DRDO Admin and Allied Cut Off: Qualifying Marks and Merit

The DRDO Admin and Allied cut off has two parts: a fixed minimum qualifying percentage for Tier I, and a rank-based shortlisting cut-off that changes every cycle. CEPTAM publishes the first in the notification. We did not find an officially published post-wise or category-wise Tier I cut-off list for the A&A cadre, so this page does not quote any previous-cycle score.

Instead it explains what is official, how many candidates move to Tier II, and how to set a realistic target.

Official Qualifying Marks

These minimum percentages come from the CEPTAM-10/A&A notification. The mark values are our calculation from those percentages and are shown for planning only.

Reaching these marks only makes you eligible to be considered. It does not guarantee a place in Tier II.

How Shortlisting Works

• 1:8 ratio: about eight candidates per vacancy are shortlisted for Tier II, and the ratio may be increased.

• Post and category basis: shortlisting is done against the vacancies of each post and category.

• Ties at the last position: candidates with the same marks as the last shortlisted candidate are also included.

• Normalisation: if the Tier I paper runs in more than one shift, scores may be normalised.

So the real cut-off is the Tier I score of the last candidate who makes the 1:8 list. That score is known only after the result and is different for every post and category.

What Affects the Cut-off

• Vacancies: a post with more vacancies lets more candidates through, and the score at the 1:8 line falls.

• Applicants: a popular post such as Administrative Assistant or Store Assistant attracts a large pool that raises the cut-off.

• Difficulty: an easier paper pushes scores up, and a harder one pulls them down.

• Category: reserved categories have separate vacancies and so separate lines.

What Happens After Tier I

For JTO, final merit is built from Tier II marks. For other posts, Tier II is qualifying in nature, so your Tier I marks decide your rank after you pass the skill or physical test. Tier I marks therefore carry the most weight for the large majority of posts. Ties are broken by Tier I marks, then age, then alphabetical order.

How to Set Your Target Score

1. Treat the qualifying marks as a floor, not a goal.

2. Aim for a consistent mock score well above that floor, with accuracy over 90% on the questions you attempt.

3. Because there is no negative marking, attempt all questions and track how many correct answers you get per sitting.

4. Pick a margin for your post. Higher-demand posts need a bigger cushion than posts with fewer applicants.

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat any figure from a past exam as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above it rather than a bare pass. Educators publish tests, courses and notes on Testkart, and the exam page shows what is currently available for DRDO Admin and Allied.

Where timed mock tests are listed for this exam on Testkart, you can use them to build a score history and compare it with the margin you set above the qualifying marks.