Candidates must satisfy the required age and educational qualification conditions as on the dates prescribed by NICL. The educational qualification must be possessed as on 01 October 2026. NICL AO Educational Qualification 2026 Discipline Qualification Generalist Officers Graduate or Post Graduate in any stream from a recognized University with at least 60% marks. SC/ST/PwBD candidates require at least 55% marks. Finance (CA & CMA) Chartered Accountant (ICAI) or Cost and Management Accountant, along with Graduation/Post Graduation in any discipline with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Legal Graduate or Post Graduate in Law from a recognized University with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Information Technology B.E./B.Tech./M.E./M.Tech in Computer Science or Information Technology, or MCA, with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Automobile Engineers B.E./B.Tech./M.E./M.Tech in Automobile Engineering; OR Engineering degree/postgraduate degree in any branch along with a Diploma of at least one year in Automobile Engineering. Minimum 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Risk Engineers Graduate/Post Graduate in Engineering in a discipline other than the IT and Automobile disciplines specified in the advertisement, with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Company Secretaries ACS/FCS from ICSI along with Graduation/Post Graduation in any discipline with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. Agriculture Four-year Graduate degree or Post Graduate qualification in Agriculture, Agricultural Biotechnology or Agricultural Engineering with at least 60% marks; 55% for SC/ST/PwBD. The required qualification should be from a recognized Indian University approved by UGC or a recognized institute approved by AICTE, as applicable. 🔔 Never Miss a Govt Job Again! ⚡ Get Custom Govt Job Alerts by Your Qualification (10TH | 12TH | Diploma | ITI | Graduate, Etc) Join Now

The application fee must be paid online between 08 October and 28 October 2026. Category Application Fee SC / ST / PwBD ₹250 – Intimation Charges only, including GST All Other Candidates ₹1,000 – Application Fee including Intimation Charges and GST Applicable bank transaction charges must be borne by the candidate. The fee once paid will not be refunded or adjusted against any future recruitment.

The NICL AO selection process consists of the following stages: Phase-I Preliminary Examination Phase-II Main Examination Interview Final Merit List Pre-Employment Medical Examination NICL AO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026 The Phase-I Preliminary Examination will be conducted online for 100 marks with a duration of 60 minutes. Each section has a separate time limit. Section Questions Marks Duration English Language 30 30 20 Minutes Reasoning Ability 35 35 20 Minutes Quantitative Aptitude 35 35 20 Minutes Total 100 100 60 Minutes Candidates must qualify in each section by securing the cut-off marks decided by NICL. Approximately 15 times the number of vacancies, subject to availability, may be shortlisted for the Main Examination. NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern – Generalist Section Questions Marks Time Reasoning 50 50 40 Minutes General Awareness 50 50 30 Minutes Quantitative Aptitude 50 50 40 Minutes English Language 50 50 40 Minutes Computer Knowledge 50 50 30 Minutes Total 250 250 180 Minutes NICL AO Mains Exam Pattern – Specialist Section Questions Marks Time Reasoning 40 40 35 Minutes General Awareness 40 40 20 Minutes Quantitative Aptitude 40 40 35 Minutes English Language 40 40 30 Minutes Computer Knowledge 40 40 25 Minutes Technical / Professional Knowledge 50 50 35 Minutes Total 250 250 180 Minutes NICL AO Descriptive Test The Main Examination also includes a 30-mark English Descriptive Test of 30 minutes. Topic Marks Essay 10 Précis 10 Comprehension 10 Total 30 The Descriptive Test is qualifying in nature. Its marks will not be counted for shortlisting candidates for the Interview or for final selection. NICL AO Negative Marking There is a penalty for wrong answers in the objective tests of both Phase-I and Phase-II. One-fourth of the marks assigned to a question will be deducted for each wrong answer. No penalty is applied to unanswered questions. NICL AO Interview and Final Selection Candidates shortlisted after the Phase-II Main Examination will be called for Interview. Final selection will be based on the marks secured in the Main Examination Objective Test and Interview in the ratio of 80:20.