CCRAS LDC Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

The Computer Based Test

• Questions are bilingual, English and Hindi.
• 0.25 negative marking for each wrong answer. MTS is the only post in the whole advertisement exempt from it, so four wrong answers cancel one right one.
• Four equal blocks of 25. No dominant subject to lean on, and no sectional cut-off is stated.

The typing test

One condition attaches after appointment: a candidate who takes the typing test in Hindi has to learn English typewriting once appointed, and the other way round. For the stenographer posts in the same advertisement the rule is sharper still, and failing to learn the other language may mean probation is not cleared.

Tie breakers, in order

Applied after negative marking:

1. The elder candidate is placed higher.
2. Then more marks in serial 1 of the syllabus, which for LDC is General English.
3. Then more marks in serial 2, General Intelligence.
4. Then whoever acquired the essential qualification earlier.
5. Then the higher final aggregate marks in that qualification.

That makes General English the second most valuable block in a paper of four equal blocks, which the mark table does not show. And since the typing test never adds a mark, getting to 45 w.p.m. buys nothing; getting reliably past 35 buys everything.

The advertisement gives a subject and question count per subject, and nothing finer. Four subject names, 25 questions each, bilingual, with 0.25 deducted per wrong answer. There are no sub-topics, no annexure and no indicative topic list. Any "CCRAS LDC syllabus" offering a chapter breakdown has supplied it from somewhere other than the advertisement.

How to read four bare subject names

These four are the standard clerical-grade quartet used across central government recruitment, and at the level of a 12th pass entry qualification they normally mean:

That table is an informed reading of four subject names, not a quotation from CCRAS.

The one thing the advertisement is precise about

The typing standard: 35 words per minute in English or 30 in Hindi, in 10 minutes, where 35 w.p.m. is 10,500 key depressions an hour and 30 w.p.m. is 9,000, at 5 key depressions a word. It is the only measurable standard published for this post, and you can practise against it exactly.

Since the paper is bilingual, read it in whichever language you are quicker in. The typing medium is a separate choice, and whichever you pick you will have to learn the other after appointment.

The qualification, exactly as written

• 12th Class or equivalent qualification from a recognised Board or University.
• Skill test norms on computer: English typing at 35 w.p.m. or Hindi typing at 30 w.p.m., time allowed 10 minutes.
• No experience is required.

The typing standard is stated as part of the qualification, but it is tested after the CBT as a qualifying skill test, not certified at the application stage.

Age and its relaxations

Not exceeding 27 years, reckoned as on the closing date for receipt of applications, which does not change even if the closing date is extended.

The rule most often misread: age relaxation for a reserved category is admissible only against a vacancy reserved for that category. A reserved category candidate applying against an unreserved post gets none. PwD candidates are the exception and keep their relaxation either way. Only the date of birth recorded in the Matriculation or Secondary Examination certificate, or an equivalent certificate available on the date of application, is accepted as proof.

Disability

The acceptable disabilities for the LDC post are OA, OL, BL, OAL, SD, SI, B, LV and HH, being one arm, one leg, both legs, one arm and one leg, spinal deformity, spinal injury, blind, low vision and hearing handicapped. The physical requirements are sitting, standing, walking, manipulation of fingers, seeing, reading and writing, and communication.

Nationality

A citizen of India, or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962, or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from one of the countries the advertisement lists, in each case intending to settle permanently. The last two groups need a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India, and may sit the examination provisionally, but the appointment offer follows only once the certificate is issued.

Certificates, and when they are checked

• SC and ST: self-attested copy of the caste certificate from the competent authority, produced at document verification.
• OBC: the caste must be in the Central List, the certificate in the Central Government format proving the candidate is not in the creamy layer, plus a further declaration to that effect before appointment.
• EWS and PwD: certificates in the Government-stipulated formats.
• Ex-servicemen: the discharge or retirement certificate.
• Already in service: a No Objection Certificate approved by the Head of the Institution, certifying freedom from any disciplinary and vigilance angle, uploaded with the application.

Qualification, age and experience are fixed as on the closing date and stay fixed there even if the closing date is extended, which removes the usual benefit of an extension. Selection stays provisional until character and antecedents, the certificates and the medical standards are verified. Canvassing, or bringing political or other outside influence on selection, recruitment or posting, disqualifies the candidature.

1. Online Computer Based Test, multiple choice, 100 marks.
2. Typing test on computer, for candidates shortlisted from the CBT.
3. Document verification, then the offer of appointment.

The shortlist to the typing test is 1:10 for each vacancy, taken in order of CBT rank, with candidates who scored the same as the last shortlisted candidate also included, and the same ratio applied to the reserved vacancies. For 37 LDC posts that is about 370 candidates.

The typing test is qualifying in nature, and the performance in it is not considered in preparing the final merit list. The merit list is the CBT alone.

The answer key and the objection window

• CCRAS posts a notification about the answer keys with a link for candidates to view them.
• Objections go in within three days, as a representation with appropriate evidence.
• ₹300 per objection, refunded if the objection is held valid and forfeited if it is not.
• The decision of the subject expert or the Council is final.

An objection you can evidence therefore costs nothing and a speculative one costs ₹300. The window is real: in the 2025 cycle CCRAS published revised answer keys after redressing objections.

Service conditions

• The posts are temporary but likely to continue.
• Fresh appointees are governed by the New Pension Scheme or the Unified Pension Scheme.
• Probation is two years, extendable at the discretion of the competent authority.
• The posts carry all India transfer liability, and a candidate must be willing to serve at any peripheral institute, centre or unit of the Council.
• Selection stays provisional until character and antecedents, the certificates and the medical standards are verified.

Where you would actually be posted

The vacancies sit across all the Council's peripheral institutes and its headquarters. On final selection the place of appointment is decided from three things together: the city and state of the residential address you gave in your application, the availability of a vacancy there, and your final rank in the CBT. Where that is not feasible, CCRAS says it will try to offer the nearest available location. Note the first item. The address you type into the form is an input into your posting, which is not true of most central recruitments.

One power CCRAS reserves: the Director General may cancel the recruitment for all or any of the posts without assigning any reason, and the fee is not refunded if that happens.

Pay Matrix Level-2 runs from ₹19,900 to ₹63,200 under the Seventh Pay Commission. The entry cell, ₹19,900, is the basic pay at joining. Added to it are Dearness Allowance at the rate in force, House Rent Allowance at the class of the city you are posted to, and Transport Allowance. Deducted are the pension contribution and the health scheme subscription.

Pension is the New Pension Scheme or the Unified Pension Scheme for fresh appointees, not the old defined-benefit pension.

How the grade moves

CCRAS states that Group B and Group C staff are entitled to vacancy-based promotions and to MACP benefits. The Modified Assured Career Progression scheme gives financial upgradation on completing prescribed periods of service where a promotion has not come, which matters in a small cadre where the vacancies above are few.

What the post sits among

LDC and UDC are the two largest blocks in the advertisement, and UDC sits two levels higher for a qualification that is a degree rather than a 12th pass.

Online only, through the CAREER tab on ccras.nic.in, and in English only. No other mode is accepted and nothing goes to CCRAS by post.

1. Create an account with your basic details, generating a User ID and password.
2. Complete your profile: demographic details, category, sub-category, photograph, signature and the common documents.
3. Apply for the post, adding post-specific information and documents and paying the fee. Repeat step 3 for each further post, from the same login.

The account creation form takes your full name, father's and mother's name as per the Matriculation certificate, gender, date of birth, mobile number, email ID and one Government ID proof. Mobile and email are validated by OTP. None of it can be modified at any stage of the application or the recruitment. Read that twice before you type.

Once the application is finally submitted no edit is allowed either, except in the three-day modification window CCRAS opens after applications close. The modification carries a fee, paid the same way: if the fee is not paid inside the window the modification is not considered and the original data stands. A modification that would make you ineligible is not allowed. If more fee is due it must be paid; if less, nothing is refunded.

The fee, which has two parts

Amounts include GST at 18 per cent, with bank charges on top. Payment is online only through the SBIePay gateway; cash, postal order and demand draft are not accepted. Applying for more than one post means paying separately for each. Check that the status reads Payment Received. An application once submitted cannot be withdrawn and the fee is never refunded.

Have ready: personal details matching the Matriculation certificate; a scanned photograph and signature in the prescribed dimensions; the caste, EWS or disability certificate in the Central Government format; a discharge certificate if you are an ex-serviceman; educational details with percentages; and a No Objection Certificate if you are already in Government service.

CCRAS does not correspond with candidates about a deficiency in the application, documents or fee at any stage, and entertains none from candidates found ineligible or not selected. It takes no responsibility for a candidate being unable to submit either, which is why it tells you to register well before the closing time.

The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences is an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH. Its headquarters is the Jawahar Lal Nehru Bhartiya Chikitsa Evam Homoeopathy Anusandhan Bhawan, 61-65 Institutional Area, opposite D Block, Janakpuri, New Delhi 110058, and it works through 30 institutes across the country.

It recruits its own staff. CCRAS issues its own advertisement, runs its own CBT, publishes its own answer keys and results, and does its own document verification.

What one CCRAS advertisement covers

Advertisement No. 04/2025 invited applications for Group A, Group B and Group C posts together, and CCRAS then held Computer Based Tests for 26 disciplines between 24 November and 4 December 2025. On the clerical and support side: Upper Division Clerk, Lower Division Clerk, Stenographer Grade-I and Grade-II, Pharmacist (Grade-I), Laboratory Attendant, and a range of Multi-Tasking Staff posts including Panchakarma Attendant, Dresser, Ward Boy, Ward Aya, Field Attendant, Pharmacy Attendant, Cook, Animal Attendant and MTS Combined. On the research side, Research Officers in Ayurveda and Pathology, Assistant Research Officers, Research Assistants in Chemistry and Botany, Staff Nurses, Medical Laboratory Technologists, a Statistical Assistant and a Translator.

You may apply for several of those posts, but each needs a separate online application and a separate fee, filed from the same reference number.

The 40 examination cities

Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh or Mohali, Chennai, Cuttack, Dehradun, Dimapur, Durgapur, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, New Delhi and Greater Noida, Panaji, Patna, Pondicherry, Port Blair, Prayagraj, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Warangal.

CCRAS reserves the right to cancel or add cities and centres, and says the CBT could be shifted to another city on administrative grounds. The list is wide for a council of this size, and it includes Port Blair, Dimapur, Jorhat and Shillong, which many central recruitments do not.

Identity and biometrics

Carry at least one valid photo identity card in original showing your photograph, name and date of birth: EPIC card, driving licence, PAN card, passport, Aadhaar card or a Government-issued identity card. If identity is in doubt, or the documents cannot be produced, or the information does not match, the candidature is treated as cancelled.

Your thumb impression and photograph are captured three times: at pre-examination registration, at the end of the examination before you leave the computer lab, and at document verification or before joining. The verification authority's decision on whether the data matched is final, and refusing to take part on any of those occasions may cancel the candidature.

CCRAS prints practical advice with it, a fair sign of how often this goes wrong. Wash off any coating on the fingers, whether stamp ink, mehndi or colour. Make sure both hands are dry. If your right thumb is injured, tell the centre authority at once so another finger or a toe can be captured.

Advertisement No. 04/2025 carried the Lower Division Clerk post, and that cycle has run end to end.

The rules that attach to those dates

• Eligibility is determined as on the closing date, and stays fixed there even if the closing date is extended.
• The modification window is three days and carries a fee. No fee inside the window, no modification.
• The objection window on the answer key is three days, at ₹300 per objection, refunded if the objection is upheld.
• An application once submitted cannot be withdrawn and the fee is never refunded, including if the recruitment is cancelled.

Where the next notice will appear

On ccras.nic.in, in the Recruitment Corner. CCRAS publishes a numbered series of notifications under each advertisement, and the 2025 cycle ran to at least seventeen of them covering date extensions, answer keys, objection instructions, results and the fraud warning. Read them in sequence; the detailed advertisement is only the first document.

The admit card comes through the online application portal, with its availability notified to your registered email. It is not sent by post, and the advertisement says so plainly. Check the spam folder, because CCRAS uses that same email for the login reference, the document verification call and everything else. Never share the email ID or the password.

An admit card is not an acceptance. CCRAS states that issuing one does not imply that the candidature has been finally accepted, or that the entries in the application have been accepted as true. Eligibility is determined separately, and a candidate found ineligible at any stage has the candidature cancelled.

Before the day: confirm the city on your card against the list of 40 examination cities, since CCRAS can add or cancel cities and shift the CBT on administrative grounds. Have your original photo identity card in hand, not a copy. And if your hands carry mehndi, stamp ink or colour, wash it off, because it is a stated cause of biometric failure.

The CBT is marked out of 100 with 0.25 deducted for each wrong answer. Candidates are ranked, ten per vacancy are called for the typing test, the typing test is qualifying and adds nothing to the merit, ties are broken by the published five-step sequence, and document verification follows before any offer of appointment.

In the 2025 cycle the CBTs for 26 disciplines ran from 24 November to 4 December 2025. Answer keys were published and objections invited, revised keys were issued after redressal, and by Notification No. 16 of 1 April 2026 CCRAS notified that each candidate could view their own result from 1 April 2026, 17:00 by logging in to the recruitment portal.

Note how that works: results go out individually, to each candidate's own login, not as a public merit list PDF.

A warning CCRAS issued itself

Notification No. 17 of 18 May 2026 warns that scamsters are emailing candidates from unauthenticated addresses for educational documents, PAN, Aadhaar and bank details on the pretext of document verification, and in some cases issuing fake appointment letters. CCRAS seeks none of those details, and all its communication comes from astendra.meena@ccras.nic.in.

CCRAS publishes no cut-off for this post, and released the 2025 results only to each candidate's own login. The number it does publish is the shortlist: ten per vacancy for the typing test, about 370 for 37 posts. Notices appear on ccras.nic.in.

Know what decides the result

The CBT alone. The typing test is a gate, not a score, so preparation splits into two jobs with two different targets: as high a CBT mark out of 100 as you can manage, and typing reliably past 35 w.p.m. in English or 30 in Hindi. Speed beyond the threshold is worth nothing.

Four equal blocks changes how you revise

With 25 marks each and no sectional cut-off, a weak subject costs you exactly its 25 marks and no more. It also means there is no strong subject to hide behind. In a paper where the top of the list is separated by two or three marks, the block you have neglected is the block that decides your rank. And General English is the second tie-breaker after age, so where two candidates score the same, the one with more General English marks is placed higher.

The marking rule

0.25 deducted per wrong answer, so four wrong answers cancel one right one. Mild enough that an informed guess between two options pays, harsh enough that a blind guess among four does not.

Practise typing to the published standard

35 w.p.m. English is 10,500 key depressions an hour; 30 w.p.m. Hindi is 9,000. Both at 5 key depressions to a word, over 10 minutes. Practise at that length, on a computer, in the medium you will actually choose, and remember the default: a candidate who does not choose is deemed to have chosen English.

Things that end candidatures before the paper

• Everything entered at account creation is permanent. Name, parents' names, gender, date of birth, mobile, email and the Government ID proof cannot be modified at any stage. Take them from the Matriculation certificate.
• Preview is not submit, and submit is final, except in the paid three-day modification window.
• Check the payment status says Payment Received. Anything else means the transaction is incomplete.
• Use one reference number for every post you apply to.
• Watch the registered email, spam folder included. CCRAS does not write to you about deficiencies and does not post the admit card.
• Wash off mehndi, ink or colour before the exam. Biometrics are captured three times and failing them can cancel the candidature.

Two decisions to make deliberately

The typing medium, because whichever you choose you will have to learn the other after appointment. And the residential address in your application, because it is one of the three inputs into where you are posted, alongside vacancy availability there and your CBT rank. Most recruitments do not work that way.

No sample papers are available for this exam as of now. CCRAS publishes no past papers or mock tests. It does post the answer key after each CBT, open to objection for three days, on ccras.nic.in, a few weeks after the test.

Applications go through the CAREER tab on ccras.nic.in. A separate Recruitment Corner covers the peripheral institutes, and a Recruitment Rules page carries the rules for each post.

Is there a live CCRAS LDC notification?

Not at present. The post was advertised in Advertisement No. 04/2025 of 11 July 2025, applications closed on 31 August 2025, the CBTs ran from 24 November to 4 December 2025, and individual results were released from 1 April 2026. Watch the Recruitment Corner on ccras.nic.in.

How many LDC posts were advertised, and why are so many reserved?

37: 7 SC, 3 ST, 9 OBC, 4 EWS and 14 UR, including 3 SC and 1 ST backlog posts, with 3 reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities and 1 for ex-servicemen. The backlog is the reason more than half are reserved: CCRAS says the vacancies include earlier recruitment years' alongside the current one, so the 50 per cent stipulation has been exceeded on some posts.

What qualification and age are needed?

12th Class or equivalent, plus typing at 35 w.p.m. in English or 30 in Hindi on computer. No experience. Age not exceeding 27 as on the closing date, relaxable by 5 years for SC and ST, 3 for OBC non-creamy-layer, and 10, 13 or 15 years for PwD candidates of the UR, OBC and SC or ST categories.

I am OBC but applying against an unreserved post. Do I get age relaxation?

No. Age relaxation for a reserved category is admissible only against a vacancy reserved for that category. PwD candidates are the exception and keep theirs either way.

What is the exam pattern?

An online CBT of 100 marks in four equal blocks: General English 25, General Intelligence 25, Numerical Aptitude 25, General Awareness 25. Bilingual, English and Hindi, with 0.25 negative marking per wrong answer. MTS is the only post in the advertisement without negative marking.

Is there a published syllabus?

Only the four subject names and their mark split. CCRAS publishes no topic-level syllabus for this post.

How does the typing test work, and do its marks count?

On a computer, 10 minutes, 35 words per minute in English or 30 in Hindi, being 10,500 or 9,000 key depressions an hour at 5 depressions a word. Visually handicapped candidates with 40 per cent disability and above get 30 minutes. The marks do not count: the test is qualifying, and the merit list is the CBT alone.

How many candidates are called for the typing test?

Ten for each vacancy, in order of CBT rank, with candidates tied with the last shortlisted candidate included, and the same ratio applied inside the reserved vacancies.

Can I take the typing test in Hindi?

Yes, and if you do not choose, English is assumed. A candidate who takes it in Hindi is required to learn English typewriting after appointment, and the other way round.

What is the fee, and can I get it back?

A processing fee of ₹100 that everybody pays, exempted categories included, plus an examination fee of ₹200 for unreserved and OBC candidates. SC, ST, PwD, EWS, all women candidates and ex-servicemen pay no examination fee. No refunds: an application once submitted cannot be withdrawn, and the fee is not returned even if the recruitment is cancelled.

Can I correct a mistake after submitting?

Only in the three-day modification window, and it carries a fee. Nothing entered at account creation, meaning your name, parents' names, gender, date of birth, mobile, email and Government ID proof, can be modified at any stage. A modification that would make you ineligible is not allowed.

Where would I be posted, and on what pay?

Anywhere. The posts carry all India transfer liability, and the place of appointment is decided from the city and state of the address in your application, the availability of a vacancy there, and your CBT rank. Pay is Level-2, ₹19,900 to ₹63,200, with two years of probation and the New Pension Scheme or Unified Pension Scheme.

I have an email asking for my PAN and bank details for document verification. Is it genuine?

Almost certainly not. CCRAS issued Notification No. 17 on 18 May 2026 warning that fraudsters are emailing candidates for educational documents, PAN, Aadhaar and bank details on the pretext of document verification, and in some cases issuing fake appointment letters. CCRAS is in no case seeking those details, and all its communication comes from astendra.meena@ccras.nic.in.