APPSC Group-I Syllabus 2026: Screening 24 January 2027, Mains 825 Marks

Posts, DSP age and the 27 October close are on the recruitment page. This page is Annexure-II: screening, mains, the 50-times rule and the police physical.

Screening, 24 January 2027

Offline OMR, two papers, degree standard. You must sit both. Absence in one disqualifies you. Negative marking one-third.

The commission takes 50 times the vacancies, irrespective of community, to mains. It can relax the screening standard for SC, ST, BC and PBD if those lists would otherwise be short (G.O.Ms.No.5, G.A. (Ser-A), 5 January 2018). Screening marks do not join the 825.

Paper I (A) History and Culture. Indus, Vedic, Mahajanapadas, Jainism and Buddhism, Magadha, Mauryas, foreign invasions, Kushans, Satavahanas, Sangam, Sungas, Guptas. Kanauj; Badami, Eastern and Kalyani Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Yadavas, Kakatiyas, Reddis. Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Bhakti and Sufism. European companies with Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Mysore, Andhra and the Nizam; Governors-General and Viceroys. 1857; nineteenth-century reform; the freedom movement and revolutionaries. Gandhi, Patel, Bose, Ambedkar, reorganisation of States.

Paper I (B). Constitution: evolution, Preamble, FRs, FDs, DPSPs, amendments, basic structure. Union and States, legislatures, federal devolution. Constitutional authorities, Panchayati Raj, public policy. LPG and statutory or quasi-judicial bodies. Rights issues. India's foreign policy and the main institutions.

Paper I (C). Indian economy as a developing economy, planning and NITI Aayog, HDI, environment. National income, poverty, unemployment, rural and urban development. Agriculture, MSP, industry, Make in India, SEZs, energy, WTO, BoP. RBI, NPAs, SEBI, GST, Finance Commissions, fiscal policy. Andhra Pradesh after 2014 bifurcation: natural resources and revenue, river-water disputes, infrastructure, IT, social sector, smart cities, skill. A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014: capital assistance, backward districts, Vizag railway zone, Kadapa steel, Dugarajapatnam airport, expressways, special status controversy.

Paper I (D). Earth, climate, oceans. Physical, social and economic geography of the world, India and Andhra Pradesh: divisions, monsoon, soils, parks, population, SC and ST, urbanisation, agro and mineral industry, transport.

Paper II (A). Logical reasoning, series, coding, relations, Venn, clocks and calendars, number system, ratio, mean median mode including weighted mean, powers and roots, HCF LCM, percentage, SI CI, profit and loss, time work and distance, mensuration of sphere cone cylinder cube cuboid, lines and triangles, BODMAS, data interpretation and probability. Emotional intelligence, empathy, stress. Social intelligence, interpersonal skills, decision making, critical thinking, personality.

Paper II (B)(i). Science and technology policy and Indian scientists. ICT, e-governance, netiquette, national cyber-crime policy. ISRO, IRNSS, IRS, defence satellites, DRDO. Energy deficit, solar wind nuclear. Environment law and treaties, biodiversity, climate protocols, forest and wildlife law, biotechnology and nanotechnology ethics. (B)(ii) Current events, regional, national, international.

Mains and interview

Descriptive. Appearance in all papers is compulsory.

Medium and post / Multi-Zone / Zone preferences are collected online before mains. Hall tickets only on psc.ap.gov.in. Scheme: G.O.Ms.No.158, G.A. (Ser-A), 26 December 2018, read with G.O.Ms.No.100, 30 September 2022.

The full mains topic lists after the English paper in Annexure-II are long. Read them in the notification PDF before you buy a mains-only course. Until 24 January, screening Paper I (C) on post-2014 Andhra Pradesh and Paper II (A) on emotional and social intelligence are the rows most GS books skip.

DSP physical

Codes 03 and 04 only. G.O. Ms. No.137, 1 June 1998 and G.O. Ms. No.319, 16 October 1995.

Men: 167.6 cm, chest 86.3 cm inspiration, expansion 5 cm. ST: 164 cm, chest 83.8 cm, same expansion. Women: 152.5 cm, 45.5 kg.

DSP (Civil) vision without contact lenses; Standards I-III in para 3; full field; squint or morbid lids fail you; colour weakness is noted, not automatically fatal. DSP (Communications) vision without glasses on the printed standards; colour blindness, squint, knock knees, pigeon chest, flat foot, varicose veins, hammer toes, fractured limbs and decayed tooth fail that code.

PBD reservation does not apply to 03 and 04. Annexure-V is the medical annex. Measure before you rank DSP first.

How to prepare

Screening is 14 weeks away if you apply this month. Two OMR papers, 120 minutes each, one-third negative. A blank is safer than a guess you do not own.

Build a daily AP block: bifurcation, Reorganisation Act rows (Vizag railway zone, Kadapa steel, Dugarajapatnam, special status), river disputes, and current Andhra Pradesh schemes. That is Paper I (C)(i) and (ii), and it is what an all-India GS book will not cover.

Paper II (A) items 16 and 17 are not puzzles. Practise short scenarios on stress, empathy and decision making. Paper II (B) needs ISRO, DRDO, cyber policy and climate protocols at degree level, not class 10.

Do not start mains essay notes until you have two full screening mocks above the comfort line you set. Mains is 50 times the vacancies away.

A full 240-question screening mock is on the practice page.

Andhra Pradesh after 2014

Paper I (C) is where an all-India GS book fails this exam. The annexure wants the Indian economy and Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation: natural resources and revenue, river-water disputes, infrastructure, IT, social sector, smart cities and skill. It then names the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014 rows: capital assistance, backward districts, Vizag railway zone, Kadapa steel, Dugarajapatnam airport, expressways, and the special-status controversy.

Build a daily AP block from now until 24 January 2027. Pair it with current Andhra Pradesh schemes. That is screening Paper I (C)(i) and (ii). It is also mains Paper IV later. You do not need mains notes yet. You do need those named rows in your own words.

Paper I (D) wants physical, social and economic geography of Andhra Pradesh: divisions, monsoon, soils, parks, population, SC and ST, urbanisation, agro and mineral industry, transport. Paper II (B)(ii) is current events, regional included. A candidate who can do Mauryas and cannot place Polavaram is preparing the wrong half.

Qualifying language papers

Mains Telugu and English are 150 marks and 180 minutes each, and they are qualifying. They do not join the 825. English is printed at SSC standard. You still have to sit them. Absence in either paper drops you, the same as absence in a merit paper.

Medium, post, Multi-Zone and Zone preferences are collected online before mains, not in the October form. Watch psc.ap.gov.in after screening. Hall tickets for both stages appear only there.

Scheme: G.O.Ms.No.158, G.A. (Ser-A), 26 December 2018, read with G.O.Ms.No.100, 30 September 2022. Full mains topic lists sit after the English paper in Annexure-II of the notification PDF. Read them before you buy a mains-only course. Until 24 January, screening is the exam.

On 166 posts, 50 times is about 8,300 mains seats if the table holds. That is a large room. It is still only the room after OMR. Bubble the booklet series. Do not use whitener. File key objections in the three-day window. Screening marks do not join the 825.

DSP codes remain a physical gate after you prefer them. Measure before you rank 03 or 04 first. Civil vision is without contact lenses. Communications vision is without glasses on the printed standards. PBD reservation does not apply to those two codes.

The apply window closes 27 October 2026, 11:59 pm. OTPR is not an application. Processing fee is Rs 250. Read para 9 of the live PDF for the examination fee. Do not invent Rs 80. BC (NCL) and EWS certificates must be issued on or after 1 April 2026 and not later than 27 October. The 13 October addendum covering 07/2026, 08/2026 and 19/2026 sits on psc.ap.gov.in. Read it.

Posts, DSP age and the vacancy table are on the recruitment page.