Important Dates:
| Dates for submission of online applications | 05.06.2026 to 26.06.2026 |
| Last date and time for receipt of online applications | 26.06.2026(2300) hours) |
| Schedule of Computer Based Examination | Jul-Aug-2026 |
No. 4/1/2026-CONF-5: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will hold a Limited Departmental
Competitive Examination tentatively in the month of Jul-Aug, 2026 in Delhi NCR only for making
additions to the Select List of Senior Secretariat Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk Grade [Pay Level-4
Group ‘C’ Non-Gazetted (Rs. 25,500- Rs. 81100)] of the following Services/ Cadres (Subject to the
availability of vacancies): –
| Sl. No. | Name of Service/Cadre/Organization |
| 1. | Central Passport Organisation, Ministry of External Affairs |
| 2. | Armed Forces Headquarters Clerical Service |
| 3. | Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service, Ministry of Railways |
| 4. | Central Administrative Tribunal |
| 5. | Central Vigilance Commission |
| 6. | Election Commission of India |
| 7. | Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
| 8. | National Technical Research Organisation |
| 9. | Directorate General, Defence Estates |
| 10. | Office of Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises |
Vacancies for SSC:
Details of tentative vacancies for SSC recruitment year 2025 in respect of above
mentioned Services/ Cadres, as reported by their respective Service/ Cadre Controlling Authorities
(CCAs), are as under:
| Sr. No. | Name of Service/Cadre | UR | SC | ST | Total | PwBD |
| 1. | Central passport Organisation, Ministry of External Affairs | 46 | 19 | 11 | 76 | 04 |
| 2. | Armed Forces Headquarters Clerical Service | 31 | 07 | 04 | 42 | 03 (VH, HH & OH) |
| 3. | Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service | 13 | 04 | 02 | 19 | 03 PH (2B/LV, 01 D/HH) [For 1 B/LV &1 D/HH, if respective category is not available, it can be exchanged with any other available PwBD category] |
| 4. | Central Administrative Tribunal | 15 | 06 | 03 | 24 | 02 (01-OH, 01-VH) |
| 5. | Central Vigilance Commission | 05 | 01 | – | 06 | 01 (any category) |
| 6. | Election Commission of India | 09 | 02 | 01 | 12 | 01 (UR-OH) |
| 7. | Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | 03 | 01 | – | 04 | – |
| 8. | National Technical Research Organisation | 07 | 01 | – | 08 | – |
| 9. | Directorate General, Defence Estates | 07 | 01 | – | 08 | – |
| 10. | Office of Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises | 22 | 02 | 04 | 28 | 01 (VH) |
3. Place(s), Centre(s), Date and Time of examination are liable to be changed at the discretion of the
Commission. The Commission may allot a different Centre to a candidate if circumstances so warrant.
Changes of schedule of the examination, if any, would be uploaded on the website of SSC-HQ
(https://ssc.gov.in) / SSC-NR (https://sscnr.nic.in).
Note-I: – Candidates should note that no request for change of Centre will be entertained
under any circumstances.
Note-II: -If any candidate appears at a Centre other than the one indicated by the
Commission in the admission certificate, the papers of such a candidate will not be
evaluated and his/her candidature will be liable to be cancelled.
4. Reservation of posts for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Benchmark
Disability (PwBD) candidates will be as per the vacancy position in respective categories reported by
the Service/ Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCA).
- All candidates who wish to apply in response to this Notice and have not generated their One Time
Registration (OTR) on the new website (https://ssc.gov.in) will be required to do so as the earlier OTR
generated on the old website (https://ssc.nic.in) will not be functional for the new website.
Subsequent to OTR, the candidates can proceed to fill the application for the examination. Once an
OTR has been generated on the new website, it will continue to remain valid for all the examinations
to be applied for on the new website.
- Candidates seeking admission to the examination must apply online on the website of Staff
Selection Commission; i.e. https://ssc.gov.in. The process of filling online Application Form for the
examination consists of two parts:
i. One Time Registration
ii. Filling of online Application for the Examination. - Candidates should submit only one application form in response to this Notice. Submission of
multiple applications may lead to rejection of the candidature. - The candidates are advised to opt for Aadhaar-Based Authentication, in terms of the Aadhaar Policy
as published on the website of the Commission, while completing their OTR process.
- After completion of online Application Form, the printed copy of the same accompanied with
necessary documents, complete in all respects, in accordance with the “Instructions to Candidates‟
(Annexure-I) should be duly forwarded by their respective Service/ Cadre Controlling Authority to
“The Regional Director, Staff Selection Commission (Northern Region), Block No.12, C.G.O.
Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003” so as to reach by 03.07.2026 (1800hrs). - The candidates residing abroad, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep should note
that the printed copy of the online application form accompanied with necessary documents, complete
in all respects, in accordance with the ”Instructions to Candidates‟ (Annexure-I) should be duly
forwarded by their respective Service/ Cadre Controlling Authority to “The Regional Director, Staff
Selection Commission (Northern Region), Block No.12, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road, New
Delhi-110003” so as to reach by 10.07.2026 (1800hrs).
NOTE-I: -Only those candidates whose application is forwarded by their Head of Department/ Head of
Office will be considered for admission to this Examination. They should further note that the
Commission will in no case be responsible for non- receipt of their application or any delay in receipt
thereof on any account whatsoever. No application, received after the prescribed last date and time
for receipt of the application in the Commission through proper channel, will be entertained under any
circumstances. Application(s) received after closing date and time will be summarily rejected.
Candidates, in their own interest, are advised to ensure that their applications duly verified and
endorsed by the Competent Authority, are forwarded by their Head of Department or Head of Office in
a manner that their applications reach well before the prescribed last date and time.
NOTE-II: – Head of Department/ Head of Office of the Applicants must forward the application forms,
complete in all respects, in a manner so as to reach by the prescribed date and time to the aforesaid
Regional Office of the Staff Selection Commission.
NOTE-III: -While forwarding the application(s) of the candidate(s), the concerned authorities
should ensure that the parent Service/ Cadre of the candidate(s) applying for the
examination is one of the participating Service(s)/ Cadre(s) and the candidate is fulfilling
the eligibility condition for appearing in this examination
(i) Name and year of examination
(ii) Name of candidate (in full and in block letters)
(iii) Name of father/ husband of candidate
(iv) Roll number or date of birth (if roll number not received by the candidate)
(v) Postal address as given in application.
Communications, without above details as in Para 11, will not be entertained. In all
correspondence with the Staff Selection Commission related to this examination, candidates should
invariably super scribe their envelope and correspondence with the words and figures, “Senior
Secretariat Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk Grade Limited Departmental Competitive
Examination, 2025”.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all the eligibility
conditions for admission to the Examination. Their admission at all the stages of examination for
which they are admitted by the Commission viz., Computer Based Examination, Written Examination
and Evaluation of Service Records will be purely provisional, subject to their satisfying the prescribed
eligibility conditions. If on verification, at any time before or after the Computer Based Examination,
Written Examination and Evaluation of Service Records, it is found that they do not fulfill any of the
eligibility conditions, their candidature for the examination will be cancelled by the Commission.
2. Before filling the Online Application Form, the candidates must carefully go through the
Notice of the examination to ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for the post applied. The
eligibility conditions prescribed in the Notice shall not be relaxed under any circumstances. Further,
the candidates must go through the instructions to the candidates for filling up online application
form as per Annexure-IV (One-Time Registration) and Annexure-V (Online Application
Form).
3. All the candidates who wish to apply in response to this Notice and have not generated their
One Time Registration (OTR) on the new website (https://ssc.gov.in) will be required to do so as the
earlier OTR generated on the website (https://ssc.nic.in) will not be functional for the new website.
Subsequent to OTR, the candidates can proceed to fill the application for the examination. Once an
OTR has been generated on the new website (https://ssc.gov.in), it will continue to remain valid for
all the examinations to be applied for on the new website. The detailed instructions for OTR are given
in Annexure-IV to this Notice.
4. The Application Form must be submitted only in online mode, on the website of SSC (HQ)
(https://ssc.gov.in). For detailed instructions, please refer to Annexure-IV and Annexure-V of this
Notice. Sample proforma of One-time Registration and Online Application Form are attached as
Annexure-IVA and Annexure-VA.
5. The candidates are advised to opt for Aadhaar-Based Authentication, in terms of the Aadhaar
Policy as published on the website of the Commission, while completing their OTR process.
6. For applying, the candidate is not required to have a pre-existing photograph of himself/
herself. The application module has been designed to capture a photograph of the candidate filling up
the application form. For this purpose, the candidate has to stand/ sit before the camera of the
computer/ mobile phone when prompted by the application module and follow the following
instructions while capturing live photograph:
a. Find a place with good light and plain background.
b. Ensure the camera is at eye level before taking the photo.
c. Position himself directly in front of the camera and look straight ahead.
d. Ensure that his face is fully inside the red rectangular area delineated by the
camera and that it is neither too close nor too far. It should cover the area fully and
no part of the face should be outside the rectangle.
e. Candidates should not wear a cap, mask or glasses/ spectacles while capturing the
photo.
7. The candidate should ensure that the photograph captured is clear, without a cap or
spectacles, and has a full-frontal view. The Online Application Forms with photographs not in
accordance with the instructions are liable to be rejected. In no case should the candidate capture
the photograph of his/her pre-existing photograph. All such Online Application Forms where the
photograph of his/her pre-existing photograph is captured will be rejected summarily.
8. Instances of people trying to impersonate candidates during the examinations have
been observed. Thus, there should not be any change in appearance of the candidate
during the examination vis-à-vis the photograph submitted with the application form.
Examination venue staff has been authorized not to allow any suspicious candidates to
take the examination. The candidates are, therefore, advised in their own interest to
ensure that their appearance during the day of the examination is as per the photograph in
the application form.
9. Candidates should also ensure that the signatures appended by them in all the places, viz., in
their online application form, in the Attendance Sheet and Commission Copy in the examination hall
and in all the correspondence with the Commission should be identical and there should be no
variation of any kind in the signatures appended. If any variation is found in the signatures, his
candidature will be liable to be cancelled by the Commission.
10. Candidates are required to upload the scanned signature in JPEG format (10 to 20 KB). The
image dimension of the signature should be about 6.0 cm (width) x 2.0 cm (height). Online
Application Forms with inappropriate photographs or blurred/ miniature signatures, not meeting the
prescribed requirement, will be rejected summarily.
11. Candidate must upload the following documents with the application:
i. Certified true copy of the first page of the Service Book duly attested by the Head of
Department or Head of Office in which the candidate is employed at the time of making the
application showing the particulars of the Government Servant viz., Name of the candidate in
full, his Father’s Name, Husband’s Name in case of a married woman Government Servant,
Nationality, Name of the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe in case of candidates belonging to
such caste or tribe, date of birth in the Christian Era (both in figures and words),
ii. Certified true copy of the particulars of service attested by the Head of Department or Head
of Office in which he is working at the time of making the application showing the posts held
along-with scale of pay and the capacity i.e. substantive, officiating, permanent or temporary
in which the post is held.
iii. Copy of certificate of essential educational qualification, if applicable.
iv. Form of certificate for disabled Defence Personnel while in service, wherever applicable.
v. Certificate of disability in case of PwBD candidates
Note- The Staff Selection Commission may, if it considers necessary, call for the Service Book or
other documentary evidence.
- Candidates are warned that if the online application form is either incomplete or wrongly filled
in or without requisite documents mentioned under Para 11 above, the application is liable to be
rejected and no appeal against rejection will be entertained.
13. Last date and time for submission of online applications is 26.06.2026 (2300
hours).
- Candidates are advised in their own interest to submit online applications much before the
closing date and not to wait till the last date to avoid the possibility of disconnection/ inability or
failure to login to the SSC website on account of heavy load on the website during the closing days.
The Commission will not be responsible for the candidates not being able to submit their applications
within the last date on account of the aforesaid reasons or for any other reason beyond the control of
the Commission.
15. Candidates should further note that no change in the entries made in the online application
form shall be allowed by the Commission at any stage under any circumstances.
- Before submission of the online application, candidates must check through Preview/ Print
option that they have filled correct details in each field of the application form. They should also
check that photograph and signature are meeting all the above requirements. Candidates are advised
to keep a copy of the application. - Candidates are warned that they should not furnish any false/ incorrect/ misleading
information or suppress any material information while filling the online application form. - The Commission will not undertake detailed scrutiny of online applications for the eligibility
and other aspects at the time of examination and, therefore, candidature will be accepted only
provisionally. The candidates are advised to go through the requirements of eligibility criteria and
satisfy themselves that they are eligible for the post(s). - All candidates who register and apply in response to the Notice of this Examination by the
stipulated date and time and whose applications are provisionally accepted by the Commission as per
the terms and conditions of this Notice of Examination will be assigned Roll numbers and issued
Admission Certificate (AC) for appearing in the Computer Based Examination. - Admission Certificate for the Computer Based Examination will be issued online by uploading
on the website of the Northern Regional Office of the Commission. Admission Certificate will not be
issued by post for any stage of examination. Candidates are therefore advised to regularly visit the
website of the Northern Regional Office of the Commission for any updates and information about the
examination. - The candidate must note that the Examination shall be conducted by the Staff Selection
Commission in Delhi-NCR only. Information about the Examination indicating the time table and
City/ Centre of examination for the candidates will be uploaded on the website of the Northern
Regional Office of the Commission i.e. https://sscnr.nic.in about 10 days before the date of
examination. If any candidate does not find his/ her details on the website of Northern Regional
Office of the Commission, one week before the date of examination, he/ she must immediately
contact the Northern Regional Office of the Commission with proof of having submitted his/ her
application failing which he/ she will deprive himself/ herself of any claim for consideration of
candidature for the examination. Facility for downloading of Admission Certificates will be available 3-
4 days before the examination on the website of SSC (Northern Region).
Note: -Candidates may note that there will be no centre at any Indian mission abroad. A candidate
serving at an Indian mission abroad will have to appear for this examination in India at his/ her own
expense. - The Commission reserves the right to cancel any Centre and ask the candidates of that
Centre to appear at another centre. The Commission also reserves the right to divert candidates of
any Centre to some other Centre to take the examination. - Candidates admitted to the examination will be required to produce their Departmental
Identity Card (Original) issued by the employer of the Government Servant along with hard copy of
Admission Certificate for appearing in the Examination. Candidates are not entitled to receive any
Travelling Allowance from Staff Selection Commission for attending the examination. - Those candidates, who have not undergone Aadhaar Based Authentication during OTR, will be
required to report at the examination Center early and are mandatorily required to carry at least two
passport size recent colour photographs, Original valid Photo-ID proof having the Date of Birth as
printed on the Admission Certificate failing which they will not be allowed entry, such as:
- 24.1 Voter’s ID Card,
- 24.2 Driving License,
- 24.3 PAN Card,
- 24.4 Passport,
- 24.5 ID Card issued by University/ College/ School,
- 24.6 Employer ID Card (Govt./ PSU),
- 24.7 Ex-Serviceman Discharge Book issued by Ministry of Defence,
- 24.8 Any other photo bearing ID Card issued by the Central/ State Government.
- If Photo Identity Card does not have the date of birth printed on it then the candidate must
carry an additional original document (e.g. Matriculation Certificate, Marks Sheet issued only by
CBSE/ ICSE/ State Boards; Birth Certificate, Category Certificate) in proof of their date of birth. In
case of mismatch in the date of birth mentioned in the Admission Certificate and photo ID/ Certificate
brought in support of date of birth, the candidate will not be allowed to appear in the examination.
However, the above condition is not applicable for Aadhaar authenticated candidates. - PwBD/ PwD candidates availing the facility of scribe/ Technology/ Assistive Devices as per
Para 36 (a), 36(b), 36(c) shall also be required to carry requisite Medical Certificate/ Undertaking/
Photocopy of the Scribe’s Photo ID Proof, as specified therein. Candidates without Medical Certificate
will not be allowed to appear in the examination. - Any other document mentioned in the Admission Certificate shall also be carried by the
candidates while appearing in the Examination. - Staff Selection Commission recruits personnel as per the vacancies reported by the User
Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations. The Commission has no role in determination of total
vacancies (Vertical & Horizontal) arising in a User Ministry/ Department/ Organization, backlog
vacancies, segregation of vacancies under various reserved categories and vacancies reported to be
filled up.
29. RULES FOR THE EXAMINATION: –
The Rules for the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for inclusion in the Select
List for Senior Secretariat Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk of the Department/ Cadre mentioned at
Para 1 of the Notice, to be held by the Staff Selection Commission for the year 2025 are published for
general information.
30. CRUCIAL DATE AND CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY: –
| Name of the Service/Cadre | Crucial date for Counting of approved service | Conditions of Eligibility |
| Central Passport Organisation, Ministry of External Affairs | 1st day of July, 2025 (01.07.2025) | Junior Passport Assistant with 6 years’ service in the grade rendered after appointment thereto on regular basis and possessing a Bachelor’s degree of a recognized university or its equivalent. |
| Armed Forces Headquarters Clerical Service | 1st day of July, 2025 (01.07.2025) | On the crucial date, must have rendered not less than fiveyears approved continuous service in the JSA Grade Provided that if a candidate had been appointed tothe JSA Grade on the result of Competitive Examination, including a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, the results of such examination should have been announced not less than five years before the crucial date and he should have rendered not less than four years’ approved continuous service in that trade on the crucial date. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
| Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service | 1st day of August, 2025 (01.08.2025) | (1) Any permanent or regularly appointed temporary Lower Division Clerk/ Junior Secretariat Assistant of the Service, who, satisfies the following conditions shall be eligible to appear at the examination:- (A) Length of Service:-He should have, on the crucial date, rendered not less than five years’ approved and continuous service in the Lower Division Grade of the service. Provided that any period of his absence of Military duties may be allowed to be counted towards the prescribed length of service in the Lower Division Grade. Provided further that if he had been appointed to the Lower Division Grade of the Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service on the results of the Competitive Examination, including a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, the results of such examination should have been announced not less than five years before the crucial date and he should have rendered not less than four years’ approved and continuous service in that Grade. Note: -Lower Division clerks who are on deputation to excadre posts with the approval of the competent authority will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. Provided that it shall not apply to Lower Division clerk who has been appointed to an ex-cadre post or to other service on “transfer” and does not have a lien in the Lower Division Grade of the Service. (b) Typewriting Test: -Unless exempted from passing the typewriting test held by the Union Public Service Commission or Secretariat Training School for the purpose of confirmation, in the lower division grade, he should have passed this test on or before the date of notification of the examination. (c) Age: He should not be more than 50 years of age on the crucial date.Provided that the Upper age limit may be relaxed in respect of such categories of persons as may be notified from time to time in this behalf by the Central Government, to the extent and subject to the conditions notified in respect of each category. NOTE: Special provision regarding eligibility of Lower Division Clerks joining military service on account of the emergency: Protection shall be afforded to Lower Division Clerks, who because of their having joined (or been called up for) military service during the emergency, cannot appear in the examination, in the manner prescribed from time to time by the Central Government in the Ministry of Railways in this behalf. |
| Central Administrative Tribunal | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Eligibility service for the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination shall be five years regular service in the Lower Division Clerk Grade. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
| Central Vigilance Commission | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Junior Secretariat Assistant who has rendered five years of regular service in the level in pay Matrix. |
| Election Commission of India | 1st day of July, 2025 (01.07.2025) | Junior Secretariat Assistant/Lower Division Clerk who has completed a minimum of three years regular service in the grade is eligible for Limited Departmental Competitive Examination. Provide that if he/she had been appointed to the grade of JSA of the ECI Secretariat service on the result of the competitive examination including limited departmental competitive examination, the result of such examinations should have been announced not less than three years before the crucial date and the candidate should have rendered not less than 2 years approved and continuous service in the Grade. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
| Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Lower Division Clerk having five years of regular service in the grade in Forest Survey of India. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
| National Technical Research Organisation | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Junior Secretariat Assistant/ Lower Division Clerk of NTRO having five years of regular service in the grade. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
| Directorate General, Defence Estates | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Hindi Typist who has rendered five years regular service. Age: He should not |
| Office of Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises | 1st day of January, 2025 (01.01.2025) | Lower Division Clerk of MSME–DO in the Level-2 as per 7th CPC with five years of regular service in the Grade. Note: -Junior Secretariat Assistant who are on deputation to ex-cadre posts with the approval of the competent authority, and those having lien in JSA grade of the Service will be eligible to be admitted to the examination, if otherwise eligible. |
Age: –
Some of cadres/ Cadre Controlling Authorities have prescribed age criteria for
appearing in this examination, as specified in the table above. Candidate should not be more than the
age prescribed by their respective cadre/ Cadre Controlling Authority as on the crucial date for their
cadre. Permissible relaxation in upper age limit is as follows:
| Code | Category | Age-relaxation permissible beyond the upper age limit |
| 01 | SC/ST | 05 Years |
| 08 | Defence Personnel disabled in operation during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence there of | 03 Years |
| 09 | Defence Personnel disabled in operation during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence there of (SC/ST). | 08 Years |
For the purposes of claiming the age concessions, a certificate from the Director General,
Resettlement, Ministry of Defence will be accepted as documentary evidence in support of the claim of
Disabled Defence Service Personnel (Annexure-IX).
- Reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Persons with Benchmark
Disabilities (PwBD), wherever applicable and admissible, would be as determined and communicated
by the respective Service/ Cadre Controlling Authority, as per extant Government Orders. - If sufficient number of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or PwBD candidates with
Benchmark Disabilities are not available on the basis of prescribed standard to fill all the vacancies
(in case of promotion through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination/ Departmental
Examination, etc.) reserved for them, candidates belonging to these categories may be selected on
relaxed standard. The same relaxed standard should be applied for all the PwBD candidates with
Benchmark Disabilities, irrespective of whether they belong to the Unreserved/ SC/ ST category. No
further relaxation of standards will be considered or admissible in favour of any candidate from any
category whatsoever.
The candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or Persons with
Benchmark Disability who have been recommended by the Commission without resorting to the
relaxed standard referred to above, shall not be adjusted against the vacancies reserved for the
Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes/ PwBD.
A candidate who after applying for admission to the examination or after appearing at it,
resigns his/ her appointment or otherwise quits the Service or severs his/ her connection with it or
whose services are terminated by his/ her Department or who is appointed to an ex-cadre post or to
another Service on ‘transfer’ and does not have a lien in the Junior Secretariat Assistant/ Lower
Division Clerk Grade will not be eligible for appointment on the result of this examination to their
respective Services/ Cadres. This, however, does not apply to a person who has been appointed on
deputation to an ex-cadre post with the approval of the competent authority.
Provision of Compensatory Time and Assistance of Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices:
a. In case of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the category of Blindness and Cerebral Palsy,
the assistance of scribe/ Technology / Assistive devices will be provided, subject to such
requests being made to the Commission while filling up the online application form, uploading of
requisite Disability certificate (Annexure-VII/ Annexure-VIII of Notice) while filling up the
Application form and subject to the posts being identified suitable for these categories of
disability.
b. In case of remaining categories of persons with benchmark disabilities, the assistance of scribe/
Technology / Assistive devices will be provided on production of a certificate to the effect that
the person concerned has physical limitation to write, and assistance of scribe / Technology /
Assistive devices is essential to write examination on his/ her behalf, from the Chief Medical
Officer/ Civil Surgeon/ Medical Superintendent of a Government health care institution as per
proforma at Annexure-II. Also, the requisite certificate (Annexure-II/ Disability
Certificate as per Annexure-VII/ Annexure-VIII) is required to be uploaded while
filling up the Application form. The genuineness of PwBD certificate may be verified by the
Commission in respect of Annexure-II/ Disability Certificate submitted by the candidates at
any period of time.
c. The assistance of scribe / Technology / Assistive devices will also be provided to PwD candidates
having disability less than 40% and having difficulty in writing in pursuance to OM No. 29-
6/2019-DD-III dated 10.08.2022 issued by Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The facility will be provided on
production of certificate as per Annexure-III. Also, the requisite certificate (AnnexureIII/Disability Certificates per Annexure-VII/ Annexure-VIII) is required to be
uploaded while filling up the Application form. The genuineness of PwD certificate may be
verified by the Commission in respect of Annexure-III/ Disability Certificate submitted by
the candidates at any period of time.
d. The assistance of Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices will be provided to the PwBD/ PwD
candidates only if he/ she has opted for the same in the online application form.
e. A compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of examination will be provided to the persons who are eligible for the assistance of Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices as per para 36 (a), 36 (b) & 36(c) above.
f. The candidates referred to at para 36 (a), 36 (b) & 36(c) above who are eligible for getting
Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices but not availing the facility will also be given
compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of examination.
g. The PwBD / PwD candidates who have availed the Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices and or
compensatory time must produce relevant documents for the eligibility of the assistance of
Scribe / Technology / Assistive devices compensatory time. Failure to produce such supporting
documents will lead to cancellation of their candidature for the examination.
- Scheme of Examination: The examination shall be conducted according to the following plan
and syllabus:
PART-I: COMPUTER BASED & WRITTEN EXAMINATION (300 MARKS)
| Subject | Paper No. | No. of Questions | Maximum marks | Time Duration |
| (a) General Awareness (b) English Language and Comprehension | 1 | (a) 100 (b) 100 | 200 | 2 hours (2 hour 40 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe*) |
| (c) Noting, Drafting & Office Procedure (Conventional type) | 2 | – | 100 | 2 hours (2 hours 40 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe*) |
*As per para 36 (a), 36 (b) & 36(c) above.
i. Part-I consists of two papers; viz., Paper-I-Computer Based Examination (200 marks) and
Paper-II- Written Examination (100 marks). Questions in Paper-I will be of Objective Type
Multiple Choice only whereas Paper-II will be of descriptive type. There will be negative
marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Computer Based Examination i.e. Paper-I.
ii. The candidates have to attempt the examination in the language (English/ Hindi) as opted in
the online Application Form. There will be no Question Paper in Braille for Visually
Handicapped candidates.
iii. Tentative Answer Keys of Computer Based Examination will be placed on the website of the
Commission after the Examination. Candidates may go through the Answer Keys and submit
online representations, if any, within the time limit given by the Commission, on payment of
Rs. 50/- per question which is non-refundable. Representations on the matter received
through any other modality i.e., letter, application, email, etc. will not be entertained.
Representation regarding the Answer Keys will be scrutinized before finalizing the Answer
Keys and the decision of the Commission in this regard will be final. Final answer keys of
Computer Based Examination will be published after declaration of the result.
iv. Detailed guidelines regarding challenge/ objection/ representation management system have
been published on the website of the Commission vide Notice dated 10.04.2026. Candidates
may go through the same as challenge/ objection/ representation management will be
handled according to these guidelines.
v. There shall be no provision for re-evaluation/ re-checking of scores of any stage/ paper(s) of
the Examination. No correspondence in this regard shall be entertained.
vi. The schedule of examination indicated in the Notice is tentative. Any change in the schedule
of examination will be informed to candidates only through the website of the Commission.
PART-II EVALUATION OF RECORD OF SERVICE (100 Marks):
i. 100 marks are earmarked for evaluation of record of service (APARs). Marks obtained in PartII would be added for ascertaining the rank of the candidate.
ii. Once the APARs have been evaluated, no request for change in APAR grading, etc. at a
subsequent date will be entertained by the Commission under any circumstances.
- Syllabus and Standards of the Examination: Syllabus of the examination shall be as
follows:-
Paper-I
(a) General Awareness: Questions will be aimed at testing the candidates General
Awareness of the environment around him and its application to society. Questions will also be
designed to test knowledge of current events and of such matters of every day observations
and experience in their scientific aspect as may be expected of any educated person. The test
will also include questions relating to India and its neighboring countries, especially pertaining
to History, Culture, Geography, Economics, Science, General Politics and Scientific research.
(b) English Language and Comprehension: Questions will be designed to test the
candidates understanding and knowledge of English language, Vocabulary, spelling, grammar,
sentence structure, synonyms, antonyms, sentence completion, phrases and idiomatic use of
words, etc. There will be questions on comprehension of a passage also. The questions will be
of matriculation level.
Paper-II
Noting Drafting and Office Procedure: The paper on Noting, Drafting and Office Procedure
will be designed to test the candidates knowledge of office procedure in the Secretariat and
Attached Offices and, in general, their ability to write and understand notes and drafts.
Candidates are required to study the Manual of Office Procedure / Manual of Office Procedure
issued by Ministry of Railways, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Hand Book of orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs
regarding use of Hindi for official purpose of the Union and Reservation Policy for SC/STs in
services, and orders issued by Government thereon from time to time.
39. Mode of Selection
i. The Commission in their discretion may fix minimum qualifying marks individually for Paper-I
(i.e. CBE) and Paper-II (i.e. Descriptive Paper) of Part-I.
ii. Based on the performance in Paper-I (i.e. CBE) of Part-I, candidates will be shortlisted for
evaluation of Paper-II (i.e. Descriptive Paper) of Part-I. The candidates who are not qualified in
Paper-I (i.e. CBE) of Part-I will not be eligible for evaluation of Paper-II (i.e. Descriptive Paper)
of Part-I and they will not be considered for further selection process.
iii. Based on the aggregate performance in Paper-I and Paper-II of Part-I, candidates will be
shortlisted for evaluation of record of service i.e. Part-II. The candidates who are not qualified
in Paper-I + Paper-II of Part-I will not be eligible for evaluation of record of service i.e. Part-II
and they will not be considered for further selection process.
iv. Final selection will be made on the basis of the aggregate performance of candidates in Paper-I
(i.e. CBE) & Paper-II (i.e. Descriptive Paper) of Part-I and Part-II (APAR Evaluation).
v. After the examination, the names of finally selected candidates will be arranged by the
Commission, in separate lists, for the participating Cadres/ Services in the order of merit along with the aggregate marks finally awarded to each candidate so that candidates who are found
by the Commission to be qualified in the examination shall be recommended for inclusion in
the Select lists for Senior Secretariat Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk Grade of the Ministries/
Departments/ Organizations/ cadres listed at Para 01 of the Notice of the Examination up to
the required number of vacancies.
vi. Provided that the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or
Persons with Benchmark Disability shall, to the extent of the number of vacancies reserved for
the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes, be recommended by the Commission by a relaxed
standard, subject to the fitness of these candidates for selection to the service.
vii. Provided that the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or
Persons with Benchmark Disability who have been recommended by the Commission without
resorting to the relaxed standard referred to in this sub rule, shall not be adjusted against the
vacancies reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
viii. Selection to the Grade of Senior Secretariat Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk in different
services/cadres shall be made to the extent of the available vacancies, as intimated by the
indenting service/ cadre, in order of merit, subject to the reservation for candidates of the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, in
accordance with the orders issued from time to time by the Central Government in the
Department of Personnel and Training. The candidates who have not been recommended are
below the cut-offs marks i.e. not making to the merit list and are not qualified in the
examination.
ix. Candidates should clearly understand that this is a competitive and not a qualifying
examination. The number of persons to be included in the Select List for Senior Secretariat
Assistant/ Upper Division Clerk Grade of the Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations/ cadres
listed at Para 01 of the Notice of the Examination on the basis of result of the examination is
entirely within the competence of Government to decide. No candidate will, therefore, have
any claim for inclusion in the Select List on the basis of performance in the examination as a
matter of right.
x. Success in the examination confers no right to selection unless the cadre authority is satisfied,
after such enquiry as may be considered necessary that the candidate having regard to his/
her conduct in service is suitable in all respects for selection.
