PSTM (Persons Studied in Tamil Medium)
A 20% preferential reservation within each category for candidates who studied their qualifying education in Tamil medium.
PSTM is claimed at application and proved at certificate verification with Tamil-medium study certificates for every year of the qualifying course. It applies horizontally inside your communal category, not as a separate quota.
Related terms
Communal Rotation
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.
Certificate Verification (CV)
The stage where TNPSC checks original certificates, education, age, community, PSTM and special claims, against your application. Unproved claims are dropped.
Reservation Roster
The running register that tracks which roster point each appointment consumed, ensuring reservation percentages hold across recruitment cycles.
GT (General Turn)
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.
BC (Backward Class)
Tamil Nadu's largest reservation category, holding 26.5% of vacancies (excluding BCM). Claimed with a community certificate at verification.
BCM (Backward Class Muslim)
A 3.5% reservation carved out of the BC quota for Muslims belonging to notified backward communities in Tamil Nadu.
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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