per job-portal reports of Bharat Electronics Limited’s Advertisement No. 17556/HR/All-India/2026: 350 Probationary Engineer posts, with online applications opening 28 October and closing 18 November 2026. Still tentative or unverified: the computer-based test date (reported as 22 December 2026), your test centre, and the minimum-mark details. I could not open the BEL PDF myself, so check the dates and conditions against the notice on bel-india.in before you pay the fee.
What has been announced
BEL released the notification on 28 October 2026. Registration opens at 2:00 PM that day and closes at 11:59 PM on 18 November 2026. The posts are Probationary Engineer in E-II Grade, in the Production and Support Services departments. The split is 200 Electronics and 150 Mechanical, and the 350 include backlog vacancies. The notice also says the number of posts in each specialisation may rise or fall with the company’s actual requirement at the time of recruitment.
BEL ran a drive of the same size last year. A Hindi news report from October 2025 described a BEL Probationary Engineer recruitment of 350 posts with a mid-November deadline. That means this is a recurring annual intake, which is useful for planning, but I found no published cut-offs or applicant numbers for the 2025 round, so I cannot say how competitive it was.
Dates
| Event | Reported date |
|---|---|
| Advertisement date | 28 October 2026 |
| Registration opens | 28 October 2026, 2:00 PM |
| Last date to apply and pay | 18 November 2026, 11:59 PM |
| Age cut-off date | 1 October 2026 |
| Computer-based test | 22 December 2026 (tentative) |
The test date is described as tentative and BEL can change it. Today is the first day, so the form is live or about to go live. There is no benefit in waiting until the last week, because payment gateways and the portal tend to slow down near deadlines.
Vacancies
The reported category split for Electronics is UR 81, EWS 20, OBC (NCL) 54, SC 30 and ST 15. For Mechanical it is UR 62, EWS 15, OBC (NCL) 40, SC 22 and ST 11. That gives overall totals of 143 UR, 35 EWS, 94 OBC, 52 SC and 26 ST, which adds up to 350. The advertisement shows 13 posts reserved for PwBD candidates plus 32 PwBD backlog vacancies, so 45 in all.
Backlog vacancies are worth noticing. A large part of the PwBD number is backlog, which means these seats were left unfilled in earlier rounds. A PwBD candidate with the right degree and a valid disability certificate faces a seat pool that is large relative to the usual number of applicants in that category. That is my reading of the numbers, not a statement from BEL.
Education qualification and branch rules
For Electronics, the notice accepts B.E., B.Tech or four-year B.Sc Engineering in Electronics, Electronics and Communication, Electronics and Telecommunication, Communication or Telecommunication. For Mechanical, it accepts the same degree in Mechanical only.
The branch clause is strict. The report says other equivalent disciplines and dual specialisations will not be considered, and that candidates whose degree specialisation does not match the branch they applied for will not be called to interview. If your degree reads “Electrical and Electronics Engineering” or “Instrumentation and Control,” you should read the notice’s list word for word before spending the fee. A near-match is not a match.
UR, OBC (NCL) and EWS candidates need first class in the degree from an AICTE-approved institution, while SC, ST and PwBD candidates need a pass class. The notice, as reported, does not define first class as a number, so use your university’s definition and check the PDF. First class in AMIE, AMIETE or GIETE in these disciplines is also accepted.
One trap catches grade-system graduates. If your degree uses CGPA, GPI or SGPA, you must submit your university’s percentage conversion certificate at the interview, and failure to do so leads to disqualification. Request this certificate from your university now. Universities can take weeks to issue it, and the interview is a hard gate. Colour blindness is listed as unsuitable for both posts under BEL’s medical standards.
Age limit
The upper age limit is 25 years as on 1 October 2026 for General and EWS candidates. Relaxation is 3 years for OBC (NCL), 5 for SC and ST, 10 for PwBD, 13 for PwBD with OBC (NCL), 15 for PwBD with SC or ST, and 5 for ex-servicemen. Count your age from the notice’s cut-off date and not from today.
Certificates: dates matter
The reports say an EWS certificate must be for FY 2025-26 and issued on or after 1 April 2026, and an OBC (NCL) certificate must be issued on or after 1 October 2025 in the latest format, with the caste spelt exactly as in the Central List. PwBD candidates need at least 40% disability with a certificate in the latest format, and cases marked “likely to improve” are not eligible. OBC candidates in the creamy layer must apply as Unreserved.
A certificate that is correct on every detail but dated before the cut-off can still be refused at document verification. If yours is older, apply for a fresh one today.
Pay, training and the service agreement
The pay scale is Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 1,40,000 with 3% increments, with allowances including DA, HRA, conveyance, performance-related pay and medical reimbursement. One job site cites an approximate cost to company of Rs. 13 lakh a year. The report adds that the pay scale is due for revision from 1 January 2027. The CTC figure is an approximation, so do not treat it as take-home.
Selected candidates first undergo six months of orientation or on-the-job training, then sign a service agreement to serve BEL for two years, with Rs. 2,00,000 payable for breach. If you are considering a PhD, a master’s abroad or another offer within two years, price that bond in before you apply.
Postings are reported at BEL units in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand, and the notice allows BEL to post you anywhere in India.
Selection process
Selection has four steps: a computer-based test carrying 85 marks, an interview carrying 15 marks, document verification and a medical check. Candidates are shortlisted for interview in a 1:5 ratio, discipline-wise and category-wise.
The test is 120 minutes with 125 questions, of which 100 are technical and 25 are general aptitude and reasoning. Each question carries one mark, with a quarter mark deducted for a wrong answer, and the paper is in English and Hindi. That makes it 80% core engineering. General aptitude is a small slice, and your branch subjects decide your rank.
The reported minimum qualifying marks are 35% for General, OBC and EWS and 30% for SC, ST and PwBD, applied separately to the test and the interview. That separate threshold has a practical consequence. Strong test marks do not rescue a candidate who falls below the interview minimum, because the interview is only 15 marks but it is a gate. As an illustration of the arithmetic, not an official example: a General candidate scoring 70 of 85 in the test and 4 of 15 in the interview has cleared 35% in the test but not in the interview, since 35% of 15 is 5.25.
Because 1:5 shortlisting is by discipline and category, 143 UR seats do not map to 143 interviews. Interview numbers are roughly five times the seats in each branch and category, according to the reported ratio.
Syllabus and previous cut-off
The reports I read say the test covers objective questions from the core subjects of your discipline plus general aptitude, without a topic list. No official syllabus is published in the sources, so I am not giving one. For Electronics, prepare network theory, analog and digital electronics, signals and systems, communications, control systems, microprocessors and electromagnetics. For Mechanical, prepare thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, strength of materials, machine design, manufacturing, heat transfer and engineering mathematics. These are standard B.Tech subjects and are my suggestion, not BEL’s list.
No cut-off figure for earlier cycles appears in the sources, so I will not quote one. Any “expected cut-off” you see is a guess.
Application fee
General and OBC (NCL) candidates pay Rs. 1,180, which is Rs. 1,000 plus GST. SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates pay nothing, and the fee is non-refundable. Pay only after checking your branch, marks and age against the notice.
How to apply
Application is online at bel-india.in only, and candidates must not post printouts or documents to BEL. The process reported is a two-step registration with separate OTPs to your mobile number and email, then a login to fill in personal, communication and qualification details, upload a photograph and signature, preview, submit and pay through the SBI payment gateway.
The photograph must be JPG or JPEG of 100 to 200 KB, 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm, on a white background and not older than three months. The signature must be JPG or JPEG of 80 to 150 KB in black ink on white paper.
Three rules in the reports deserve care. The category you choose cannot be changed, the form cannot be edited after submission, and an application cannot be withdrawn. If you submit more than one application for a post, only the one with the higher sequence number is considered, and the fee is not adjusted against another number. So fill the form once, correctly, and pay once.
Keep ready: your Class 10 or 12 certificate showing date of birth, degree marksheets, the percentage conversion certificate if you have grades, category or PwBD certificates in the prescribed format, and an NOC if you currently work in a government department, PSU or autonomous body.
The test centre
The reports say you choose five test centres near your address, that BEL does not allow a change of centre, city or state, that call letters are downloaded from the BEL website, and that test travel is not reimbursed. Outstation candidates called for the interview get AC chair car or III Tier AC train fare by the shortest route. The centre list is tentative, and BEL can alter a centre depending on candidate numbers. Pick centres carefully, because you cannot swap later.
Verification-safety tip
Many sites will show you an “apply” button this week. The only application route is bel-india.in. BEL reportedly states it never asks for any other fee or deposit at any stage, and canvassing is a ground for disqualification. A message promising selection for money is fraud.
Should you apply
If you are a B.E. or B.Tech Electronics or Mechanical graduate within the age limit, with first class and your certificates in order, this is a straightforward application for a regular, defence-electronics PSU post. If you cannot relocate across India for two years or are weighing further study, the bond and posting rules are the real cost. If you are close to the age cut-off or hold an older category certificate, fix those before you pay.
FAQs
My degree says Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Can I apply for the Electronics post?
Not automatically. The notice lists specific branches, and the reports say equivalent disciplines are not considered. Read the notice’s list and compare it to the exact title on your degree.
I have a CGPA and no percentage on my degree. Is that a problem?
It can be. A percentage conversion certificate from your university is required at the interview, and missing it leads to disqualification, per the reports.
Is the 22 December test date final?
No. It is described as tentative, and BEL can change it. Watch bel-india.in.
Can I change my test centre after applying?
No. You choose five centres while applying, and BEL reportedly does not allow changes.
Do I have to stay with BEL after joining?
You sign a two-year service agreement, with Rs. 2,00,000 payable for breach, according to the reports.