Andhra Pradesh and Telangana each run their own Group 1 examination. Because the two states share a history up to 2014, many candidates consider both. This comparison uses each commission's own notification — APPSC Notification No. 07/2026 and TGPSC Notification No. 02/2024 — and nothing else.
Side by side
| APPSC Group 1 | TGPSC Group 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Stages | Screening Test, Main examination, Interview | Preliminary Test, Main examination |
| First stage | Two objective papers: General Studies (120 marks) and General Aptitude (120 marks), 120 minutes each | One objective paper: General Studies & Mental Ability, 150 questions, 150 marks, 150 minutes |
| Negative marking in the first stage | Yes — one-third of the question's marks per wrong answer | Check the notification for the cycle you apply in |
| Qualifying language papers | Telugu and English, 150 marks each | General English, 150 marks |
| Ranking written papers | Five, 150 marks each (750) | Six, 150 marks each (900) |
| Interview | 75 marks | Not part of the stages in Notification 02/2024 |
Where they are the same
- The written papers share their subjects. Both have a General Essay paper written as three essays, one from each section; a paper on history, culture and geography; one on polity and governance (APPSC adds law and ethics, TGPSC adds Indian society); one on economy and development; and one on science and technology.
- Every Main paper is three hours and 150 marks in both.
- Qualifying language papers carry the same thresholds — 40% for OC, sports and EWS candidates; 35% for BC; 30% for SC, ST and PBD/PH candidates — and their marks are not counted for merit or ranking in either.
That overlap is large. Polity, economy, science and technology, and Indian history and geography can be prepared once for both.
The first stage
APPSC splits its Screening Test into two papers — General Studies in four parts of 30 marks, and General Aptitude in parts of 60, 30 and 30 — each with one-third negative marking. TGPSC puts general studies and mental ability into one 150-question paper. The practical difference is stamina and pacing: two two-hour papers against one paper of two and a half hours.
The state content
This is the real difference. APPSC's Papers II and IV are about India and Andhra Pradesh. TGPSC's Paper VI is a whole paper on the Telangana Movement and State Formation, which has no APPSC equivalent. Preparing the other state's history, geography and economy is the part of a double attempt that cannot be shared.
The last stage
APPSC calls candidates to a 75-mark interview at a ratio of 1:2 to the vacancies. In TGPSC's Notification 02/2024 the examination is decided by the written stages.
Should you prepare for both?
The comparison suggests a structure rather than an answer:
- Prepare the shared core first — polity, economy, science and technology, Indian history and geography, the essay. It serves both, and UPSC too.
- Add the state you are more likely to sit, in depth: for Telangana, the Telangana History timeline and the movement; for Andhra Pradesh, the state's history, geography and development as Papers II and IV describe them.
- Treat the second state as a second project, not an afterthought, if both notifications fall in the same year.
Each commission's page on PrepShark sets out its pattern with the chapters for it: APPSC Group 1 and TGPSC Group 1. For each pattern in full, see the APPSC and TGPSC guides.
Check both notifications
Each commission can change its pattern with a new notification, and the two are not issued together. Read the current annexure of each before deciding anything on the strength of this comparison.