TNPSC Group 4 syllabus 2026 — CCSE-IV
குரூப் 4 / VAO — திருத்தப்பட்ட பாடத்திட்டம் மற்றும் தேர்வு முறை.
The current Combined Civil Services Examination IV pattern, as published by TNPSC under syllabus code 496. One paper, 200 questions, 300 marks, three hours, SSLC standard. This page replaces the older CCSE-IV pattern that applied before the Tamil paper became a scoring test.
Tamil is now a scoring paper, not just a gate
Under the revised pattern, Part A Tamil is worth 150 of the 300 marks — half the exam. You must score at least 60 marks (40%) in it. If you do not, Parts B and C are not evaluated at all, however well you answered them. Once you cross 60, every Tamil mark counts fully towards your rank.
Aspirants who treat Tamil as a formality and pour their time into General Studies are optimising the smaller half of the paper. Tamil deserves at least equal time.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so leave nothing blank. An informed guess is always worth more than an empty bubble.
Exam pattern
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test | 100 | 150 |
| B | General Studies | 75 | 150 combined |
| C | Aptitude and Mental Ability | 25 | |
| Total | 200 | 300 | |
Duration
3 hours, single session.
Mode
Offline OMR, objective type.
Standard
SSLC (10th standard) throughout.
Minimum qualifying mark for selection is 90 out of 300, the same for all communities. Verify every figure against the current TNPSC notification before you rely on it — TNPSC is the only authority that matters.
Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test
Tested at SSLC standard and written entirely in Tamil. The paper covers grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and literature.
Sandhi and punarchi rules, word classes, sentence correction, error spotting, prose and verse conversion.
Synonyms and antonyms, single-word substitutes, idioms and proverbs, word formation.
Authors and their works, Sangam literature, Thirukkural and the ethical texts, modern Tamil writers.
Passage-based questions testing reading and inference.
General Studies — six units
Unit I — General Science
Physics, chemistry and biology at SSLC level, plus everyday scientific applications, health and nutrition.
Unit II — Geography
Earth and its features, climate, soil and natural resources, agriculture, transport, and the geography of Tamil Nadu.
Unit III — History & culture of India
Indus civilisation onwards, cultural heritage, the national movement and the figures who led it.
Unit IV — Indian polity
The Constitution, Union and State government, citizenship, rights and duties, elections, local bodies.
Unit V — Indian economy
Nature of the economy, five-year planning, rural and social welfare schemes, and Tamil Nadu development administration.
Unit VI — Tamil society & development
History and culture of Tamil Nadu, Tamil literature and Thirukkural, social reform and the socio-political movements of the state.
Units IV, V and VI carry the heaviest weight in recent papers. Study them from the Samacheer textbooks first, then supplement with current affairs.
Aptitude and Mental Ability
Aptitude — around 15 questions
Simplification, percentage, HCF and LCM, ratio and proportion, simple and compound interest, area and volume, time and work, time and distance.
Reasoning — around 10 questions
Logical reasoning, puzzles, dice, visual reasoning, alphanumeric series, number series, odd one out, coding and decoding.
Build your preparation on the textbooks
Almost every General Studies question traces back to a Samacheer Kalvi textbook. Read the syllabus topic list against the chapter list and study only what is named — reading the books cover to cover is the commonest way aspirants run out of time.
Know the syllabus. Now practise it.
The AVVAI Batch covers this entire syllabus in 500+ video classes and tests you against it 50 times, with an all-Tamil-Nadu rank after every paper.