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.
The tiers map loosely to TNPSC's exam groups rather than one to one: Group 1 recruits into Group A/B services around Pay Level 22, Group 2/2A into B/C, and Group 4 into Group C around Level 8. Two numbering systems, exam groups and service groups, coexist here, and conflating them is a common aspirant mistake when reading notifications.
Related terms
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.
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.
Dearness Allowance (DA)
An inflation-linked allowance calculated as a percentage of basic pay and revised periodically by the government.
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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