DRDO Store Assistant Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Tier-I is a 60-minute computer-based test of 75 one-mark questions covering quantitative aptitude, reasoning, general awareness and general English. You can take it in Hindi or English. Wrong answers cost nothing. The qualifying score is 40% for UR, OBC and EWS and 35% for SC and ST.

Tier-II is a 10-minute typing test on computer. Clear 35 wpm in English or 30 wpm in Hindi and you pass. Speed is worked out from key depressions (10,500 an hour for English, 9,000 for Hindi). Mistakes are counted as full or half according to CEPTAM's typing test instructions.

No detailed syllabus is published. CEPTAM only says questions match the Class 12 qualification, in the four Tier-I areas listed under the exam pattern.

As per CEPTAM-10/A&A:

• Class 12 pass from a recognised board by the crucial date.
• Typing speed on computer of 35 wpm in English for 0701, or 30 wpm in Hindi for 0702. It is checked at the skill test.
• Age between 18 and 27. Relaxation: 3 years for OBC (NCL), 5 for SC and ST, 10 for PwBD, and the standard central rules for ex-servicemen and others.
• Indian citizenship and medical fitness.

Horizontal reservations in 0701 were 7 PwBD posts and 1 ex-serviceman post; 0702 had 1 PwBD post (category B).

The 0702 posts were only at Agra, Delhi and Hyderabad. The 0701 posts covered 23 stations, every DRDO station in the advertisement except Agra, from Leh and Tezpur to Kochi and Visakhapatnam.

Tier-I marks make the merit list, and about eight candidates per vacancy are called to type. Failing the typing test ends your candidature; passing it adds nothing to your score. There is no interview for Group C posts.

Successful candidates are nominated to labs against vacancies and their own posting preferences. The lab checks documents and holds the medical exam before you join.

Level 2: ₹19,900–63,200 basic, with dearness allowance, HRA and the other central government allowances. Pension is under NPS.

Apply online through CEPTAM's link on the DRDO website. The fee is ₹100; women, SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen are exempt. If you want both the English and Hindi versions, submit two applications. Only your latest application for a post code is kept.

Before that, Store Assistant was last recruited under CEPTAM-09/A&A, which closed on 15 October 2019 with 32 posts. A new round has no announced date; it will be posted on DRDO's Vacancies page.

Tier-I results for CEPTAM-10/A&A went up in May 2023. The final results for 0701 and 0702 were linked on the CEPTAM-10/A&A page in December 2023 (archived copy). Marks of willing candidates who qualified but were not selected are disclosed after the result.

• Treat Tier-I as the real contest. Rank depends on it entirely.
• Practise typing passages in exactly the form given: figures, years and capitals typed differently count as errors.
• For the Hindi post, the test accepts InScript or Remington (CBI and GAIL) keyboards.

• DRDO Vacancies page
• CEPTAM-10/A&A advertisement (archived PDF)
• Typing test instructions, 2023 (archived PDF)
• CEPTAM-10/A&A final results listing (archived)
• CEPTAM-09/A&A advertisement, 2019 (archived PDF)

When is the next DRDO Store Assistant recruitment?

Not announced. The last one was CEPTAM-10/A&A in 2022.

Can a graduate apply?

Yes. The minimum is Class 12, so a degree does no harm, but it earns no extra marks.

How many Hindi Typing posts were there?

Four, at Agra, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Is the typing test on a typewriter?

No, on a computer.

Is there an interview?

No.