Staff Selection Commission Junior Hindi Translator

The SSC JHT exam, officially the Combined Hindi Translators Examination, is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to recruit Junior Hindi Translators, Junior Translation Officers, Junior Translators, Senior Hindi Translators and Senior Translation Officers for Central Government ministries, departments and organisations. All these are Group B non-gazetted posts, and selection is based on two papers: an objective computer-based Paper-I and a descriptive translation and essay Paper-II.

This page covers the 2026 cycle, notified on 23 April 2026. It brings together the dates, posts, eligibility, fee, exam pattern, syllabus, selection process, pay and previous cut-offs in one place, with links to detailed pages for each topic. Every figure below is taken from the official SSC notice unless it is clearly labelled otherwise.

Table of Contents

SSC JHT 2026 at a Glance

SSC JHT 2026 Notification Overview

SSC uploaded the notice of the Combined Hindi Translators Examination, 2026 on 23 April 2026. It announced an open competitive computer-based examination for direct recruitment to four post codes, listed below. Online applications were accepted from 23 April to 14 May 2026, and the application window is now closed.

You can read the full notice on the official SSC notification PDF. One point worth noting: the notice says that only male candidates are eligible for vacancies in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), if any are reported, and those posts carry their own physical and medical standards.

Important Dates

The Paper-I date comes from an SSC notice dated 12 August 2026. Dates for the Paper-I result and Paper-II had not been announced when this page was last checked. Tentative dates can change, so track the notice board on ssc.gov.in and your registered email and mobile number.

Vacancy Details

The notification lists 84 tentative vacancies in total. SSC said updated post-wise and category-wise vacancies, if any, would be published under For Candidates and then Tentative Vacancy on its website. Media reports from July 2026 said the tentative figure had been revised to 303, but treat that number as reported until you confirm it on the official Tentative Vacancy page.

SSC does not collect state-wise or zone-wise vacancies for this exam. If you need that detail, the notice advises you to contact the user department concerned. Reservation applies for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PwBD candidates. Because these are Group B posts, there is no Ex-Servicemen reservation unless the relevant rules say otherwise, though age relaxation for Ex-Servicemen still applies.

Eligibility

Educational Qualification

For junior posts (codes A to C), you need a Master's degree from a recognised university in Hindi with English at degree level, or in English with Hindi at degree level, or in any other subject with Hindi and English at degree level as a compulsory subject, elective subject or medium of examination. On top of the degree, you need a recognised diploma or certificate course in Hindi to English and English to Hindi translation, or two years of translation experience in a Central or State Government office, including a Government of India undertaking.

Senior posts (code D) need the same Master's degree combinations plus a recognised translation diploma or certificate, or three years of such translation experience. You must hold the essential qualification on 1 August 2026.

Age Limit

Candidates must be 18 to 30 years old as on 1 August 2026, which means born not before 2 August 1996 and not later than 1 August 2008. The upper age limit is relaxed as follows.

Other Conditions

• Nationality: You must be a citizen of India, a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from specified countries with the intention of settling permanently in India. The last three groups need a certificate of eligibility from the Government of India.

• Service liability: Selected candidates can be posted anywhere in India and serve a two-year probation.

For the complete rules, read the SSC JHT eligibility guide.

Application Fee and How to Apply

The fee could be paid online only, through BHIM UPI, net banking or Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or RuPay debit cards. Correction charges were Rs. 200 for the first correction and Rs. 500 for the second, for all candidates.

1. Register once: Complete One-Time Registration (OTR) on ssc.gov.in. An OTR made on the old ssc.nic.in site does not work on the new website.

2. Authenticate: SSC advises Aadhaar-based authentication, which protects your application from rejection over photo or signature quality.

3. Fill the form: Enter your details, choose up to three exam centres in order of priority, and capture your live photograph through the application module.

4. Upload your signature: A scanned signature in JPEG format of 10 to 20 KB.

5. Pay and preview: Pay the fee if applicable, then check every field through the preview before final submission.

Common reasons for rejection include a photo taken of an existing photograph, a photo with cap or spectacles, a blurred signature and an unpaid fee that leaves the form marked incomplete.

Exam Pattern

Paper-I (Computer-Based, Objective)

Each wrong answer in Paper-I costs 0.25 marks. Candidates eligible for a scribe get 2 hours 40 minutes, with 1 hour 20 minutes per part.

Paper-II (Descriptive)

What this means for you:

• Two locked sections: The sectional timer means you cannot borrow time from English for Hindi, so practise each part as a separate 60-minute test.

• Paper-II carries more weight: Only 50% of your Paper-I score counts in the final merit, while Paper-II counts in full, so translation and essay practice deserves a fixed daily slot from the start.

• Guessing has a cost: Four wrong guesses cancel one correct answer.

Older pages may still show earlier timing rules, so follow the 2026 notification. The SSC JHT exam pattern page explains marking, normalisation and merit in detail.

Syllabus Summary

SSC publishes only an indicative syllabus. Paper-I tests your understanding of both languages and their literature, the correct use of words, phrases and idioms, and your ability to write the languages correctly, precisely and effectively, at degree level. Paper-II has two translation passages (Hindi to English and English to Hindi) and one essay each in Hindi and English.

The topic list is built from the indicative syllabus and the kind of questions asked in earlier papers, so use it as a working checklist. The full breakdown is on the SSC JHT syllabus page.

Selection Process

1. Paper-I: Candidates who clear the minimum qualifying marks (30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS, 20% for others) are shortlisted category-wise for Paper-II.

2. Paper-II: The descriptive translation and essay paper. There may be separate category-wise cut-offs in Paper-I and Paper-II.

3. Post preference: You submit your post and department preferences through an online option form before allocation. If you miss this window, you are not considered for any post.

4. Final merit and allocation: Merit uses 50% of Paper-I marks plus 100% of Paper-II marks. Posts are allotted on merit and your preferences.

5. Document verification: Done by the user department after the final result.

Salary and Career Growth

On top of basic pay, Central Government employees receive allowances such as dearness allowance, house rent allowance and transport allowance. The in-hand amount is not an official figure and varies by city and department, so check the current pay rules of your allotted office. Translators in the official language set-up typically move up through senior translator and assistant director roles over time, subject to the recruitment rules of each service.

How to Prepare

Start with Paper-II, not after Paper-I. Translation and essay writing improve slowly, and Paper-II counts twice as much in merit as Paper-I. A balanced plan looks like this:

• Daily translation: Translate one short passage each way every day, using government circulars, press releases and editorials as material, then compare your version with a standard one.

• Grammar in both languages: Build Hindi grammar (sandhi, samas, karak, vachan, ling) and English grammar (tenses, voice, narration, articles, prepositions) side by side, since both feed Paper-I and Paper-II.

• Vocabulary and terminology: Keep a running list of administrative terms and their standard Hindi equivalents.

• Essay practice: Write one essay a week in each language on topics such as governance, technology, environment and society.

Once your basics are in place, move to timed practice. You can take SSC JHT online tests on Testkart in the current two-part pattern and use the section-wise analysis to see whether Hindi or English is costing you more marks. Pair them with previous year papers to understand the real difficulty level, and use Testkart study notes for quick revision of grammar rules and terminology.

Previous Cut-Off Reference

The table below shows the official Paper-I cut-off marks (out of 200) for the 2025 cycle, published by SSC on 4 November 2025. A total of 3,642 candidates were shortlisted for Paper-II.

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat these figures as a benchmark only and aim for a clear margin above them. See the SSC JHT cut-off page for more detail, or start practising with SSC JHT mock tests.