APPSC Group 3 Syllabus

Paper 1 — General Studies and Mental Ability

Events of national and international importance; current affairs; general science and its applications; Indian history and the national movement; Indian geography and the geography of Andhra Pradesh; the Constitution, polity and governance; the Indian economy and the economy of Andhra Pradesh; the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and its implications; and logical reasoning, analytical ability and data interpretation. Set at degree standard.

Paper 2 — Panchayat raj and rural governance

The evolution of panchayat raj in India, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and the state Panchayat Raj Act; the three-tier structure and the functions, powers and finances of each tier; the gram sabha; the state finance commission and the devolution of funds; and the roles and responsibilities of the Panchayat Secretary, which the syllabus names as a topic in its own right.

Paper 2 — Rural development and its problems

Rural society and its structure; poverty, unemployment and migration; land, agriculture and the rural economy of Andhra Pradesh; rural infrastructure — water, sanitation, roads, housing, power; the flagship rural development and employment schemes of the central and state governments; and community-based organisations, self-help groups and women’s empowerment.

Paper 2 — Administration and finance of local bodies

The revenue and expenditure management of local bodies; accounting for scheme funds; audit; record-keeping and registers; and the relationship between the panchayat, the mandal and the district administration.

Read the phrase "with special reference to Andhra Pradesh" as an instruction. The paper does not examine rural development in the abstract; it examines the state’s own Panchayat Raj Act, its own schemes, its own rural economy and the problems of its own villages. National material on panchayat raj is background; the state’s documents are the syllabus.