TNPSC Group 2 & 2A Syllabus 2026: Updated Exam Pattern & PDF Download

Qualifying marks for Non-Interview posts: 90 out of 300.

Qualifying marks for Interview posts: 102 out of 340 (300 marks for written + 40 marks for interview).

• Scientific Knowledge and Scientific temper - Power of Reasoning - 
  Rote Learning Vs Conceptual Learning - Science as a tool to understand the past, 
  present and future
• Nature of Universe - General Scientific Laws – Mechanics - Properties of Matter, 
  Force, Motion and Energy - Everyday application of the basic principles of Mechanics, Electricity 
  and Magnetism, Light, Sound, Heat, Nuclear Physics, Laser, Electronics and Communications
• Elements and Compounds, Acids, Bases, Salts, Petroleum Products, Fertilizers, Pesticides
• Main concepts of Life Science, Classification of Living Organisms, Evolution, 
  Genetics, Physiology, Nutrition, Health and Hygiene, Human diseases
• Environment and Ecology

• History - Latest diary of events - National symbols - Profile of States - 
  Eminent personalities and places in news – Sports - Books and authors
• Polity - Political parties and political system in India - Public awareness and 
  General administration - Welfare oriented Government schemes and their utility, 
  Problems in Public Delivery Systems
• Geography - Geographical landmarks
• Economics - Current socio-economic issues
• Science - Latest inventions in Science and Technology
• Prominent Personalities in various spheres – Arts, Science, 
  Literature and Philosophy.

• Location – Physical features - Monsoon, rainfall, weather and climate - 
  Water resources - Rivers in India - Soil, minerals and natural resources - Forest and wildlife - Agricultural pattern
• Transport - Communication
• Social geography – Population density and distribution - Racial, 
  linguistic groups and major tribes
• Natural calamity – Disaster Management – Environmental pollution: 
  Reasons and preventive measures – Climate change – Green energy

• Indus valley civilization - Guptas, Delhi Sultans, Mughals and Marathas - 
  Age of Vijayanagaram and Bahmani Kingdoms - South Indian history
• Change and Continuity in the Socio-Cultural History of India
• Characteristics of Indian culture, Unity in diversity – Race, language, custom
• India as a Secular State, Social Harmony

• Constitution of India - Preamble to the Constitution - 
  Salient features of the Constitution - Union, State and Union Territory
• Citizenship, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental duties, Directive Principles of State Policy
• Union Executive, Union legislature – State Executive, State Legislature – 
  Local governments, Panchayat Raj
• Spirit of Federalism: Centre-State Relationships
• Election - Judiciary in India – Rule of law
• Corruption in public life – Anti-corruption measures – Lokpal and Lok Ayukta - 
  Right to Information - Empowerment of women - Consumer protection forums, 
  Human rights charter

• Nature of Indian Economy – Five year plan models - an assessment – Planning Commission and Niti Ayog
• Sources of revenue – Reserve Bank of India – Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy - Finance Commission – Resource sharing between Union and State Governments - Goods and Services Tax
• Structure of Indian Economy and Employment Generation, Land reforms and Agriculture - Application of Science and Technology in agriculture - Industrial growth - Rural welfare oriented programmes – Social problems – Population, education, health, employment, poverty

• History of Tamil Society, related Archaeological discoveries, 
  Tamil Literature from Sangam age till contemporary times
• Thirukkural:
• Significance as a Secular literature
• Relevance to Everyday Life
• Impact of Thirukkural on Humanity
• Thirukkural and Universal Values - Equality, Humanism, etc
• Relevance to Socio - Politico-Economic affairs
• Philosophical content in Thirukkural
• Role of Tamil Nadu in freedom struggle - Early agitations against British Rule - 
  Role of women in freedom struggle
• Evolution of 19th and 20th Century Socio-Political movements in Tamil Nadu -
   Justice Party, Growth of Rationalism - Self Respect Movement, Dravidian movement and Principles underlying both these movements, Contributions of Thanthai Periyar and Perarignar Anna

• Human Development Indicators in Tamil Nadu and a comparative assessment across the Country – Impact of Social Reform movements in the Socio-Economic Development of Tamil Nadu
• Political parties and Welfare schemes for various sections of people – Rationale behind Reservation Policy and access to Social Resources - Economic trends in Tamil Nadu – Role and impact of social welfare schemes in the Socio-Economic development of Tamil Nadu
• Social Justice and Social Harmony as the Cornerstones of Socio-Economic development
• Education and Health systems in Tamil Nadu
• Geography of Tamil Nadu and its impact on Economic growth
• Achievements of Tamil Nadu in various fields
• e-governance in Tamil Nadu

• Simplification – Percentage - Highest Common Factor (HCF) - Lowest Common Multiple (LCM)
• Ratio and Proportion
• Simple interest - Compound interest - Area - Volume - Time and Work
• Logical Reasoning - Puzzles - Dice - Visual Reasoning - Alphanumeric Reasoning – Number Series

• Phrases
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Prefix & Suffix
• Fill in the blanks
• Prepositions
• Tenses
• Voice
• Homophones
• Error Detection
• Comprehension
• Odd one out
• Word Formation
• Identify the sentence
• Compound words

• Figure of Speech
• Appreciation Questions from Poetry
• Important Lines from Poem
• Biography of Important persons
• Shakespeare
• Oscar Wilde
• Dr Karl Paulnack
• Comprehension Question from Motivational Essays
• British English-American English
• Comprehension Question from Description of Place

• Poem & Poets
• Author & their stories
• Biography & Auto Biography
• Characters, Quotes, Important Lines of Indian Authors
• Nationality of story
• Drama
• Folk Arts
• About Poets, Dramatist
• Famous Quotes
• Various Works of Author
  Period of the poets
• Nature centred Literary works and global issue Environment & Conservation
• Theme observed in Literary Work

• Phrases, Synonyms, Antonyms, Prefix & Suffix, Fill in the blanks, Prepositions, Tenses, Voice, Homophones, Error Detection, Comprehension, Odd one out, Word Formation, Identify the sentence, Compound words

• The figure of Speech, Appreciation Questions from Poetry, Important Lines from Poem, Biography of Important persons, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Karl Paulnack, Comprehension Questions from Motivational Essays, British English-American English, Comprehension Questions from Description of Places

• Phrases, Synonyms, Antonyms, Prefix & Suffix, Fill in the blanks, Prepositions, Tenses, Voice, Homophones, Error Detection, Comprehension, Odd one out, Word Formation, Identify the sentence, Compound words

• Poem & Poets, Author & their stories, Biography & Autobiography, Characters, Quotes, Important Lines of Indian Authors, Nationality of story, Drama, Folk Arts, About Poets, Dramatist, Famous Quotes, Various Works of Author, Period of the poets, Nature-centered Literary works and global issue Environment & Conservation, Theme observed in Literary Work

• Essay writing on the following topics from ‘Thirukkural’ (a) Significance as Secular literature (b) Relevance to Everyday Life (c) Impact of Thirukkural on Humanity (d) Thirukkural and Universal Values – Equality, Humanism, etc. (e) Relevance to Socio- Political- Economic affairs (f) Philosophical content in Thirukkural

• The advent of Europeans: The Portuguese, the Dutch, the English, the Danish and the French;
• Expansion of British rule: Carnatic Wars;
• Early uprisings against British Rule: Revolt of Poligars, South Indian Rebellion, Vellore Mutiny, 
  Indian National Movements – Moderates, Extremists and Terrorist Movements – Gandhian Era;
• The early stage of Freedom movement in Tamil Nadu – First voice for freedom struggle from Tamil Nadu – Protests by Pulithevar, Veerapandya Kattabomman, Dheeran Chinnamalai, Velunachiar, Kuyili and others
• Role of Tamil Nadu in freedom struggle – V.O.Chidambaram, Bharathiyar, V.V. Subramanian, Vanchinathan, Subramania Siva, T.S.S Rajan, Rajaji, Sathyamoorthy, Kamaraj, Rukmani Lakshmi Pathi, Ambujammal and others; Types of freedom struggle – Sacrifices – Magazines – Literature – Plays/Drama – Songs – Films etc.
• Contribution of women in the freedom struggle and social work: Dr Muthulakshmi Ammaiyar, Muvalur Ramamirtham, Cuddalore Anjalai mmal, Thillaiyadi Valliammai, and others
• Impact of British Rule: Christian Missionaries, Development of Education, Judiciary, Local Self Governance System, Police, Transport and Communication – Disappearance of Indigenous Industries – Spread of Western Culture
• Origin and Growth of “Social – Justice” 
  ideology, Socio- Religious Movements, Political Parties and Achievements.

• Ancient Tamil Society – Archeological excavation evidence – Arikamedu, Adichanallur, Keezhadi – Sangam Literature – Classical Tamil;
• Thirukkural – Guidance for way of life to human elevation – Guidelines given by Thirukkural in the field of administration, judiciary and day to day life – Philosophical thoughts laid down by Thirukkural for the betterment and integration of the whole of humanity;
• Sociopolitical movements of 19th and 20th centuries, Vallalar’s Samarasa Sutha Sanmarga Satya Sangam –Origin and development of Justice Party – Impact of Rationalism Movement, Self-Respect Movement, History and Development of Dravidian Movement, Tani Tamil Iyakkam (Pure Tamil Movement) – Tamil Society Reforms personalities – Thanthai Periyar, Arignar Anna, and other scholars;
• Arts – Cultura conventions of Tamilians – Ancient cultural knowledge of Tamilians – Conventional thoughts of Tamilians;
• Cultural Elements: Tamil Nadu State Government Symbols – Experts in Cultural Fields – Folk Dances, Folk Music, Folk Drama, and World Tamil Conferences.

• Population Explosion: Fertility – Mortality – Migration – Morbidity – Census 2011 – Population control programmes – National Population Policy 2000 – Family planning and its achievements;
• Health Care: Poor sanitation – Rural and Urban disparities – Poor infrastructure – Insufficient health care delivery – Role of Panchayat Raj and Urban Development Agencies – Health policy in India – Health care programmes in India; Child Labour and Child Abuse: Child Education – School Dropouts – Gender disparities – Initiatives to eliminate Child Labour in India – Media and enhanced vulnerability – Laws to protect child abuse and welfare schemes;
• Women Empowerment: Domestic violence – Dowry problems – Sexual assault – Eve teasing – Kidnapping – Laws and awareness programmes – Role of Government and NGOs in women empowerment – Welfare schemes;
• Marginalised Groups: Problems – Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – Elderly – People with disability – Transgender – Religious minorities – Central and State Government welfare programmes to marginalised groups.
• Social Changes: Urbanization – Modernization – Globalization – Policy, Planning and Programmes in India – Impact of Violence on Society – Religious Violence – Terrorism and Communal Violence – Causes and Remedies;
• Current Affairs.

• Robotics and Applications; Atomic and Nuclear Physics – Applications of nuclear energy;
• Diodes and Transistors and their Applications;
• Broadcasting Technology;
• Electrochemical cells – Types of electrodes – Batteries – Lithium-ion Battery; Fuels: Gaseous fuels – LPG, Natural gas and water gas;
• Polymers: Thermoplastics and Thermosetting plastics, PVC, PET, Nylon 66, Teflon;
• Medicinal Chemistry: Analgesics – Paracetamol and Aspirin, Antibiotics – Penicillin and Chloromycetin;
• Biotechnology: Applications of Biotechnology – Plant Genetic Engineering – concepts – transgenic plants, edible vaccines, Terminator Gene technology, BT Cotton, Golden rice, Flavr Savr tomato, Social and ecological impact of genetically modified crops – Biotechnological methods for crop improvement – Application of plant tissue culture in Forestry, Horticulture – Recombinant DNA Technology – DNA cloning – DNA fingerprinting – applications of PCR and ELISA in disease diagnosis – hybridoma techniques in the production of Mono Clonal Antibodies (MCA) – Animal cell culture techniques – stem cells and its applications; Applications of GIS;
• Nanotechnology – Fundamentals – Applications – Nano Fertilizer, Nano Pesticides, Green Nanotechnology and Nano farming; Advanced reproductive techniques: In-vitro fertilization (IVF) – Intra–Uterine Insemination (IUI) – Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) – Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) – cryopreservation of sperm; Components of Computer – Computer Organization and Architecture – 
  System Software and Application Software –Data Communication Networks – Cryptography – 
  Computer Graphics and Multimedia – Mobile Computing and Communication –  Web Technology and Applications – E-Commerce – Cloud Computing Architecture – IOT – Artificial Intelligence Applications – 
  Machine learning – Cyber Security – Biometrics – Blockchain Technology;
• Current Affairs.

• Constitution of India: Preamble and Philosophical features – Salient features and Sources – Union, States and Union Territories –
• Citizenship
• Fundamental Rights
• Fundamental Duties
• Directive Principles of State Policy;
• Union Executive: President, Vice-President,  Prime Minister and Council of Ministers – Cabinet – Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) – Parliament Committees – Major Constitutional Amendments;
• State Government: Chief Minister and Council of Ministers –  Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Structure, Powers and Functions; Local Governments: Three-tier system –  73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments – Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act 1994 – Grama Sabha – Working of PRIs in Tamil Nadu – District Collector’s role in Development Administration;
• Dynamics of Indian Federalism: Centre-State relations: Administrative, Legislative, Financial – Issues and Challenges;
• Judiciary in India: Supreme Court, High Courts, District Courts – Subordinate Courts (Structure and Functions) – Judicial Review – Judicial Activism – Public Interest Litigation; Electoral System in India – Election Commission (Constitutional Provisions, Composition, powers and functions);
• Party system in India: Regional and National political parties in India and Tamil Nadu;
• Integrity in Indian Polity: Corruption in Politics – Anti-Corruption measures: Lokpal and Lok Ayukta – Central Vigilance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General of India – 
  Central Bureau of Investigation – Enforcement Directorate – Right to Information – Right to Services – Consumers’ Rights –  Consumer Protection Act 2019 – Human Rights Act 1993 – 
  National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission – Social Audit – Citizen’s Charter;
• Political parties in Tamil Nadu: Regional and National Parties – 
  Welfare schemes and measures of successive Governments in Tamil Nadu after 1947 – Reservation and Language policy in Tamil Nadu – Impact of welfare schemes and measures in the socio-economic development of Tamil Nadu;
• Education and Health Administrative Structure in Tamil Nadu:  Evolution – Achievements of Tamil Nadu in various fields: Education, Health, Industrial, Information Technology, Agriculture, Women and Marginalised Groups;
• E-governance and Mobile– governance initiatives in Tamil Nadu –  Public Service Delivery through e-governance. TNeGA – eService Centres;
• Problems in Public Service delivery in Tamil Nadu;
• Current Affairs.

• Geographical Location – Physical units – River system – Climate – Soil – Natural vegetation – Agriculture crops – Livestock – Fisheries; Irrigation – Multipurpose Projects;
• Minerals: iron ore, manganese, copper, bauxite, gold, silver, mica, coal,  petroleum and natural Gas;
• Energy Resources: hydel, thermal, nuclear, wind, tidal and solar;
• Industries: textile, jute, sugar, cement, iron and steel, automobile and shipbuilding;
• Transport: road, railway, water and air;
• Environment – Global and national environmental issues – pollution – air, water, soil, thermal, radioactive, noise, 
  electronic and solid wastes – Management of municipal solid wastes and bio-medical wastes;
• Biodiversity and Conservation: Definition, types – genetic, species and ecosystem diversity – values – threats to biodiversity – habitat destruction, invasive species and anthropogenic activities – climatic change and wildfire;
• Causes and consequences of species extinction;
• Biodiversity conservation: in-situ and ex-situ;
• Biodiversity conservation strategies: international environmental governance – 
  Biodiversity Act (BDA), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),  and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF);
• Biodiversity hotspots of India;
• Sustainable development – Sustainable development goals and targets –
• Clean and Green energy Paris Agreement and COP28;
• Disaster Management: Overview of disasters – definitions and types;
• Introduction to disaster risk management framework;
• Natural calamities – Anthropogenic disasters – global warming and climate change, industrial accidents;
• Climate change governance – mitigations and adaptations;
• Role of space technology in disaster management,  National action plan for climate change – 
  Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority – Tamil Nadu Disaster Management Plan – 
  Role of NGO and Civil society organisation in disaster management and mitigation in Tamil Nadu;
• Current Affairs.

• Nature of Indian Economy: An assessment – Structure of Indian Economy – New Economic Policy: Rationale – Components – Privatisation, Deregulation, Trade Liberalisation. 
  Indian Economy since 1991 Reforms (Overview only) – Sources of Revenue: Revenue Receipts – Capital Receipts – Revenue Expenditure – Capital Expenditure;
• Reserve Bank of India: Functions, Monetary Policy – Components – Fiscal Policy: Fiscalreforms – Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management (FRBM) Act Finance Commission: Revenue sharing between Union and State Governments – Recommendations of recent Finance Commission;
• Agricultural and Rural Development: Land Reforms – Rural Credit, Modern Farming Technics and Marketing – e-NAM (electronic – National Agricultural Marketing) – 
  Price Policy – M.S. Swaminathan Commission’s Recommendations – Subsidies – Commercialisation and Diversification of Agriculture – Rural Development Programmes – Poverty Alleviation Programmes – National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS);
• Labour: Employment – Types – Sectoral Distribution – Labour Welfare Measures – 
  Recent Indian Employment Report of International Labour Organisation (ILO) (Overview only);
• Poverty and Human Development: Estimates of Inequality and Poverty alleviation measures – 
  Human Development Index (HDI), Gender Development Index (GDI), Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) and Happiness Index (HI); Foreign trade: Composition, Direction and Organisation of Trade – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – Balance of Trade – Balance of Payment – External Debt;
• Current Affairs.

• Main Written Examination: 300 Marks
• Oral Test: 40 Marks
• Total Marks: 300+40 = 340 Marks
• Minimum Qualifying Marks: 102 out of 340

• Main Written Examination: 300 Marks
• Total Marks: 300
• Minimum Qualifying Marks: 90 out of 300

1. Preliminary Exam
2. Mains Exam
3. Interview (only for Group 2 Posts)