ISRO Scientist EC Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

The written test route uses a computer based test of 100 marks in two parts.

You must score at least 50% in each part (40% for PwBD candidates where posts are reserved). A strong Part A does not carry a weak Part B.

The GATE route has no ICRB test at all. Your GATE EC score does the shortlisting.

Part A covers your B.Tech Electronics & Communication curriculum. The advertisement gives no topic list beyond that.

Part B tests numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning, abstract reasoning and deductive reasoning.

The best guide to what Part A actually asks is ICRB's own papers: the 2023 Electronics paper and the 2025 Electronics paper, both posted with the 2026 advertisement.

Qualification

BE/B.Tech or equivalent in Electronics & Communication Engineering with an aggregate of at least 65% (average of all semesters) or CGPA 6.84 on a 10-point scale. For the GATE route you also need a valid GATE 2025 or 2026 score in paper EC.

ICRB's FAQ accepts these branches for the Electronics post: Applied Electronics, Communication, Electrical & Electronics, Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Electronics & Instrumentation, Electronics & Power, Electronics & Telecommunication, Industrial Electronics, Power Electronics, Telecommunication, Instrumentation Technology, Instrumentation & Control and Avionics.

Rules people get caught by

• CGPA cannot be converted to a percentage, or the other way round, even if your university publishes a formula. If your certificate shows only a CGPA, that CGPA must reach 6.84.
• The degree must have been finished in the normal course duration. Four years stretched to five by backlogs makes you ineligible.
• An M.Tech does not rescue a B.Tech below 65%.
• No category gets a relaxation in the marks requirement.
• Degrees by correspondence are not accepted; part-time degrees are.
• AMIE and Grad IETE candidates need 65% or CGPA 6.84 in Section B alone, and AMIE registrations after 31 May 2013 are not accepted.

Age

Written test route: 28 years as on 16 September 2026, with relaxation for serving Central Government civilian employees, ex-servicemen and PwBD candidates as per Government orders.

GATE route: 28 years as on 17 August 2026. UR and EWS candidates had to be born on or after 18 August 1998, OBC on or after 18 August 1995, SC and ST on or after 18 August 1993, with these relaxations only where posts are reserved.

Written test route

1. CBT. Candidates are shortlisted for interview at 1:5 against vacancies, with at least 10 called. Reserved vacancies get a separate list of up to 1:5.
2. Interview of 100 marks.
3. Final panel: written marks and interview marks count 50% each.

To be empanelled, UR candidates need 50% in the written test, 50% in the interview and 60% aggregate. Reserved and PwBD candidates, where posts are reserved, need 40%, 40% and 50%. Ties go to written marks, then marks in the qualifying degree, then the older candidate.

GATE route

Shortlisting is at 1:7 on the GATE score, not marks or rank. The interview is the same 100-mark board, and the final panel weights the GATE score and interview equally. Qualifying marks: 50% GATE score, 50% interview and 60% aggregate for UR and EWS; 40%, 40% and 50% for reserved candidates.

Level 10 of the pay matrix, ₹56,100 basic a month, plus Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance and Transport Allowance. Limited ISRO quarters are given in lieu of HRA.

New entrants come under the National Pension System or the Unified Pension Scheme. Medical cover for you and dependants, subsidised canteen, LTC, group insurance and house building advance apply as per Central Government rules.

Scientists move up through ISRO's Merit Promotion Scheme, which reviews you after a set residency period and does not wait for a vacancy above.

Apply online only, through the advertisement page on the ISRO Careers page. Keep the registration number shown on screen. Call letters come by email only, so give an address you check, spam folder included.

Fee, written test route

Everyone pays ₹750 up front. Of that, ₹250 is the application fee. If you sit the CBT, women, SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen get the full ₹750 back and everyone else gets ₹500. Skip the test and nothing is refunded. The refund goes to the bank account you type into the form.

Fee, GATE route

₹250, not refundable. Women, SC, ST, ex-servicemen and PwBD candidates paid nothing. The GATE score card was uploaded as a PDF with the form.

If you work for a Central or State Government body, PSU or autonomous body, apply with your employer's knowledge and bring a No Objection Certificate to the interview. Without it you are not interviewed. Private sector employees need no NOC.

The 2026 CBT is held in 37 cities: Agartala, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh/Mohali, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Ernakulam, Gorakhpur, Gurugram, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kavaratti, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Mysuru, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

You cannot change the city after applying, and ICRB may move you to another centre. Interviews are held in Bengaluru.

ICRB has advertised its written-test recruitment for Electronics, Mechanical and Computer Science in late May (2025) and late August (2026). Expect the next one around the middle of 2027.

ICRB emails the call letter for the CBT to your registered address. Notices about the test date, including the postponement to 29 October 2026, appear on the advertisement page.

There is no travel allowance for the written test. For the interview, ICRB pays second-class train fare from the city given in your application.

Answer keys go up within three working days of the CBT, and you get five days to object through a link ICRB provides. After that, shortlists for interview and finally the selection panel are posted on the advertisement page.

For a sense of the timeline: the 2025 test was on 26 October 2025, results with cut-offs came on 29 January 2026, a revised shortlist in May 2026 after objections, interviews from late June, and the Electronics selection panel on 14 August 2026.

2025 written test (held 26 October 2025)

After dropped questions, Electronics was evaluated out of 98 (79 in Part A, 19 in Part B).

2026 GATE route

GATE score cut-off for interview: 690 (UR) and 244 (PwBD).

Sources: 2025 cut-off notice and 2026 GATE score cut-off.

• Work through the 2023 and 2025 Electronics papers under time. They are ICRB's own and show the level.
• Part B is only 20 marks but carries its own 50% bar. Practise the five reasoning types listed in the advertisement.
• A wrong answer in Part A costs a third of a mark. Guessing blind on four options roughly breaks even, so skip what you cannot narrow down.
• If you have a good GATE EC score, the GATE route skips the written test. Watch for both advertisements.
• Check your CGPA against 6.84 before paying. ISRO will not convert it.

• ISRO Careers: every ICRB and centre advertisement
• Advt. 03(EMC):2026 page: notices, FAQ, previous papers, apply link
• Advertisement 03(EMC):2026 and its FAQ
• Advt. 02(EMC-CEPO):2026 page (GATE route) and its advertisement
• 2026 GATE route interview list, Electronics
• Advt. 02(EMC):2025 page: results, answer keys and panels of the last cycle

Queries: rmt-icrb@isro.gov.in

Is 'SC' a reserved post?

No. SC is ISRO's name for the entry scientist grade.

How many Electronics vacancies are there in 2026?

99 at ISRO centres plus 1 at PRL through the written test, and 34 through the GATE route.

When is the 2026 written test?

29 October 2026. It was moved from 19 October.

Is negative marking applied?

In Part A, yes: one third of a mark per wrong answer. Part B has none.

I have B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics. Can I apply?

Yes, ICRB lists Electrical & Electronics as acceptable for the Electronics post.

My CGPA is 6.7 but my university converts it to 66%. Am I eligible?

No. Only the figure on your certificate counts, and it has to be 6.84 or more.

What does the job pay?

₹56,100 basic at Level 10, plus allowances.

Are old papers available?

Yes. ICRB posted its 2023 and 2025 Electronics papers on the 2026 advertisement page.