The TNPSC Glossary

A 20% preferential reservation within each category for candidates who studied their qualifying education in Tamil medium.

The 200-point roster Tamil Nadu uses to distribute vacancies across categories (GT, BC, BCM, MBC/DNC, SC, SCA, ST) in a fixed repeating order.

The running register that tracks which roster point each appointment consumed, ensuring reservation percentages hold across recruitment cycles.

Vacancies open to all candidates purely on merit, regardless of community. Reserved-category candidates who make the general merit are counted against GT, not their quota.

Tamil Nadu's largest reservation category, holding 26.5% of vacancies (excluding BCM). Claimed with a community certificate at verification.

A 3.5% reservation carved out of the BC quota for Muslims belonging to notified backward communities in Tamil Nadu.

A 20% reservation category for Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities in Tamil Nadu government recruitment.

Communities once listed under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act and later denotified; grouped with MBC for reservation in Tamil Nadu.

A constitutionally recognised category with 15% reservation in Tamil Nadu recruitment (excluding SCA), plus fee exemption and age relaxations.

A 3% reservation within the SC quota for the Arunthathiyar community in Tamil Nadu, applied on a preferential basis.

A constitutionally recognised category with 1% reservation in Tamil Nadu recruitment, plus fee exemption and age relaxations.

Horizontal reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (40% or more disability), applied across categories with scribe and time concessions in the exam.

Reserved vacancies for retired defence personnel in certain post groups, with substantial age relaxation counted from service years.

Reserved vacancies in certain posts for destitute widows, claimed with a certificate from the revenue department; often paired with no upper age limit.

Extra years over the general upper age limit for reserved categories. For SSLC-level exams like Group 4, several categories have no upper limit at all.

TNPSC's mandatory candidate profile: register once, pay the registration fee, and apply to any exam for five years with only the per-exam fee.

The admit card downloaded from the TNPSC portal before the exam, carrying your centre, timing and candidate details. Mandatory along with an original photo ID.

Full waiver of the examination fee for SC, SCA, ST, PwBD and destitute widow candidates. Others pay the exam fee per application after OTR.

A writer provided (or brought, per rules) for eligible PwBD candidates, along with compensatory time per hour of the exam.

The screening stage of multi-stage exams like Group 1 and 2: objective paper whose marks shortlist candidates for mains but don't count in final merit.

The merit-deciding descriptive stage for Group 1 and Group 2 interview posts. Final selection lists are built from mains marks (plus interview where applicable).

A post whose selection includes an oral test after the written exam, Group 1 posts and Group 2 (CCSE-II) interview posts.

A post filled purely on written marks plus certificate verification, all of Group 2A and Group 4. No oral test stage.

The objection window after TNPSC publishes its tentative answer key, where candidates submit evidence-backed representations against disputed answers.

The answer key published after reviewing objections. Marks are awarded against this key, and it is binding.

The mark of the last selected candidate in each category and gender. Not announced in advance, it emerges from vacancies, difficulty and competition.

The fixed floor printed in the notification (90 of 300 for Group 4) that makes a paper eligible for evaluation. Selection happens at the much higher cut off.

Deduction of marks for wrong answers. TNPSC currently applies no negative marking in Group 1, 2/2A or 4, attempt every question.

The rank order of qualified candidates by total marks, onto which communal rotation is applied to produce the selection list.

The waitlist after the main selection list. Filled only when selected candidates don't join, and it lapses after the notified period.

The stage where TNPSC checks original certificates, education, age, community, PSTM and special claims, against your application. Unproved claims are dropped.

The post-CV stage where candidates are called in rank order to choose posts and departments from available vacancies.

Counselling conducted in one centralised sitting where verification and post allotment happen together, instead of department-by-department rounds.

The 7th Pay Commission table of pay levels and cells that replaced pay bands and grade pay. Every post maps to a level; annual increments move you cell by cell.

A post's row in the pay matrix, fixing its starting basic pay and progression. Group 4 posts sit around Level 8; Group 1 posts start around Level 22.

The pay-matrix figure before any allowance. DA and HRA are calculated as percentages of it, and deductions come off the resulting gross.

The 6th Pay Commission add-on that indicated a post's seniority. Abolished by the 7th CPC and absorbed into pay-matrix levels; older notifications still mention it.

An inflation-linked allowance calculated as a percentage of basic pay and revised periodically by the government.

A percentage of basic pay that varies with the posting location's classification, which is why the same post pays different in-hand amounts in different towns.

A small fixed allowance for postings in specified cities, compensating higher living costs on top of HRA.

The yearly step to the next cell of your pay level, roughly a 3% basic-pay rise, granted on a fixed date subject to satisfactory service.

The initial assessment period after joining, typically 2 years within a continuous 3, on full pay, before your appointment is confirmed.

The sanctioned set of posts in a service or department into which you are appointed, determining seniority, transfers and promotion lines.

Priority given to candidates registered longer with the employment exchange, used in some Tamil Nadu recruitments outside competitive exams.

A current government employee applying for another post, sometimes with earmarked quotas or age concessions, applying through proper channel.

Appointment through open competitive examination (the TNPSC route), as opposed to promotion or transfer from existing service.

Appointment offered to a family member of a government servant who dies in service, outside the normal competitive process, under strict eligibility rules.

An officer whose appointment is notified in the official gazette, with authority to attest documents. Group 1 posts like Deputy Collector and DSP are gazetted.

The four tiers of state services by seniority: Group 1 posts fall in State Service Group A/B; Group 2 in B/C; Group 4 posts in Group C.

The pay revision Tamil Nadu adopted in 2017 following the central 7th CPC, introducing the pay matrix that all current TNPSC salary figures are based on.

The constitutional body that recruits for Tamil Nadu government civil posts through exams like Group 1, 2/2A and 4, headquartered in Chennai.

TNPSC's combined exam format: CCSE-I is Group 1, CCSE-II is Group 2/2A, CCSE-IV is Group 4 and VAO. One exam, many posts, allotted by rank and preference.

TNPSC's combined recruitment for engineering posts (Assistant Engineer and similar) across departments like PWD, highways and rural development.

The board that recruits Tamil Nadu police (SI, Constable), fire and prison posts, separate from TNPSC, with physical tests in its process.

The board recruiting Tamil Nadu health department posts: nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and doctors.

The board recruiting teachers and lecturers for Tamil Nadu government schools and colleges, including BT and PG Assistant posts.

The qualifying test for school-teacher posts: Paper 1 for classes 1 to 5, Paper 2 for classes 6 to 8. Qualification is a prerequisite for TRB recruitment.

Tamil Nadu's electricity utility (generation and distribution), recruiting Assistant Engineers, Assessors and Field Assistants through its own exams.

The village-level revenue official maintaining land records and certificates. Recruited through CCSE-IV (Group 4) since 2022, requires SSLC.