TNPSC CTSE Interview Posts Recruitment 2026 - 170 Research Assistant, Assistant Manager and More Posts - Apply Online

The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission has released Notification No. 8/2026 (Advertisement No. 741) for the Combined Technical Services Examination (Interview Posts) — 170 vacancies spread across 31 distinct posts in Tamil Nadu Government departments and public sector undertakings, from Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (79 posts) to single-vacancy specialist roles like Port Officer and Bursar. Qualification and experience requirements differ completely by post. Online applications run from 7 September to 6 October 2026.

Who Should Apply

This notification bundles 31 very different technical and administrative posts — here are the largest and most notable:

• Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (79 posts) — B.V.Sc. or B.V.Sc. & A.H., with SSLC-level Tamil and registration as a Veterinary Practitioner.
• Senior Entomologist (13 posts) — a First/Second Class B.Sc.(Hons.)/M.A./M.Sc. in Zoology or M.Sc. in Medical Entomology, plus at least 3 years' laboratory experience.
• Senior Officer – Technical (10 posts), TIIC — B.E./B.Tech./AMIE.
• English Reporter (6 posts) and Tamil Reporter (5 posts) — a Bachelor's degree plus a Government Technical Examination pass in Shorthand (180 wpm English / 120 wpm Tamil) and senior-grade Typewriting.
• District Library Officer (6 posts) — a Master's degree in Library/Information Science plus any other Master's degree.
• Assistant Director of Statistics (4 posts), Assistant Director of Industries and Commerce – Technical (5 posts), Regional Sthapathi (3 posts) — each with its own specific degree requirement (see the qualification table below).
• Plus 22 further posts (1-2 vacancies each) across Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation, TIDCO, SIPCOT, ECTN, the Legislative Assembly, and other departments/PSUs — Deputy Manager, Assistant General Manager, Manager, Assistant Manager, Financial Advisor cum Company Secretary, System Analyst, Psychologist, Bursar, and more.

Vacancy numbers are tentative and may be revised by TNPSC before the written examination result is declared.

Eligibility & Age Limit

Qualification is genuinely post-specific — a summary of the most common patterns:

For every post, the qualifying degree must have been obtained through TNPSC's specified order of study, and you must upload your Degree Certificate (or Provisional/Consolidated Marks Certificate) as proof. Check Section 4.2 of the official notification for your exact post's full qualification wording — this table only summarises the largest and most distinctive posts.

Minimum age for every post is 21 years (as on 1 July 2026). Maximum age for "Others" (non-reserved) candidates ranges from 32 to 47 years depending on the post; several posts (many AGM, Assistant Secretary, Deputy Manager, Senior Officer, Accounts Officer, and System Analyst-type posts) carry no maximum age limit at all for Others, meaning simply under 60. For SC/SC(A)/ST/MBC-DC/BC(OBCM)/BCM candidates, several posts likewise have no maximum age limit; for Assistant Manager (General), Assistant Manager, and Assistant Manager (Finance) specifically, the limit is 34 years for BC(OBCM)/BCM/MBC-DC and 37 years for SC/SC(A)/ST. Age concession for Persons with Benchmark Disability goes up to 10 years where the post allows PwBD candidates. Ex-servicemen concession is available for specific posts (for example, up to 50 years for English/Tamil Reporter and Port Officer) but doesn't apply to those already recruited to a class/service/category. Destitute Widow concession applies to only a limited set of posts (for example, Port Officer and AGM-Finance) — overall reservation for Destitute Widow and Ex-Servicemen does not apply to this recruitment as a whole, only to the specific posts noted.

Check your exact age as on the cut-off date before applying, since the maximum age and concessions differ sharply by the exact post code you choose.

Salary & Pay Scale

Pay follows Tamil Nadu's revised Pay Matrix Level system rather than a stated rupee figure: Port Officer is Level 30, Unit Head-DGM Cadre is Level 28, AGM (Finance) is Level 27, Deputy Manager/Financial Advisor cum Company Secretary posts are Level 25, Manager (Accounts) is Level 23, and most remaining posts (Research Assistant, Assistant Director of Statistics, Assistant Manager grades, System Analyst, Senior Officer-Technical/Finance, and others) sit at Level 22. [Check] — the exact Pay Level for the three Assistant General Manager (Projects) posts at TIDCO isn't stated in the available source material. The notification doesn't give the actual monthly rupee figure for any level — check Tamil Nadu's official pay matrix for the exact amount at your post's level, and don't rely on a third-party rupee estimate.

Important Dates

Application Fee

• One Time Registration (OTR), if not already registered: ₹150 (valid 5 years)
• Examination fee: ₹200 per subject paper, plus ₹200 for each additional subject paper
• Fee exemption is available for eligible special categories, per Annexure II of the official notification

Payment is online only (Net Banking/Credit Card/Debit Card/UPI) — Demand Draft or Postal Order is not accepted, and applications attempting offline payment are rejected. Fee already paid is not refunded even if you later withdraw a subject paper.

How to Apply

1. Visit the official application website, www.tnpscexams.in.
2. If not already registered, complete One Time Registration (OTR) by paying the ₹150 fee — keep a scanned photograph (20-50 KB) and signature (10-20 KB) ready before you start.
3. Already-registered candidates log in to their OTR dashboard directly.
4. Open the online application for the Combined Technical Services Examination (Interview Posts) and select the subject paper(s) matching the qualification you actually hold for your target post(s).
5. Upload the required documents and pay ₹200 per subject paper (plus ₹200 per additional paper), unless you qualify for a fee exemption.
6. Review every entry carefully, then click "Submit" — an application only counts once fully submitted, not merely previewed.
7. Note your Application Number/Applicant ID after successful payment.
8. Use the correction window (10-12 October 2026) if you need to fix anything — no changes are allowed after it closes.

How Are Candidates Selected

Written Examination (CBT): Paper I has three parts — Part A is a Tamil Eligibility Test, Part B is General Studies, Part C is Aptitude & Mental Ability. Paper II is a post-specific Subject Paper (or a Diploma-standard Stenography paper for the two Reporter posts). Part B, Part C, and Paper II are evaluated only if you score at least 40% (60 marks) in Part A.

Onscreen Certificate Verification: Candidates are admitted at a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 for posts without an experience requirement, or 1:10 for posts requiring experience, based on minimum qualifying marks and reservation rules.

Physical Certificate Verification & Interview: Shortlisting continues at two to three times the vacancies per reservation category, based on marks. The Interview assesses your personality, bearing, aptitude, general knowledge, and technical knowledge relevant to your specific post.

Final Merit List: Based on the combined total of Paper I (Parts B & C), Paper II, and Interview marks — a maximum of 510 marks — subject to the rule of reservation. Appearing in Paper I, Paper II, and the Interview is compulsory; missing any one of these disqualifies you from selection even if your other scores clear the minimum.

Why This Job Matters

TNPSC is Tamil Nadu's premier state recruiting body, and the Combined Technical Services Examination (Interview Posts) is its dedicated channel for specialist and technical roles that don't fit the generalist Group I/II framework — spanning veterinary medicine, cement-plant engineering, maritime navigation, stenography, and corporate finance within state PSUs. The sheer range in one notification, and the fact that several posts genuinely require senior-level industry experience (up to 20 years for one cement-plant post), makes this a notably different recruitment from TNPSC's more familiar Group exams.

The FreshersLike Take

Best fit: This suits a candidate whose exact professional or technical qualification lines up with one of these 31 posts — Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (79 of the 170 vacancies) is by far the most accessible single post if you hold a B.V.Sc., while the Reporter posts suit candidates who already have Government-certified shorthand and typing speeds.

Who should think twice: Several of the more senior posts (Unit Head-DGM Cadre, AGM-Finance, Deputy Manager roles) demand real industry seniority — up to 20 years of specific cement-plant or financial-institution experience — so these aren't realistically open to early-career candidates regardless of degree strength. With 31 very different posts bundled into one notification, it's also easy to misjudge your own eligibility; check Section 4.2 of the official PDF for your exact post code rather than relying on a summarised table like this one.

Practical tip: Since Part A of Paper I (the Tamil Eligibility Test) gates everything else — score below 40% there and your Part B, Part C, and Paper II answers aren't even evaluated — treat it as a hard pass/fail checkpoint to clear early in your prep, rather than something to pick up marks in relative to your subject paper.

Documents Required

• Degree Certificate (or Provisional/Consolidated Marks Certificate) proving your post's specific essential qualification
• Certificates for any additional required professional qualification (CA/ICWA final exam, Company Secretary Associateship, Government Technical Examination in Shorthand/Typewriting, Certificate of Competency, etc.), as applicable to your post
• Experience certificates proving your specific post-qualification experience, where your post requires it
• SSLC/HSC certificate showing Tamil as a subject, or equivalent Tamil-knowledge proof, where required for your post
• Category certificate (SC/SC(A)/ST/MBC-DC/BC(OBCM)/BCM), if claiming reservation or age relaxation
• Disability certificate, if claiming PwBD age concession (where the post allows PwBD candidates)
• Ex-servicemen or Destitute Widow certificate, if claiming the relevant age concession (only applicable to specific posts, not this recruitment generally)

What Happens After Selection

Admission to the written examination, certificate verification, interview, or any counselling stage is purely provisional and confers no automatic right to appointment. [Check] — the notification doesn't describe a separate medical examination or specific joining/probation process beyond the certificate verification and interview stages detailed above.

Important Links

Common Questions

What is the last date to apply for TNPSC CTSE Interview Posts 2026?

Online applications close on 6 October 2026 at 11:59 PM. A correction window follows from 10 to 12 October 2026.

How many vacancies are there, and which post has the most?

170 total across 31 posts. Veterinary Assistant Surgeon accounts for the largest single share, with 79 vacancies.

Can a diploma holder apply?

No post in this notification accepts a diploma alone as the essential qualification — every post requires at least a Bachelor's degree, and most require a Master's or a specific professional qualification (CA, ICWA, Company Secretary, etc.) on top of that.

Is there a refund if I withdraw a subject paper after paying?

No. The notification states fees already paid are not refunded even if a subject paper is later withdrawn.

Is the written exam computer-based?

Yes — it's explicitly conducted as a Computer Based Test (CBT), with Paper I and Paper II as described in the selection process section above.

Do all posts require prior work experience?

No — experience requirements are post-specific. Some posts (like Veterinary Assistant Surgeon and Senior Officer-Technical) don't specify an experience requirement, while others (like Unit Head-DGM Cadre) require up to 20 years of specific industry experience.

Is there a correction window if I make a mistake in my application?

Yes, from 10 October 2026 (12:01 AM) to 12 October 2026 (11:59 PM). No changes are permitted after this window closes.

Do I need to know Tamil for every post?

Most posts require at least SSLC-level Tamil knowledge or equivalent, and every candidate must clear Part A (Tamil Eligibility Test) of Paper I regardless of post, since scoring below 40% there means your other papers aren't evaluated at all.

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