day 45
9	Social issues; welfare mechanisms and legal provisions	Data interpretation: graphs; current affairs	Society quiz
10	Weak blocks from the mock results	Mixed reasoning sets; current affairs	Two full mocks
11	Second pass of history and geography notes	Speed drills; twelve-month current-affairs review	Two full mocks
12	Society tables, Andhra Pradesh current affairs, error log	Twenty reasoning questions daily	Two full mocks
13	Light revision only; no new material	Twenty questions daily; current-affairs summaries	One or two mocks; rest in the last two days

You can move the weeks around to suit your weaknesses. If numerical work is your weak point, bring the reasoning and numeracy weeks forward and give them more of each day. If you have only three or four hours a day, stretch the table to around 120 days instead of compressing it below 90.

A typical day for a working candidate (about four hours)

Time	Task
45 minutes	New reading on the week's main subject
45 minutes	Notes or questions on the same subject
40 minutes	Mental ability practice with a timer
30 minutes	Current affairs
40 minutes	Revision of yesterday and the error log
20 minutes	Ten self-made questions from the day's topic

Full-time candidates can scale the same pattern up and add a second main subject. Keep one buffer day each week for backlog and revision so that one missed day does not collapse the plan.

Using past papers

A past paper is useful for what it shows about style, not for predicting repeats. After each paper, do four things. Classify every question by block and topic, so after a few papers you can see where the weight really falls. Note the style: direct fact, statement-based, matching, chronology. For wrong answers, explain why each wrong option is wrong, which covers neighbouring questions too. Reattempt your errors after seven days and twenty-one days.

Mock-test schedule

Period	Test type	Frequency
Days 1-30	Topic tests of 20 to 30 questions	One or two a week
Days 31-60	Block-wise tests of 30 to 50 questions; one full mock	Weekly, plus one full mock near day 45
Days 61-80	Full mocks, 150 questions in 150 minutes	Two a week
Days 81-88	Full mocks	One every two days
Days 89-90	Rest and light revision	No new tests

Set aside at least two hours for analysing each full mock. Record the score by block, the cause of each lost mark (did not know, knew but forgot, misread, guessed), the time spent per block and your accuracy on attempted questions. Over four or five mocks, the trend matters more than any single score.

Negative marking: a practical method

The notification states that one-third of the marks prescribed for a question is deducted for each wrong answer. With four options and a pure guess, the expected result is zero: a one-in-four chance of gaining one mark balanced against a three-in-four chance of losing one-third. A pure guess is neither good nor bad. The decision therefore depends on how much information you actually have.

1. Sort every question into three groups as you read it: sure, narrowed to two, and no idea.
2. Mark the sure group. These are your safest marks.
3. For the narrowed-to-two group, a fifty per cent chance of success has a positive expected value, since the gain of one mark at half probability outweighs the loss of one-third at the other half. But your own judgement of "narrowed to two" is often too generous, so track in mocks how often those answers are right. If your record is below half, skip them.
4. Leave the no-idea group in most cases.
5. Use two passes. Spend about 90 to 100 minutes marking the sure and quickly solvable questions, then use the remaining time on the harder ones, and keep the last ten minutes to check the OMR sheet.
6. In statement questions, do not choose "all of the above" or "none" lightly. Judge every statement.

Rehearse this in at least five mocks. Do not test a new approach on the exam day. Marks also depend on bubbling correctly: the Commission invalidates OMR sheets with a wrongly bubbled booklet series or any tampering, so practise on the OMR format, not only on the screen.

The last 30 days

Days	Focus	Tasks
61-65	Start full mocks	Two mocks, block-wise analysis, list weak topics
66-72	Repair weak topics	Reread the error log and solve 100 questions from the weakest topics
73-78	History, society and geography revision	Revise your own notes; two mocks
79-84	Mental ability and current-affairs speed	Timed sets; update Andhra Pradesh current affairs; two mocks
85-88	Current-affairs revision	Review the monthly summaries; two mocks
89-90	Calm	Light revision, hall-ticket and travel check, sleep

In the last week, wake up at the time you will need to on the exam day, and study in the same time slot as the exam. Read only your own notes. Keep your hall ticket, identity proof and the exam-centre address ready, and plan the journey in advance. Do not take a full mock the day before the test; it adds stress and can reveal nothing you can fix in time.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake	Effect	Fix
Studying to an old syllabus	Weeks spent on subjects that are not in the screening test	Use the five printed blocks
Too many books	Nothing is completed	One or two sources per block
Reading without questions	Poor recall	Twenty questions after each topic
Leaving mental ability to the end	Time shortage in the exam	Daily practice from day one
Cramming current affairs in the last month	Confused facts	Daily notes and monthly summaries
Skipping mock analysis	The same errors repeat	Error log and two hours of review
Using old statistics	Wrong answers	Check the year of every figure
Comparing yourself with others	Loss of focus	Compare with your own earlier scores

Key facts for exams

• Group 2 screening test (Notification 11/2023): one paper, 150 questions, 150 minutes, 150 marks, OMR-based.
• Five blocks of 30 marks each: Indian history, geography, Indian society, current affairs, mental ability.
• One-third negative marking; selection is on Mains merit, so the screening test only shortlists.
• Andhra Pradesh appears in the screening syllabus through geography (three parts) and current affairs.
• Polity, economy and science and technology are Mains subjects, not separate screening blocks.
• The Group 2 Mains has two 150-mark objective papers and is followed by a computer proficiency test.
• The Commission's notification page shows no new Group 2 notification as on 7 October 2026.

10 practice questions

1. Harshavardhana made which city his capital? a) Pataliputra b) Kanauj c) Ujjain d) Taxila

2. The Uttaramerur inscriptions are an important source for the village administration of which dynasty? a) Guptas b) Cholas c) Mauryas d) Mughals

3. The revolt of 1857 began at: a) Delhi b) Kanpur c) Meerut d) Lucknow

4. Which is the longest peninsular river of India? a) Krishna b) Godavari c) Kaveri d) Mahanadi

5. Tides on the earth are caused mainly by the gravitational pull of: a) the Sun alone b) the Moon and, to a lesser extent, the Sun c) the planets d) the earth's rotation alone

6. Pulicat Lake, on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, is: a) a freshwater river lake b) a brackish coastal lagoon c) an ox-bow lake d) a crater lake

7. Find the next number: 3, 8, 15, 24, ? a) 33 b) 34 c) 35 d) 36

8. What is 15 per cent of 640? a) 84 b) 90 c) 96 d) 104

9. A can complete a job in 12 days and B in 24 days. Working together, they finish it in: a) 6 days b) 8 days c) 9 days d) 10 days

10. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was enacted in: a) 1955 b) 1976 c) 1989 d) 2005

Answers

1. b. Harsha ruled from Kanauj.
2. b. The inscriptions describe the village assemblies of the Chola period.
3. c. The revolt began at Meerut in May 1857.
4. b. The Godavari is the longest peninsular river.
5. b. The Moon has the larger effect, and the Sun a smaller one.
6. b. Pulicat is a brackish coastal lagoon.
7. c. The differences are 5, 7 and 9, so the next is 24 plus 11, which is 35.
8. c. 640 times 15 divided by 100 is 96.
9. b. One-twelfth plus one twenty-fourth is three twenty-fourths, which is one-eighth per day, so 8 days.
10. c. The Act dates from 1989.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are there in the Group 2 screening test? 150 questions in 150 minutes for 150 marks, in the scheme of Notification 11/2023.

What are the subjects in the screening test? Five blocks of 30 marks each: Indian history, geography, Indian society, current affairs and mental ability.

Is polity in the screening test? It does not appear as a separate block in the printed syllabus. It is a Mains subject, though some society and current-affairs questions can touch constitutional provisions.

Is there negative marking? Yes, one-third of the marks prescribed for the question for each wrong answer.

Are 90 days enough? It depends on your base. Candidates who have read the syllabus before may find 90 days enough for revision and practice. New starters, especially those working full time, may need 120 days or more. No plan guarantees an outcome.

Do screening marks count in the final merit? No. The notification says selection is based on merit in the Main examination.

How many mock tests should I take? Many candidates find that 15 to 20 full mocks with proper analysis are enough. The analysis is more important than the number.

How far back should I study current affairs? Twelve months is a common horizon. Check the pattern of recent papers to decide.

Related reading

• APPSC Group 2 Mains syllabus and strategy
• APPSC Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 compared
• Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026: complete guide
• AP geography notes: rivers, districts and ports
• AP district-wise fact sheet
• Telugu version of this guide

Practise on pareeksha.in

Take a diagnostic before you begin and a full paper every week once you reach phase three. Pareeksha.in offers 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams and 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks. Start with a free mini mock, practise with the online test series, and check dates on the exam calendar.

Sources and verification

Opened and read for this guide:

• APPSC Notification No. 11/2023 (Group-II Services), dated 7 December 2023, including the scheme for the screening test and the syllabus annexure, psc.ap.gov.in.
• APPSC detailed breakup notification for Group-II Services (Notification No. 11/2023), including the scheme, negative-marking and procedure-of-selection paragraphs, psc.ap.gov.in.
• APPSC Group-II syllabus document for the screening test and Main examination, published 27 April 2023, psc.ap.gov.in.
• APPSC portal notification list (portal-psc.ap.gov.in), showing the Group-II selection notification of 28 January 2026 and no newer Group-II notification.

Not verified: the shortlisting ratio and cut-off for the screening test (the notification leaves the ratio to the Commission), the date of the next notification, and current-year figures for any economic or demographic data. History, geography and arithmetic facts in the questions are standard textbook facts; confirm any you plan to rely on in your prescribed textbooks.