GDS Jammu Kashmir Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

There's no exam. Selection is a merit list the portal builds from Class 10 marks, as a percentage to four decimal places, under paragraph 8 of the notification. With 255 posts and many applicants on the same round percentage, the decimals do most of the separating.

Marks, grades and the 9.5 factor

Enter what's printed; the system does any conversion. Under the 9.5 factor, A1 in every subject gives 95 per cent, not 100.

Ties

Date of birth first, older ranked higher, then ST trans-woman, ST female, SC trans-woman, SC female, OBC trans-woman, OBC female, EWS trans-woman, EWS female, UR trans-woman, UR female, then ST trans-male, ST male, SC trans-male, SC male, OBC trans-male, OBC male, EWS trans-male, EWS male, UR trans-male, UR male. The Department can add a criterion, and its decision is final.

What gets an application rejected

• Incomplete data, or wrong or unnecessary uploads.
• A blurred or illegible photo or signature.
• More than one registration, which cancels all your applications.
• Grades where marks exist, or grade points where a percentage exists.
• Name, date of birth or parents' names not entered exactly as on the Matriculation certificate.

There's no syllabus because nothing is tested. The qualifications are thresholds: meet them and you're eligible, exceed them and you gain nothing.

• Class 10 pass with passing marks in Mathematics and English, from a Board recognised by the Government of India, a State or a Union Territory. A pass overall isn't enough if you failed either subject.
• The local language studied up to Class 10. Here that's Hindi or Urdu.
• Knowledge of computer, knowledge of cycling, and adequate means of livelihood. None is examined; each is an undertaking (Annexures VI, VII and VIII) given at engagement.

The job

Branch Postmaster: runs the Branch Post Office and its India Post Payments Bank work, markets the Department's products, and in a single-handed office is responsible for everything including mail conveyance and delivery.

Assistant Branch Postmaster: sells stamps and stationery, carries and delivers mail, exchanges mail with the account office, and handles IPPB deposits and payments.

Dak Sevak: works in departmental post offices rather than branch offices.

A Branch Postmaster must provide the office accommodation at their own cost before engagement and live in the post village, to the standards in the Directorate's letter of 8 March 2019. That covers 125 of this circle's 255 posts, so decide about it before you set preferences.

Age: 18 to 40

Counted on the last date of application.

Qualification

Class 10 with passing marks in Mathematics and English, Hindi or Urdu studied to Class 10, and undertakings on computer knowledge, cycling and means of livelihood. Past experience counts for nothing, and anyone holding elective office can't be engaged.

The 255 posts by category

ST posts outnumber SC posts here, the reverse of most circles.

Disabilities

Suitable categories: low vision; deaf and hard of hearing; one arm, one leg, leprosy cured, dwarfism and acid attack victims; specific learning and intellectual disability; and multiple disabilities from these, except deaf-blindness. Only benchmark disability counts. The notification doesn't say which of these the PWD-A to PWD-DE columns map to.

Certificates

• Reservation or relaxation needs the certificate in the Annexure-V format, in original, at verification. No original, no candidature.
• A caste certificate in the wrong format still lets you be provisionally selected, but you must produce the right one within 15 days of the offer, or the post moves down the list.
• OBC: not creamy layer as on the closing date. EWS: a certificate valid on the closing date, family income under Rs 8 lakh (DoPT memorandum of 31 January 2019).

Anyone dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired as a penalty from government or GDS service can't apply. Hiding it ends the engagement and can lead to prosecution.

1. Register on indiapostgdsonline.gov.in with a mobile number and email. One registration only.
2. Pay the fee, if it applies to you.
3. Apply: pick one Division, then rank the posts the portal shows you as eligible for.
4. Edit window of three days after the closing date.
5. Merit list on the portal, with SMS and email to those shortlisted.
6. Document verification at the Divisional or Unit Head's office within 15 days.
7. Offer of provisional engagement, issued by the system straight away if documents match.
8. Pre-engagement formalities within 30 days: three days' basic training, and for a Branch Postmaster, the accommodation.
9. Provisional engagement, pending verification of documents with issuing authorities and police antecedent verification.
10. Final order of engagement.

You're offered only one post: the first in your preference order you qualify for. You lose all the others, and a post you didn't list isn't considered.

Miss the 15 days and the portal marks you Non-turned up and cancels your candidature. Bring originals plus two sets of self attested copies, including the compulsory medical certificate from a Government hospital, dispensary or primary health centre.

Supplementary lists replace people who don't turn up, fail verification, miss the joining formalities or the caste certificate deadline, or decline, resign or fail to join within 30 days. That's why this circle had six. If you missed the first list, keep checking.

The Department never phones applicants. It answers queries only on the division help desk numbers listed on the portal.

A GDS is paid Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA), not a salary.

You start at the bottom of the slab, with an annual increase of 3 per cent and dearness allowance on the TRCA as declared by the Government. On top: GDS Gratuity and the Service Discharge Benefit Scheme, described as akin to the National Pension System. Details are in the GDS Rules and the Department's TRCA order of 25 June 2018 on indiapost.gov.in.

GDSs aren't regular employees, and their pay and benefits aren't on par with central government staff. A Branch Postmaster also pays for the office accommodation out of the higher slab. You can't work for any outside agency in a way that harms the Post Office or India Post Payments Bank.

Apply only on indiapostgdsonline.gov.in. Nothing sent any other way is considered.

Fee: Rs 100, covering every post in your chosen Division. All women, SC, ST, PwD and trans-woman applicants are exempt. Pay by card, net banking or UPI. It isn't refunded.

Register with a mobile number and email (both OTP-verified), Aadhaar if you have it, and your Class 10 Board and year. Register once: a second registration cancels everything.

Don't upload certificates. They're checked in original later, and extra uploads can get you rejected.

Choose one Division (here Jammu, Udhampur, Leh, Srinagar, Rajouri or Baramulla) and rank every post you'd take. Enter marks exactly as your marksheet prints them, and your name and parents' names exactly as on the Matriculation certificate.

The three-day edit window after closing lets you fix names, marks and choices, but not the mobile number or email. The edited form replaces the old one. If you spot a mistake, wait for the window; don't register again.

Your marksheet is checked through DigiLocker, with consent given in Annexure-X. You also sign undertakings on past penalties (IV), computer, cycling and livelihood (VI to VIII) and liability for false information (IX).

• Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications: issues the notification through its GDS Directorate.
• Divisional or Unit Heads: verify documents, issue the offer and act as your Engaging Authority.
• CEPT, the Centre of Excellence in Postal Technology: runs the portal and grievance system.
• India Post Payments Bank: not a recruiter, but BPM and ABPM duties include its transactions.

Merit is worked out division by division and post by post, so the same percentage can clear one division and miss another.

Nationally the notification covered 21,413 posts. Uttar Pradesh had the most (3,004) and Tamil Nadu next (2,292); the smallest lines were Punjab's English and Hindi (8) and Assam's Bodo (6). The work is mostly rural, in Branch Post Offices.

There's no exam centre. If shortlisted, you go once to the Divisional or Unit Head's office of your division (Jammu, Udhampur, Leh, Srinagar, Rajouri or Baramulla) within 15 days, with originals and two sets of self attested copies: marksheet, ID, date of birth proof, and any caste, PwD, EWS or transgender certificate.

The medical certificate from a Government hospital, dispensary or primary health centre is compulsory and is the one people forget. Get it before the list comes out.

Help desk numbers for each division are on the portal.

After shortlisting your own clocks run: 15 days to report for verification, 30 days from the offer for training and (for BPMs) accommodation, and 15 days from the offer to fix a wrongly formatted caste certificate.

GDS engagement comes in schedules, not a fixed annual cycle; this one was named January-2025, opened in February and stayed open three weeks. Watch indiapostgdsonline.gov.in. The Department can change dates, revise posts or cancel the process without giving reasons.

No admit card is issued, because there's no exam. The list of shortlisted candidates on indiapostgdsonline.gov.in is the notice. You'll also get an SMS and email with verification dates, but the Department takes no responsibility if they don't arrive, so check the portal yourself.

Shortlists are published on indiapostgdsonline.gov.in, under the circle's name. For Jammu Kashmir the portal carries the main list and six supplementary lists. Application status can be checked there with your registration and mobile numbers.

Joining is provisional until documents and police antecedents are verified. A false document, a hidden penalty, false information (you sign Annexure-IX on this) or an adverse police report undoes the engagement.

The Department of Posts publishes no cut-off percentage. It publishes the shortlist itself, by division, on indiapostgdsonline.gov.in; the last name on it is the line. For this circle that's the main list and six supplementary lists, the line moving down as people drop out.

There's nothing to study. What you can still win or lose is in the form and in how fast you move once the list is out.

• Work out what your Board printed: marks, grades, grade points, CGPA or a percentage. Enter that, unconverted. Getting this wrong is the commonest way to lose the application.
• Register once. Fix mistakes in the edit window.
• Pick the division first. Choose where you can actually live and work, then rank every post there you'd take. More preferences can only help; the order is what matters.
• Decide on Branch Postmaster posts before ranking. If you can't provide the office and live in the village, rank ABPM and Dak Sevak posts higher.
• Get the medical certificate and an Annexure-V caste certificate early. Fifteen days goes fast.
• Check the portal, not your phone. The Department never phones applicants.
• If your Board issued a no-marks pass certificate and isn't named in the notification, ask the division help desk before applying.

There are no sample or previous papers, because there's no exam. Selection is on Class 10 marks.

The rules that matter, including the grade conversions in paragraph 8, are in the 31-page Notification No. 17-02/2025-GDS. The post details file lists every vacant post office in your division.

• GDS Online Engagement Portal: registration, application, results and status
• Notification No. 17-02/2025-GDS of 7 February 2025, 31 pages with all ten annexures
• Annexure-I(a), circle wise posts notified
• Annexure-I, post details, office by office
• Jammu Kashmir Circle shortlist
• FAQ
• Help Desk, division numbers
• Candidate grievance system
• India Post, for the GDS Rules, 2020 and TRCA orders

Is there an exam for GDS Jammu Kashmir?

No. You're ranked on Class 10 marks.

How many posts were there?

255 in the circle under the 2025 notification: Jammu 74, Udhampur 55, Leh 41, Srinagar 39, Rajouri 26, Baramulla 20.

What qualification is needed?

Class 10 with passing marks in Mathematics and English, and Hindi or Urdu studied to Class 10.

What is the age limit?

18 to 40, with relaxation for SC, ST, OBC and PwD but none for EWS.

What is the fee?

Rs 100. Women, SC, ST, PwD and trans-women don't pay.

Is a Gramin Dak Sevak a government employee?

No. GDSs hold civil posts outside the regular civil services, with four to five hours' work a day.

How many posts can I apply for?

Any number, in one division. You'll be offered only one.

I wasn't on the first list. Is it over?

No. This circle had six supplementary lists.

Does the Department ever phone me?

No, never.