The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) conducts the Combined Recruitment Examination (CRE) to fill administrative posts in the state. The selection process is carried out in three successive stages:
- Preliminary Examination
- Mains Examination
- Interview / Personality Test
Stage I: Preliminary Examination (Objective Type)
The Preliminary exam is a screening test consisting of one paper. The marks obtained here are not counted for the final merit list.
| Subject | Questions | Total Marks | Duration | Negative Marking |
| General Studies (175) + Aptitude & Mental Ability (25) | 200 | 300 | 3 Hours | No |
Minimum Qualifying Marks: 90 for Reserved Categories | 120 for Others.
Detailed Prelims Syllabus
- UNIT-I: General Science: Scientific Knowledge and Temper; Nature of Universe; General Scientific Laws; Mechanics, Properties of Matter, Force, Motion and Energy; Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Sound, Heat, Nuclear Physics, Laser, Electronics and Communications; Elements and Compounds, Acids, Bases, Salts, Petroleum Products, Fertilizers, Pesticides; Life Science, Nutrition, Health and Hygiene, Human Diseases; Environment and Ecology.
- UNIT-II: Current Events: History (Latest events, National symbols, Profile of States); Polity (Political parties, Welfare schemes); Geography (Landmarks); Economics (Socio-economic issues); Science (Latest inventions).
- UNIT-III: Geography of India: Location, Physical features; Monsoon, Rainfall, Weather and Climate; Water Resources, Rivers; Soil, Minerals and Natural Resources; Forest and Wildlife; Agricultural pattern; Transport and Communication; Population density; Natural calamities and Disaster Management.
- UNIT–IV: History and Culture of India: Indus Valley Civilization; Guptas, Delhi Sultans, Mughals and Marathas; Age of Vijayanagaram and Bahmani Kingdoms; South Indian History; Change and Continuity in Socio-Cultural History; Characteristics of Indian Culture, Unity in Diversity, India as a Secular State.
- UNIT-V: Indian Polity: Constitution of India, Preamble, Salient features; Union, State and Union Territory; Citizenship, Fundamental Rights, Duties, and Directive Principles; Union & State Executive and Legislature; Local Government, Panchayat Raj; Spirit of Federalism; Election, Judiciary, Rule of Law; Anti-corruption, Lokpal, Lok Ayukta, RTI, Empowerment of Women, Consumer Protection, Human Rights.
- UNIT-VI: Indian Economy: Nature of Indian Economy, Five-year plan models; Planning Commission and Niti Aayog; Sources of revenue, RBI, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Finance Commission, GST; Structure of Indian Economy, Land Reforms, Agriculture, Industrial growth, Rural Welfare, Social Problems (Poverty, Education, Health).
- UNIT-VII: Indian National Movement: National Renaissance, Early uprising against British rule; Indian National Congress; Emergence of leaders (B.R. Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Bharathiar, V.O.C., Nehru, Kamarajar, Gandhi, Azad, Periyar, Rajaji, Bose, Tagore); Different modes of Agitation; Communalism and Partition.
- UNIT-VIII: History, Culture, Heritage and Socio-Political Movements in Tamil Nadu: History of Tamil Society and Archaeological discoveries; Tamil Literature (Sangam to contemporary); Thirukkural (Secular nature, relevance to everyday life, impact on humanity, socio-politico-economic affairs); Role of Tamil Nadu in freedom struggle; Evolution of 19th and 20th Century movements (Justice Party, Self Respect Movement, Dravidian Movement).
- UNIT–IX: Development Administration in Tamil Nadu: Human Development Indicators; Impact of Social Reform Movements; Political parties and Welfare schemes; Reservation Policy; Economic trends; Social Justice and Harmony; Education and Health systems; Geography of Tamil Nadu and Economic growth; e-Governance.
- UNIT-X: Aptitude and Mental Ability: Simplification, Percentage, HCF, LCM, Ratio and Proportion, Simple interest, Compound interest, Area, Volume, Time and Work, Logical Reasoning (Puzzles, Dice, Visual, Alpha-numeric, Number Series).
Stage II: Mains Examination (Descriptive Type)
The Mains exam consists of four papers. Paper I is a qualifying Tamil eligibility test.
| Paper | Subject | Marks | Duration | Standard |
| Paper I | Tamil Eligibility Test (Qualifying) | 100 | 3 Hours | SSLC |
| Paper II | General Studies – I | 250 | 3 Hours | Degree |
| Paper III | General Studies – II | 250 | 3 Hours | Degree |
| Paper IV | General Studies – III | 250 | 3 Hours | Degree |
Mains Syllabus
Paper I: Tamil Eligibility Test (Qualifying)
- Translation (Tamil to English and English to Tamil).
- Precis writing and Comprehension.
- Hints Development.
- Letter writing (Official).
- Essay writing on Tamil Culture and Heritage.
Paper II: General Studies – I
- Unit I: Modern History of India and Indian Culture (Advent of Europeans, British rule, National Renaissance, Emergence of leaders).
- Unit II: Social Issues in India and Tamil Nadu (Population, Poverty, Illiteracy, Women Empowerment, Child Abuse, Corruption, Communal Violence, Terrorism).
- Unit III: General Aptitude & Mental Ability (SSLC Standard – Conversion of information to data, Tables, Graphs, Probability).
Paper III: General Studies – II
- Unit I: Indian Polity and Emerging Political Trends across the world affecting India.
- Unit II: Role and Impact of Science and Technology in the Development of India (IT, Space, Health, Energy, Agriculture).
- Unit III: Tamil Society – Its Culture and Heritage (Art, Music, Film, Drama, Architecture, Socio-economic history from Sangam age to date).
Paper IV: General Studies – III
- Unit I: Geography of India with special reference to Tamil Nadu (Physical features, Resources, Agriculture, Industries, Oceanography).
- Unit II: Environment, Biodiversity and Disaster Management (Ecology, Pollution, Climate Change, Environmental Laws).
- Unit III: Indian Economy – Current Economic Trends and Impact of Global Economy on India (Features of Indian Economy, NITI Aayog, Agriculture, Industry, Banking, Public Finance).
Stage III: Interview / Personality Test
The final stage is an oral interview to judge the candidate’s mental caliber and social traits.
- Interview Marks: 100
- Total Marks for Merit: 850 (750 from Mains Paper II, III, IV + 100 from Interview).
- Qualifying Marks for Final Selection: 255 (Reserved) | 340 (Others).