Gazetted Officer
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 gazette notification is what defines the status: appointments and service changes of gazetted officers are published in the official gazette. Group 2 interview posts are typically non-gazetted at entry and reach gazetted grades on promotion, while Group 4 posts are non-gazetted. Aspirants often assume every government officer is gazetted; the attestation authority belongs to a minority of posts.
Related terms
Group A / B / C / D Services
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.
Cadre
The sanctioned set of posts in a service or department into which you are appointed, determining seniority, transfers and promotion lines.
Pay Matrix
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.
Pay Level
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.
Basic Pay
The pay-matrix figure before any allowance. DA and HRA are calculated as percentages of it, and deductions come off the resulting gross.
Grade Pay
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.
This definition follows official TNPSC notifications and Tamil Nadu government orders. Sources: TNPSC official notifications. Figures are indicative and may change with each official notification. Data last reviewed: July 2026.
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