APPSC Group-I cheat sheet

Divisibility: 3 and 9 by digit sum; 4 by last two digits; 8 by last three digits; 11 by alternating digit sum difference.

Number of factors of N = p^a·q^b is (a+1)(b+1); sum of factors = (p^(a+1)−1)/(p−1) × (q^(b+1)−1)/(q−1).

Average of first n natural numbers = (n+1)/2; sum = n(n+1)/2; sum of squares = n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.

Clock: angle between hands = |30H − 5.5M| degrees; hands coincide 11 times in 12 hours.

Calendar: a normal year shifts the weekday by 1, a leap year by 2; 100 years shift by 5 odd days, 400 years by 0.

Simple interest = PRT/100; compound interest = P[(1+R/100)^T − 1]; for 2 years CI − SI = P(R/100)^2.

Blood relation and direction sense: draw a fixed reference diagram; net displacement uses Pythagoras when turns are at right angles.

Series completion rule order: check differences, then ratios, then alternating/prime/square patterns, then digit-sum patterns.

Indus Valley sites: Harappa (Ravi), Mohenjo-daro (Indus, Great Bath), Lothal (Gujarat, dockyard), Kalibangan (Rajasthan, ploughed field), Dholavira (Khadir Bet, signboard).

Mauryan administration: Arthashastra of Kautilya; Ashoka's dhamma edicts in Prakrit, Brahmi/Kharoshthi scripts; Rock Edict XIII records Kalinga war.

Satavahana dynasty (c. 1st century BCE–2nd century CE) ruled the Deccan from Pratishthana (Paithan); Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated Nahapana; matronymic names common.

Ikshvaku dynasty of Vijayapuri (Nagarjunakonda) patronised Buddhism in the 3rd–4th centuries CE; Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati are major stupa sites.

Amaravati school of sculpture (Satavahana period) is known for limestone reliefs on the Mahachaitya; it is grouped with Gandhara and Mathura schools.

Kakatiya dynasty (11th–14th centuries) built the Ramappa temple (UNESCO World Heritage, 2021) and the Thousand Pillar temple at Hanamkonda; capital Orugallu (Warangal).

Vijayanagara: founded 1336 by Harihara and Bukka; Krishnadevaraya (1509–29) wrote Amuktamalyada in Telugu; the empire fell after the Battle of Talikota (1565).

Telugu literary landmarks: Nannaya, Tikkana and Errana translated the Mahabharata; Srinatha and Pothana (Bhagavatam) belong to the later medieval period.

Constitution adopted 26 November 1949, came into force 26 January 1950; originally 395 Articles in 22 Parts and 8 Schedules; the Preamble was amended once, by the 42nd Amendment (1976), adding socialist, secular and integrity.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35) include the right to constitutional remedies (Art. 32), which Ambedkar called the heart and soul of the Constitution.

Directive Principles (Part IV, Articles 36–51) are non-justiciable; Article 39A provides free legal aid; Article 44 uniform civil code; Article 48A environment.

Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee (Article 51A, ten duties; the 11th added by the 86th Amendment).

President: elected indirectly by an electoral college; impeachment under Article 61 for violation of the Constitution; ordinance power under Article 123.

Emergency provisions: national emergency (Art. 352), State emergency/President's rule (Art. 356), financial emergency (Art. 360).

Social justice instruments: Articles 15(4), 16(4) and 46, the Mandal Commission (1980) report on OBC reservation, and the 103rd Amendment (10% EWS reservation).

India's key international groupings: BRICS, SCO, G20 (2023 presidency hosted at New Delhi), Quad, and the Non-Aligned Movement; Article 51 promotes international peace and security.

India: latitudinal extent 8°4′N–37°6′N, longitudinal 68°7′E–97°25′E; Tropic of Cancer (23°30′N) passes through eight states; standard meridian 82°30′E through Mirzapur.

Physiographic divisions: Himalayas, Northern Plains, Peninsular Plateau, Coastal Plains, Islands; the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiris.

Rivers: Ganga (longest in India), Godavari (longest peninsular river), Krishna, Kaveri; the Godavari rises at Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41′N–19°07′N and 76°46′E–84°46′E; the Krishna and Godavari deltas form the fertile coastal belt; the state has the second-longest coastline among Indian states.

AP's physiographic regions: coastal plains (Srikakulam to Nellore), Eastern Ghats (Nallamala, Palakonda, Horsley Hills), and the Rayalaseema plateau.

Soils: black cotton (regur) in the Deccan, red soils in AP uplands, alluvial in deltas, laterite on high-rainfall slopes; the Godavari–Krishna canal network irrigates the deltas.

Climate: tropical monsoon; the southwest monsoon (June–September) and northeast monsoon (October–December) bring most rain to coastal AP; the Coromandel coast depends on the retreating monsoon.

Mineral and crop pattern: AP leads in aquaculture and shrimp production; major crops are rice, cotton, chillies and tobacco; mica in Nellore, barytes in Mangampet (Kadapa).

Five-Year Plans ran from 1951 to 2017; the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015; the 12th Plan (2012–17) was the last.

GDP vs GNP: GNP = GDP + net factor income from abroad; NNP = GNP − depreciation; per capita income = national income / population.

Inflation measured by CPI (base 2012) and WPI (base 2011–12); repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends to banks; CRR and SLR are reserve requirements.

Poverty estimation historically by the Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees; the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) uses health, education and living-standard dimensions.

Green Revolution inputs: HYV seeds, irrigation, fertiliser and credit; MSP is announced by the CACP for major crops.

Andhra Pradesh economy: agriculture and allied activities (including aquaculture) and services dominate; the state is a leading producer of rice, chillies, mango and shrimp.

AP industrial corridors: Visakhapatnam–Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) under the East Coast Economic Corridor; Sri City and Brandix are major SEZs.

AP welfare/development schemes: YSR Rythu Bharosa (farmer support), Amma Vodi (education support), and the Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari.

Newton's laws: F = ma; action–reaction pairs act on different bodies; momentum p = mv is conserved in the absence of external force.

Work–energy: kinetic energy = ½mv²; potential energy = mgh; power = work/time; the SI unit of energy is the joule.

Ohm's law V = IR; resistors in series add, in parallel 1/R = Σ1/Rᵢ; electrical power P = VI = I²R.

Optics: mirror formula 1/f = 1/v + 1/u; lens formula 1/f = 1/v − 1/u; power of a lens in dioptres = 1/f (metres).

Cell biology: mitochondria are the powerhouse; ribosomes synthesise protein; chloroplasts carry out photosynthesis; DNA replication is semi-conservative.

ISRO milestones: Chandrayaan-1 (2008) discovered water molecules on the Moon; Mangalyaan (2013) made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit; Chandrayaan-3 landed near the lunar south pole in 2023.

Biotechnology: recombinant DNA uses restriction enzymes and plasmids; PCR amplifies DNA; CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing tool.

Emerging tech: AI, blockchain (distributed ledger), quantum computing (qubits), and 5G use cases in telemedicine and precision agriculture.

Census 2011: population 1.21 billion; sex ratio 943 females per 1000 males; literacy 74.04% (male 82.14%, female 65.46%); decadal growth 17.7%.

Social stratification in India: varna and jati, class, gender and tribe; Sanskritisation (M. N. Srinivas) and dominant caste are key concepts.

Family types: nuclear vs joint; patrilineal vs matrilineal (e.g., Nayar and Khasi); urbanisation drives nuclearisation.

Social problems: caste discrimination, dowry, child marriage, female foeticide; legal responses include the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961) and PCPNDT Act (1994).

Public policy cycle: agenda setting → formulation → adoption → implementation → monitoring and evaluation.

Key social legislation: MGNREGA (2005, 100 days' guaranteed wage employment per rural household), Right to Education Act (2009, ages 6–14), NFSA (2013).

SDGs: 17 goals adopted by the UN in 2015 with a 2030 target; India's NITI Aayog monitors SDG progress through a national index.

Andhra Pradesh social indicators: high female literacy relative to the national average; SHG-based poverty reduction (Indira Kranthi Patham/VELUGU) is a widely cited model.

Ecological pyramid types: number, biomass and energy; the energy pyramid is always upright; only about 10% of energy transfers between trophic levels.

Biodiversity hotspots in India: Western Ghats, Himalaya, Indo-Burma and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands); the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka form one hotspot.

Pollution indicators: BOD measures organic load in water (higher BOD = more pollution); PM2.5 and PM10 are particulate pollutants; the AQI runs from 0 to 500.

Climate conventions: UNFCCC (1992), Kyoto Protocol (1997), Paris Agreement (2015, aim to limit warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C).

Disaster types: natural (cyclone, flood, drought, earthquake) and man-made; India's NDMA was constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Cyclone naming and warning: the IMD issues colour-coded alerts (green, yellow, orange, red); the Bay of Bengal coast, including AP, is highly cyclone-prone.

Disaster management cycle: mitigation → preparedness → response → recovery; Sendai Framework (2015–30) sets four priorities for disaster risk reduction.

Contemporary issues: air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, groundwater depletion, plastic waste rules (EPR), and the shift to renewable energy (National Solar Mission).

Values vs ethics: values are personal beliefs about what is desirable; ethics are the codified principles governing conduct in a role.

Integrity means consistency between professed values and actual behaviour, including honesty when no one is watching.

Kohlberg's stages of moral development: pre-conventional (obedience, self-interest), conventional (social approval, law and order), post-conventional (social contract, universal principles).

Gandhian ethics: truth (satya) and non-violence (ahimsa); the seven social sins include 'commerce without morality' and 'politics without principles'.

Conflict of interest arises when a public servant's private interest could improperly influence official decisions; the remedy is disclosure and recusal.

Probity in governance: transparency, accountability, rule of law and avoidance of corruption; the RTI Act (2005) and Lokpal (2013) are institutional safeguards.

Emotional intelligence components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Ethical decision tests: the public-interest test, the legality test, the transparency test (would you disclose it?) and the reversibility test.