CERT-In Recruitment 2026 – 133 Scientist B Posts

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, released this recruitment notification on its official website. As per Advertisement No. CERT-In/SCB/2026/1, online applications open on 14 July 2026 and close on 17 August 2026 at 5:30 PM. This is for engineering and science graduates with a valid GATE score who want a Group-A government job in cyber security.

CERT-In has announced 133 vacancies for Scientist-‘B’ posts, level-10 of the 7th CPC. A full discipline-wise breakdown follows below. Selected candidates may be posted anywhere in India. Candidates should check all details in the article below.

Information verified from the official CERT-In notification No. CERT-In/SCB/2026/1 dated 14th July 2026.

Quick Summary of CERT-In Recruitment

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About CERT-In

CERT-In, also called ICERT, was set up in 2004 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It is the national agency designated to perform functions in the area of cyber security, as per the Information Technology (IT) Amendment Act 2008. For a candidate, this means the job sits at the centre of India’s cyber security response work — handling incidents, coordinating with other agencies, and advising on digital security. More about CERT-In is on the official CERT-In website.

How This Vacancy Compares

This is added context based on similar recent GATE-based Scientist-B recruitments, not part of the official notification. Confirm current openings with the hiring office.

CERT-In’s 133 posts sit in the same GATE-based Scientist-‘B’ recruitment cycle as the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which advertised 243 Scientist-B vacancies for 2026 in the same Level-10 pay scale, across the same three streams — CS, EC and DA. Both recruitments accept GATE 2024, 2025 or 2026 scores and follow a similar shortlisting-plus-interview process. One difference candidates should note: CERT-In charges no application fee for any category, while NIC charged Rs. 800 for General, OBC and EWS candidates. Since both recruitments draw from the same GATE candidate pool, a candidate eligible for one is usually eligible for the other, and applying to both raises the overall chance of selection.

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Important Dates

The table below lists every date given in the notification.

The 5:30 PM closing time on 17 August 2026 is a hard cut-off stated in the notification — the portal will not accept incomplete or late submissions after this.

Vacancy Details and Salary

CERT-In has listed vacancies by discipline, with category-wise and PwBD-wise splits. All figures below are reproduced exactly as given in the notification.

*01 SC and 03 OBC vacancy in CS, and 01 OBC vacancy in DA, are backlog vacancies, as stated in the notification.

Salary for all three disciplines is Level-10 of the 7th CPC, Rs. 56,100 – Rs. 1,77,500, the same for every post. The notification does not break this down further by discipline — one pay scale applies to all Scientist-B posts. As added context, this pay level is standard for GATE-based Scientist-B recruitment across MeitY bodies (for example, NIC’s 2026 Scientist-B posts also carried Level-10 pay); allowances such as DA, HRA and TA are added on top as per central government rules, though the exact amounts are not given in this notification.

The notification states that the number of advertised posts is tentative and may increase or decrease at CERT-In’s discretion.

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Eligibility

GATE Requirement

A valid GATE score (2024, 2025 or 2026) in the matching paper code is compulsory:

Educational Qualification, Per Discipline

The notification sets out qualifications for CS and DA together, and a separate set for EC.

For Computer Science and IT (CS) and Data Science and AI (DA): Candidates need one of the following:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Technology (minimum four-year course) in a relevant field — this includes Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Software Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Big Data Analytics, Information Security, Cyber Security, Digital Forensics, IoT, Quantum Computing, Blockchain Technology, Machine Learning, Cloud Security, Cryptography, or any other discipline where the degree names Computer Science / IT / Data Science / AI as the main subject, OR
• Master’s Degree in Science in a relevant field — this includes Computer Science, Computer Application, Computer and Network Security, Software Systems, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Informatics, Information Systems, Information Security, Cyber Law, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cyber Security, Computational Linguistics, Advance Network, Cryptography, Machine Learning, Cloud Security, Digital Forensics, Big Data Analytics, IoT, Quantum Computing, or Blockchain Technology, OR
• Master’s in Computer Application (MCA)

For Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC): Candidates need one of the following:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Technology (minimum four-year course) in Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Electronics & Telecommunication, Electronics & Electrical Communication, Electronics & Instrumentation, Electronics & Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation, Drone Technology, Autonomous Systems, or a discipline naming Electronics as the main subject, OR
• Master’s Degree in Science in Electronics, Applied Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Electronics & Instrumentation, VLSI Design, Mechatronics, Digital Communication, Robotics and Automation, Drone Technology, or Autonomous Systems

Note: EC does not have the MCA route that CS and DA have.

The essential qualification must be completed on or before the cut-off date (17 August 2026). No claim of an “equivalent” qualification will be considered.

Experience

No experience required — this post is open to fresh GATE-qualified graduates.

Upper Age Limit (as on cut-off date, 17 August 2026)

Additional age relaxation of 5 years applies to candidates already serving in government organisations in the same or an allied cadre, where the earlier service is relevant to this post. SC/ST/OBC(NCL) age relaxation applies only to posts reserved for that category. PwBD relaxation applies regardless of whether the post is reserved for PwBD, as long as it is identified as suitable.

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Place of Posting

Selected candidates may be posted anywhere in India, or outside India, at CERT-In’s discretion. There is no fixed base location mentioned in the notification.

Selection Process

Selection has three stages: shortlisting by GATE score, document verification, and a personal interaction/interview.

1. Eligibility screening — only candidates who meet the eligibility criteria and have registered on the portal move forward.
2. Shortlisting for interview — based on GATE score, in a ratio of 1:5 (five candidates called per vacancy), discipline-wise and category-wise. If multiple candidates tie at the cut-off score, all of them are shortlisted, even beyond the 1:5 ratio.
3. GATE year weightage — GATE 2024, GATE 2025 and GATE 2026 scores are all given equal weightage; a candidate submits their best score from any one eligible year.
4. Document verification — conducted before the interview. A candidate who misses this, or cannot produce original documents, is not allowed to appear for the interview.
5. Personal Interaction/Interview — maximum 50 marks, covering technical/academic knowledge, presentation and communication skills, and academic performance (0.05 mark per percentage scored in the qualifying degree).
6. Qualifying marks in interview — 50% for Unreserved category, 40% for EWS/OBC/SC/ST/PwBD. Candidates below this cut-off are dropped from the final merit list regardless of GATE score.
7. Final merit — 60% weightage to GATE score, 40% weightage to interview marks.
8. Tie-break — higher GATE score first; then higher marks in the technical knowledge part of the interview; then the older candidate is ranked higher.

One practical note from the notification: interviews are held at Delhi, or at another location/mode the competent authority approves, and no TA/DA is paid for attending document verification or the interview.

How to Apply

1. Visit the official application portal (linked below) between 14 July 2026 and 17 August 2026, 5:30 PM.
2. Registration — sign up using a valid email ID and active mobile number.
3. Fill the online application form and upload the required documents.
4. Download the Confirmation Page after final submission — the application is complete only once this step is done.

Aadhaar-based authentication is used at every stage of this recruitment. No change to name, category, address, mobile number or email ID is allowed once the form is submitted.

Documents to keep ready:

• Recent coloured photograph (JPEG, 50 KB–200 KB)
• Signature scan in blue or black ink (JPEG, 10 KB–50 KB)
• Date of birth proof
• Photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN, Driving Licence, EPIC, or other government ID)
• Matriculation certificate
• Senior Secondary certificate
• GATE score card
• Essential qualification certificate and marksheet
• CGPA conversion certificate, if applicable
• Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS), if applicable
• PwBD certificate (minimum 40% disability), if applicable
• Experience certificate, if any
• NOC from current employer, if applicable
• Age relaxation certificate, if applicable

Important Links

Should You Apply?

This vacancy suits GATE-qualified engineering or science graduates in Computer Science, Data Science/AI or Electronics who want a Group-A central government job with no application fee and no experience requirement. Since GATE score carries 60% weightage in the final merit and the shortlisting ratio is 1:5, a strong GATE score in CS, DA or EC matters far more here than in interview-only recruitments.

Competition is realistic to expect: 133 posts against a very large national pool of GATE-qualified candidates across three popular disciplines means the effective cut-off, especially in the CS stream with 83 posts, is likely to be high. Candidates who scraped through GATE with a borderline score have a narrower shot at the 1:5 shortlist.

One honest trade-off: the post carries all-India, and even outside-India, posting liability — there is no option to choose a preferred city, and the notification is explicit that no query on posting location will be entertained. Candidates who need to stay in a specific city should weigh this before applying. Career-wise, working at CERT-In gives direct exposure to national cyber security incident response, which is a strong credential for future technical and policy roles in government cyber security.

FAQs

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sandeep Khati is the founder of India Job Alerts and a B.Tech in Computer Science from JGEC (2010). He started his career as a Systems Engineer at TCS and has been active in digital publishing since 2011, beginning with SearchDarjeeling.com(2011) and working as a web developer and designer at Darjeeling Informatics. Launched in April 2025, India Job Alerts is his most focused project — dedicated to publishing verified government and PSU job notifications for West Bengal, Sikkim, and All-India candidates. Every post is cross-checked against official notifications before publishing.. Know more

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