DDA Mali Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

One stage: a computer-based test of 150 questions in 2 hours. Wrong answers lose one-third of the marks. Part I has 100 questions on the post's own discipline, and Part II has five 10-question blocks. The result lists the score out of 150.

Part I, the largest block, is gardening and plant science at matriculation level.

• Soil types and soil conservation, water harvesting, climate change.
• Classification of plants, trees, shrubs and herbs, plant nutrition and minerals.
• Intercultural practices in a garden, weed control, pest control, plant diseases from bacteria, fungi and viruses.
• Manure, fertiliser and vermicompost, nursery and seed bed preparation, vertical and floating gardens, cutting down pollution through planting.

Part II is general reasoning, arithmetic, general awareness, English and basic computer use, all at class 10 level.

• Age: 18 to 25 years on the closing date, with the standard relaxations for reserved categories, PwBD and ex-servicemen.
• Education: 10th pass from a recognised board or institute.

No typing or physical standard is listed for this post.

Merit is by CBT score alone. The qualifying marks are 40% for UR, 35% for OBC (NCL) and EWS, and 30% for SC and ST, and tied scores go to the older candidate first. DDA then verifies documents in person at Vikas Sadan. Anyone who skips verification is dropped, and a waitlist is opened for the vacant posts, which is why a second list appeared in September 2026.

Level 1 of the 7th Pay Commission matrix, entry basic pay ₹18,000 a month, with central allowances.

The 2025 fee was ₹2,500 for UR, OBC (NCL) and EWS candidates and ₹1,500 for women, SC, ST, PwBD, ex-servicemen and transgender candidates. Payment was online only, through the SBI gateway. The ₹1,500 fee is refunded, minus bank charges, to those who actually sat the exam. Anyone applying for two posts pays twice.

Applications go through the Jobs section of dda.gov.in, and the link stays live only for the window in the advertisement. You need a personal email address and mobile number that stay active for the whole process, because DDA sends the e-application status, admit card and document verification calls only to those.

The 27 March 2026 list has each candidate's roll number, category and CBT score out of 150. The first three names scored between 143 and 146. Waitlist lists use the same format and are on the DDA Latest Jobs page under Direct Recruitment 2025.

DDA has not published a cut-off notice for Mali. The select list gives every selected candidate's score, so the last name in each category is the practical cut-off.

Most of the paper is horticulture, so spend time on soil, plant classification, propagation and plant protection from a class 10 level agriculture text. The remaining 50 questions are easy marks if the basics of arithmetic and English are in order. Keep to a 150-question pace of roughly 48 seconds each.

• DDA Latest Jobs page
• DR 2025 detailed notification
• Provisional select list, March 2026
• First waitlist, September 2026
• Document verification schedule

How many Mali posts did DDA advertise?

282 in Direct Recruitment 2025: 118 UR, 30 EWS, 35 SC, 22 ST and 77 OBC.

What is the qualification?

10th pass from a recognised board or institute.

Is there a typing or physical test?

No. Selection is the CBT plus document verification.

Is the recruitment still on?

DDA was working through a waitlist in September 2026, with verification on 30 September. No fresh application window is open.