BIS Recruitment for Group A, B and C Posts (Assistant Section Officer, Stenographer, SSA, JSA and technical posts): syllabus and eligibility

Last checked 24 September 2026. Sources

About BIS Recruitment

The Bureau of Indian Standards, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, sets Indian Standards and runs product certification, gold and silver hallmarking and laboratory testing. It fills office and laboratory posts at its New Delhi headquarters and its offices across the country through its own online exam. The latest round, Advertisement No. 01/2024/ESTT, took applications from 9 to 30 September 2024 for 345 posts, the largest groups being 128 Senior Secretariat Assistants and 78 Junior Secretariat Assistants. BIS has since published the final results on its recruitment page.

Eligibility

Age limit

General category: Up to 27 years, counted on 30 September 2024, the last date of application (Advertisement No. 01/2024/ESTT).

Age relaxation

• SC: 5 years
• ST: 5 years
• OBC: 3 years
• PwBD: 10 years
• The upper limit is 27 for Stenographer, Senior and Junior Secretariat Assistant, Senior Technician and Technician; 30 for Personal Assistant, Assistant Section Officer, Assistant (CAD) and Technical Assistant; and 35 for Assistant Director.
• PwD candidates get 10 years (UR/EWS), 13 years (OBC) or 15 years (SC/ST).
• Ex-servicemen get 5 years for Group A and B posts. For Group C posts they get 3 years (UR/EWS), 6 (OBC) or 8 (SC/ST) after deducting military service from their age.
• For Group C posts, widows, divorced women and judicially separated women who have not remarried can apply up to 35 (40 for SC/ST).
• Serving BIS employees can apply up to 50. Central government employees get no relaxation because BIS is an autonomous body, and relaxations do not add up.

Qualification

A bachelor's degree from a recognised university for Assistant Section Officer, Personal Assistant, Stenographer, Senior Secretariat Assistant and Junior Secretariat Assistant, plus the computer, typing or shorthand skill set for each post. Technical Assistant (Lab) needs a 3-year Mechanical diploma or a B.Sc with Chemistry or Microbiology, with 60% marks (50% for SC/ST). Senior Technician needs Class 10, an ITI certificate in the trade and two years of trade experience; Technician needs Class 10, ITI and a National Apprenticeship Certificate.

Other conditions

• Qualification, experience and age are counted on the last date of application.
• Application fee was Rs 800 for Assistant Director posts and Rs 500 for the rest. SC/ST, PwD and women candidates and serving BIS employees paid nothing.
• BIS can post selected candidates to any of its offices in the country.

Selection process

1. Online exam of 150 questions in 120 minutes, with 0.25 marks cut for each wrong answer
2. At least 50% of the aggregate needed to move on; technical posts also need 50% in the discipline section
3. Qualifying skill test for Group B and C posts: typing, shorthand, computer proficiency, or a practical or trade test depending on the post
4. Interview for Assistant Director posts only

Exam pattern

BIS Recruitment syllabus

What they ask

For the office posts, the online exam has 150 questions in 120 minutes, and each section has its own time limit. Reasoning and English carry 50 questions each, while general awareness and quantitative aptitude carry 25 each. A wrong answer costs 0.25 marks, and you need at least 50% of the aggregate to reach the skill test. The skill test only decides pass or fail, but the standard is post-specific: typing for JSA and ASO, MS Office tasks for SSA, and shorthand for Stenographer and PA.

How to prepare

• Put reasoning and English first. Together they are 100 of the 150 marks in the graduate-level paper.
• Practise section by section with a timer, because each section has its own clock, from 20 minutes for general awareness to 40 minutes for English.
• Aim well above 50% overall. That is only the floor for the skill test, and BIS says a high total is also needed to be called.
• Start skill practice early: 35 wpm typing for JSA, 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes plus Excel and PowerPoint for SSA, and 80 wpm shorthand for Stenographer.
• For reasoning and quantitative aptitude, daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app help you build speed.

How to apply

1. Apply online through the Career Opportunities section of bis.gov.in during the registration window.
2. Upload your photo, signature, left thumb impression and a hand-written declaration in English.
3. Pay the fee online unless you are exempt.

Photo and signature

• Photo: Recent passport-style colour photo on a light, preferably white, background; 200 x 230 pixels preferred; 20 KB to 50 KB.
• Signature: Black ink on white paper; 140 x 60 pixels preferred; 10 KB to 20 KB. Left thumb impression 240 x 240 pixels, 20 KB to 50 KB. Hand-written English declaration 800 x 400 pixels, 50 KB to 100 KB.

Source: official instructions ↗

Resize your photo and signature for BIS Recruitment

BIS Recruitment FAQs

Sources

• BIS Advertisement No. 01/2024/ESTT (bilingual) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• BIS recruitment advertisements and results page ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)

Checked against official sources on 24 September 2026. Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.

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