NRA CET - 12th Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

No CET pattern, question count, duration or marking scheme has ever been notified. The Cabinet decision of 19 August 2020 settled only the outline: a computer-based online test in multiple languages, run by the NRA, as a Tier I screen only, with the recruiting agencies holding their own Tiers II and III. Scores were to be valid for three years, with unlimited attempts within the age limit and the best score counting. Some departments said they might recruit on CET scores plus physical and medical tests alone.

At this level, the SSC CHSL (10+2) 2026 notice on ssc.gov.in has a published pattern to work from.

No CET syllabus has been published. The Cabinet promised a common curriculum and a standard question bank, and neither has been issued.

Use the syllabus in the SSC CHSL (10+2) notice on ssc.gov.in, the RRB notice for 12th-pass non-technical posts on the RRB websites, or the IBPS Clerk notification on ibps.in.

No CET age limit, fee or eligibility rule has been published. The design said the 12th-pass CET would screen higher secondary pass candidates for Group 'B' posts exempt from UPSC consultation, Group 'C' posts and equivalent non-technical posts filled by the SSC, RRBs and IBPS, with age relaxation as per Government policy.

Your actual eligibility is in the notice for the exam you're sitting: SSC CHSL, the RRB notice, or IBPS Clerk.

As designed, the CET would only shortlist. Your score would let you approach the SSC, RRBs or IBPS for their own next-stage tests and final selection. Scores could later be shared with other central agencies, State Governments, PSUs and the private sector.

None of this is running. For 12th-pass posts, selection is through the SSC's tiered CHSL exam (including its typing and skill tests), the RRBs' own stages, or IBPS Clerk prelims and mains.

The CET was a screening test, not a recruitment, so it carries no pay. At this level the posts it would have screened for include Lower Division Clerk, Junior Secretariat Assistant and Data Entry Operator through SSC CHSL, 12th-pass railway posts and bank clerks. Pay is in each agency's notice.

The Cabinet sanctioned ₹1,517.57 crore over three years for the NRA, including exam infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts, and projected savings of about ₹600 crore a year for the recruiting agencies.

There's nothing to apply for: no CET portal, no window and no fee. Any site taking CET registrations isn't the Government.

If a CET is ever notified, it will come from the Department of Personnel and Training (dopt.gov.in) and the Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in). Until then, apply for CHSL on ssc.gov.in, 12th-pass railway posts on the RRB websites, and IBPS Clerk on ibps.in.

The NRA was set up as a multi-agency body with representatives of the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Finance and Department of Financial Services, and the SSC, RRBs and IBPS, under the Department of Personnel and Training. It was approved on 19 August 2020 and registered on 12 December 2020.

The SSC, RRBs and IBPS all still run their own first-level exams. The SSC's 2026 calendar lists CGL, CHSL (10+2), MTS, Stenographer Grade 'C' and 'D', Junior Engineer, Selection Posts, Combined Hindi Translators and Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and CAPF, all for 2026.

No CET has ever been held, so no centre has been used. The design promised at least one centre in every district, with funding for centres in the 117 Aspirational Districts, aimed at rural and women candidates who can't travel to many exams. The Government put the number appearing in each of these exams at 2.5 to 3 crore.

For now, centres are allotted under the SSC CHSL, RRB or IBPS Clerk notice you apply under.

For dates you can use, see the SSC's annual exam calendar on ssc.gov.in, which listed CHSL (10+2) 2026, and IBPS's annual calendar on ibps.in.

No CET has ever been held, so no admit card has ever been issued. Anything claiming to be one is fake.

Your admit card comes from the agency running your exam: the SSC for CHSL on ssc.gov.in, your RRB, or IBPS.

No CET has ever been held, so there has never been a CET result. As designed, a score would last three years and simply let you apply to the agencies' next stages.

SSC CHSL results, keys and cut-offs are published on ssc.gov.in; RRBs and IBPS publish theirs on their own sites.

No CET has ever been held, so no CET cut-off exists at any level. Any figure called one is made up.

The SSC publishes category-wise cut-offs for CHSL (10+2) on ssc.gov.in with each result, and the RRBs and IBPS publish theirs for 12th-pass and clerk posts.

• Don't wait for the CET. It has slipped from 2021 to early 2022 to end-2022 and still hasn't happened.
• Prepare for SSC CHSL, RRB 12th-pass NTPC posts and IBPS Clerk. They overlap heavily in reasoning, quantitative aptitude, English and general awareness, so one body of preparation covers much of all three.
• Practise each one's own past papers under its own rules. Section weights, timing, sectional cut-offs and negative marking differ.
• Practise typing separately. CHSL and clerical posts have a typing or skill test that aptitude work won't cover.
• Don't pay anyone for CET registration. There isn't any.

No CET papers, sample papers or mock tests exist, because no CET has been held.

Use the SSC's published CHSL (10+2) question papers and answer keys on ssc.gov.in, and the RRB and IBPS Clerk papers on their own sites. The Cabinet decision of 19 August 2020 and the PIB factsheet on the NRA (with its e-booklet) explain what was promised, but they aren't preparation material.

• Cabinet approves National Recruitment Agency, PIB, 19 August 2020 (release ID 1646944)
• National Recruitment Agency factsheet, PIB (ID 148567), with a link to its e-booklet
• Department of Personnel and Training; its Parliament Questions section records the current status
• Staff Selection Commission, for CHSL (10+2) and the exam calendar
• Railway Recruitment Boards
• IBPS

Has the CET ever been held?

No. It was approved on 19 August 2020 and has not been held at any level as at 10 September 2026.

Is it cancelled?

No. It's still approved policy, with ₹1,517.57 crore sanctioned. It just hasn't happened.

What should I prepare for instead?

SSC CHSL (10+2), RRB 12th-pass non-technical posts and IBPS Clerk.

Can I register for the CET?

No. There's no portal and no fee. Sites taking CET registrations aren't official.

Where will a real announcement appear?

On dopt.gov.in and pib.gov.in, and from the SSC, RRBs and IBPS.