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DRDO Technician-A and STA B Admit Card 2026 Out, Download Hall Ticket

Shipra Choudhary

Mar 20, 2026

Defence Research and Development Organisation has released DRDO Admit Card 2026 for the posts of Technician and Senior Technical Assistant - B (STA B) on March 20, 2026,  on their official website. Both posts, Technician-A and Senior Technical Assistant-B (STA B), will be conducted through the CEPTAM examination scheduled on March 23, 2026. DRDO Admit Card 2026 contains all the important information related to DRDO Exam 2026 for the posts of Technician-A and Senior Technical Assistant- B (STA B). 

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Download DRDO Recruitment CEPTAM 11 Admit Card (Link Active)

What is DRDO Recruitment 2026?

DRDO Recruitment is the process through which the Defence Research and Development Organisation hires qualified candidates for technical and scientific roles. It includes posts such as Scientist, Senior Technical Assistant, and Technician. Recruitment is conducted through examinations and interviews to support defence research, development, and technology advancement in India.

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Highlights

DRDO Recruitment Highlights for 2026 are given below-

Particulars Details
Exam Name DRDO Recruitment 2026
Conducting Body Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Vacancies
  • Technician-A - 203
  • STA B- 561
Mode of Application Online
Selection Process for Technician-A
  • CBT Tier 1 Exam
  • Trade Test
  • Document Verification
  • Final Merit List
Selection Process for STA B
  • CBT Tier 1 Exam
  • CBT Tier 2 Exam
  • Document Verification
  • Final Merit List
Official Website drdo.gov.in

DRDO Recruitment Exam Dates 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Exam Dates are listed below-

Events Dates
DRDO Official Notification 2026 December 11, 2025
DRDO Recruitment 2026 Application Window Opens December 11, 2025
DRDO Recruitment 2026 Application Window Closed January 11, 2026
Last Date to pay DRDO Recruitment 2026 Application Fee January 13, 2026
Correction window Dates for DRDO Recruitment 2026 January 14 - January 16, 2026 Upto 11:55 pm
DRDO Recruitment 2026 Admit Card Dates March 20, 2026
DRDO Recruitment 2026 Exam Dates March 23, 2026
DRDO Recruitment 2026 Result Date April 2026 (Tentative)

DRDO Recruitment Notification 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Notification was released on December 11, 2025, for the posts of Technician-A and STA B, on the official website of DRDO. The notification contains complete details regarding the Application process, Examination, Eligibility criteria, Educational Qualification, Number of vacancies, etc.

DRDO Recruitment Eligibility 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Eligibility introduced under Centre for Personnel Talent Management (CEPTAM-11), the official exam conducting unit of DRDO. Eligibility depends upon several factors like Educational Qualification, Age Limit, Age Relaxation, and Nationality. Candidates are required to meet all the eligibility criteria before applying.

DRDO Recruitment Educational Qualification 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Educational Qualifications for the posts of Technician-A and STA B are given below-

Post Name Required Educational Qualification
Technician-A (Tech-A)
  • Class 10 (Matriculation) from a recognised board
  • ITI certificate in the relevant trade from an NCVT/SCVT-recognised institute
Senior Technical Assistant-B (STA-B)
  • Diploma in Engineering / Technology in the relevant discipline OR
  • B.Sc. degree in a relevant subject from a recognised university

DRDO Recruitment Age Limit 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Age Limit allows a certain age group of candidates to apply for CEPTAM-11. The minimum age to apply for DRDO Recruitment 2026 is 18 years, and the maximum age is 28 years. However, Age Relaxation also applies to some cases, as listed below-

Category Technician-A Age Relaxation STA B Age Relaxation Upper Age Limit
General - - 28 years
SC/ST 5 years 5 years 33 years
OBL (NCL) 3 years 31 years 31 years
PwD + General Upto 10 years Upto 10 years 38 years
PwD + SC/ST Upto 15 years Upto 15 years 43 years
PwD + OBC (NCL) Upto 13 years Upto 13 years 41 years
Ex-servicemen Military Service Period + 3 years

Note: Age is to be counted as on January 1, 2026, as per DRDO norms.

DRDO Recruitment Nationality 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Nationality criteria allowed only Indian citizens to apply for the posts of Technician-A and STA B vacancies. Non-Indian individuals are not eligible or accepted in DRDO 2026 CEPTAM-11 Exam.

DRDO Recruitment Application 2026

DRDO Recruitment Application 2026 for Technician-A and STA B posts was started on December 11, 2025, and ended on January 11, 2026, on the official website of DRDO. The following are the steps to fill DRDO Recruitment Application 2026-

Step 1: Click on drdo.gov.in and register online.

Step 2: Log in with your credentials and fill application form.

Step 3: Enter your basic details, education qualifications, and upload supporting scanned documents and certificates.

Step 4: Pay the examination fee and review your application before final submission.

Step 5: Download and take a printout of your DRDO 2026 Application form for future reference.

DRDO Recruitment Fee 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Application Fee details are shown below-

Post Category Application Fee Non-Refundable (A) Refundable Fee (B) Total Application Fee to be Paid (A+B)
Technician-A General/ OBC/ EWS/ MSP 100 Rs. 500 Rs. 600 Rs.
SC/ ST/ PwD/ Women/ Ex-servicemen NIL 500 Rs. 500 Rs.
STA B General/ OBC/ EWS/ MSP 250 Rs. 500 Rs. 750 Rs.
SC/ ST/ PwD/ Women/ Ex-servicemen NIL 500 Rs. 500 Rs.

Note: DRDO Application Fee 2026 is only refundable to those candidates who will appear in Tier 1 Exam.

DRDO Recruitment Admit Card 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Admit Card will be released soon before the exam date, through the official website of DRDO. DRDO Recruitment Admit Card will contain all the required information regarding the candidate and the examination. Candidates can follow the steps below to download their Admit Card-

Step 1: Visit the official DRDO website and open the CEPTAM recruitment section, i.e, drdo.gov.in

Step 2: Click on the Admit Card / Hall Ticket link for Technician-A or STA-B.

Step 3: Log in using your registration number/email ID and password or date of birth. The admit card will appear on the screen.

Step 4: Check all details such as name, exam date, venue, and photograph.

Step 5: Download the admit card and take a clear printout for exam day use.

DRDO Recruitment Exam Pattern 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Exam Pattern for Technician-A and STA B posts will lay out an idea regarding the stages of the exam for both posts, including CBT test and Skill/ Tier 2 test. Details regarding the exam pattern are given below-

Post Exam Mode/ Type Questions Marks Duration
Technician-A Tier 1 CBT + Objective 150 150 2 Hours
Trade Test Skill Test - Qualifying -
STA B Tier 1 CBT + Objective 150 150 2 Hours
Tier 2 CBT + Objective 120 120 2 Hours

Note: All the objective-type tests have a negative marking of 0.25 marks in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 of Technician-A and STA B posts.

DRDO Recruitment Syllabus 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Syllabus for Technician-A and STA B posts will examine candidates' mental aptitude, reasoning ability, trade knowledge, general knowledge, etc. A detailed table is given below, post-wise, for important subjects and topics to be prepared for Tier 1 and Tier 2 exams-

  1. Technician-A (Tier 1 + Tier 2)
Section Topics
General Awareness Current national & international events, Indian history, geography, basic polity, Indian economy, DRDO & defence-related updates, sports, awards, science in daily life
General Intelligence & Reasoning Analogies, coding–decoding, series (number & alphabet), direction sense, blood relations, syllogism, classification, puzzles, Venn diagrams
Quantitative Aptitude Number system, simplification, percentages, ratio & proportion, averages, profit & loss, simple & compound interest, time & work, time & distance, data interpretation
English Language Vocabulary, synonyms & antonyms, one-word substitutions, sentence correction, error spotting, fill in the blanks, reading comprehension
Technical Subject (Trade-Specific) ITI-level syllabus of the applied trade such as Fitter, Electrician, Electronics, Machinist, Welder, Draughtsman, Mechanic, Turner, COPA, etc.
Basic Computer Knowledge Computer fundamentals, hardware & software basics, operating systems, MS Office, internet & email, basic networking concepts
  1. STA B Tier 1 (General Awareness and Aptitude)
Section Topics
GeneralAwareness Current affairs, Indian polity, geography, history, basic economics, science applications, defence & DRDO-related updates, awards and sports
GeneralIntelligence &Reasoning Logical reasoning, analogies, series, coding-decoding, direction sense, blood relations, classification, puzzles, Venn diagrams
QuantitativeAptitude Number system, arithmetic operations, percentages, ratio & proportion, averages, profit & loss, time & work, time & distance, basic algebra, data interpretation
EnglishLanguage Grammar usage, sentence improvement, error spotting, vocabulary, synonyms & antonyms, reading comprehension
ComputerKnowledge Fundamentals of computers, hardware & software basics, operating systems, MS Office tools, internet concepts, cybersecurity basics
  1. STA B Tier 2 (Technical / Subject-centred)
Discipline Topics
Engineering / Technical Subjects Core concepts of the relevant discipline (Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Civil, Computer Science, Instrumentation, etc.), applied engineering fundamentals, measurements, materials, and basic design principles
Science (B.Sc. Streams) Subject-specific topics such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Environmental Science, laboratory techniques, and basic experimental methods
Practical & Applied Knowledge Numerical problem solving, concept application, basic calculations, understanding of tools, instruments, and technical procedures related to the field

DRDO Recruitment Vacancies 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Vacancies have been released by DRDO in their official Notification, which was released on December 11, 2025. Candidates can check the table below for DRDO Recruitment Vacancies 2026-

Post Vacancies
Senior Technical Assistant-B (STA-B) 561
Technician-A (Tech-A) 203
Total Vacancies 764

Note: These vacancies are for all categories, including PwD.

DRDO Recruitment Selection Process 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Selection Process - CEPTAM-11 consists of two posts, i.e, Technician-A, and STA B. Check below for the detailed selection process-

For Technician-A-

  1. Tier-I Computer-Based Test (CBT)
  • Objective-type exam covering trade-related subjects, basic science, maths, and awareness.
  • Used to shortlist candidates for the next stage.
  1. Trade / Skill Test
  • Practical test to assess hands-on skills in the relevant trade.
  • Qualifying in nature (marks not added to merit).
  1. Document Verification
  • Verification of educational qualification, ITI certificate, age, and category.
  1. Final Selection
  • Based on CBT performance, subject to qualifying for the trade test and document verification.

For STA B-

1. Tier-I Computer-Based Test (CBT)

  • Objective exam on general awareness, reasoning, quantitative aptitude, and English.
  • Acts as a screening test only.

2. Tier-II Computer-Based Test (CBT)

  • Discipline-specific technical paper.
  • Marks of Tier-II decide the final merit.

3. Document Verification

  • Verification of diploma/B.Sc. qualification, age, and category certificates.

4. Final Selection

  • Prepared based on Tier-II CBT marks after successful document verification.

DRDO Recruitment Answer Key 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Answer Key will be released soon on the official website of DRDO. Candidates can check the steps below for DRDO Recruitment Answer Key 2026-

Step 1: Visit drdo.gov.in and click on CEPTAM / Recruitment section.

Step 2: Click on the link titled “Answer Key – Technician-A / STA-B”

Step 3: Log in using your registration number/email ID and password or date of birth.

Step 4: Download and save the answer key for reference.

Step 5: Match your responses with the official answers to estimate your score and raise objections (if allowed).

DRDO Recruitment Result 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Result will be released soon on the official website of DRDO. To download DRDO Recruitment 2026 Result, candidates can follow these steps-

Step 1: Visit drdo.gov.in and open the CEPTAM / Recruitment section.

Step 2: Click on the link labelled “Result – Technician-A / STA-B”

Step 3: Download the Result pdf and search for your Roll Number.

Step 4: Check your qualification status and marks (if mentioned).

Step 5: Download and save the result PDF for future reference.

DRDO Recruitment Cutoff 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Cutoff will be available for candidates after the release of DRDO Recruitment 2026 Result. Candidates can check below for some previous years' cutoffs for the post of Technician-A and STA B-

Technician-A Cutoff (2023) Tier 1
Category Cutoff
General/ EWS 60-65 %
OBC (NCL) 55-60 %
SC 50-55 %
ST 45-50 %
PwD (Unreserved) 45-50 %
PwD (OBC) 40-45 %
PwD (SC/ ST) 35-40 %

Technician-A cutoff usually depends upon the exact figures, which vary by trade/disciplines (e.g., Fitter, Electrician, Machinist)

Senior Technical Assistant B (2023) Tier 1 (in %)
Particulars General OBC SC ST
Mechanical Engineering 97.22 96.06 92.51 81.66
Chemical Engineering 89.97 86.51 83.19 53.43
Computer Science 96.76 93.28 86.72 85.66
Civil Engineering 99.46 98.56 96.08 90.39
Mathematics 99.85 99.73 - 97.69
Physics 99.79 99.60 98.54 96.30
Electrical Engineering 95.74 99.65 89.49 72.25
Electronics 98.80 97.88 98.8 89.71

DRDO Recruitment Salary 2026

DRDO Recruitment 2026 Salary for the posts of STA B and Technician-A are mentioned below in the given table-

Post Pay Level Basic Pay Range Approx. In-Hand / Gross Salary
Technician-A Level-2 ₹19,900 – ₹63,200 ~₹30,000 – ₹35,000/month (in-hand estimate)
Senior Technical Assistant B (STA B) Level-6 ₹35,400 – ₹1,12,400 ~₹48,000 – ₹60,000+/month (in-hand estimate)

Note: The given Pay levels were implemented as per 7 CPC Scale.

DRDO Recruitment Preparation Tips 2026

Preparation Tips for DRDO Technician-A -

  • Understand the trade-specific syllabus clearly and focus more on practical concepts.
  • Revise basic Mathematics and Science from Class 8 to 10 levels regularly.
  • Practice previous year papers to identify important topics and difficulty level.
  • Strengthen hands-on knowledge to confidently clear the Trade Test.
  • Attempt mock tests on Prepp.in to improve speed and accuracy.

Preparation Tips for DRDO STA B -

  • Divide preparation between general aptitude and technical subjects.
  • Focus on core concepts of your discipline rather than rote learning.
  • Improve reasoning and quantitative aptitude through daily practice.
  • Read current affairs for the general awareness section.
  • Revise regularly and analyse mock test performance to reduce mistakes.

DRDO closed its Applications on January 11, 2026, with a late fee till January 13, 2026. Eligible candidates must take 2 copies of their Admit Card and read the instructions on it carefully before arriving at the exam centre. Any discrepancies/ mistakes found at any stage of selection will lead to cancellation of candidature.

DRDO Recruitment FAQs 2026

Ques: Is there any age relaxation for women in DRDO Recruitment 2026?

Ans: Yes. Widows, divorced women, and women judicially separated (not remarried) applying for Technician-A posts are eligible for age relaxation up to 35 years (UR) and up to 40 years (SC/ST).

Ques: Does DRDO Recruitment 2026 offer any reservations under the Sports category?

Ans: Yes, DRDO Recruitment 2026 (CEPTAM-11) does provide reservation benefits under the Sports category through the Meritorious Sportsperson (MSP) quota. MSP is treated like a reservation category similar to SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PwBD for seat selection.

Ques: Is DRDO Recruitment Exam 2026 held annually?

Ans: DRDO may conduct CEPTAM regularly, but not on a fixed annual schedule; the exam is held as and when recruitment needs arise. It depends on organisational requirements and the number of vacancies available in a given cycle.

Ques: Can a final year Engineering student apply for DRDO Recruitment 2026 STA B?

Ans: No, a final-year engineering student cannot apply for the DRDO STA B post in the 2026 (CEPTAM-11) recruitment. For STA-B, the required qualification is either a Diploma in Engineering/Technology or a B.Sc. degree in the relevant discipline obtained from a recognised institute.

Ques: What will be the formats for uploading documents in DRDO Recruitment 2026?

Ans: Formats like JPG, JPEG, and pdf are accepted for uploading documents in DRDO Recruitment 2026.

Ques: Is there any Age Relaxation for Defence Personnel with disability in DRDO Recruitment 2026?

Ans: Yes, DRDO Recruitment 2026 (CEPTAM-11) does provide age relaxation for defence personnel with disability of 3 years to the unreserved category, and 8 years to SC/ ST categories. All age relaxations are subject to valid certificates and government norms.

Ques: Can already employed Ex-servicemen also avail the age relaxation in DRDO Recruitment 2026?

Ans: No. As per the norms, any Ex-servicemen already employed through age relaxation are not eligible to avail age relaxation in DRDO Recruitment 2026. Generally, relaxation can be avail only once by Ex-servicemen.

Ques: How many attempts are allowed for DRDO Recruitment 2026?

Ans: There is no restriction on the number of attempts for the DRDO Recruitment 2026 exam. A candidate who fulfils all other factors of the eligibility criteria can appear for the DRDO Recruitment 2026 exam as many times as he/she wants.

Ques: What is the medium for DRDO Recruitment 2026 Exam?

Ans: Candidates can appear for DRDO Recruitment 2026 in two languages- English and Hindi. Candidates, as per their convenience, can choose to attempt the question paper in any of the languages.

Ques: Is DRDO Recruitment 2026 Application Fee refundable?

Ans: Yes. DRDO Recruitment Fee is partially refundable. Candidates will receive their refundable fee amount only if they appear in Tier 1 of DRDO Recruitment 2026 CEPTAM-11 Exam for the post of Technician-A and STA B.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.
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