ISRO SDSC SHAR Apprentice Recruitment 2026 — 400 Posts, Stipend up to ₹12,300, Merit-Based (No Exam)

1. What Is the ISRO SDSC SHAR Apprentice Recruitment 2026?

The ISRO SDSC SHAR Apprentice Recruitment 2026 is a one-year, stipend-paid apprenticeship programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, offering 400 positions to B.E./B.Tech graduates, B.Sc./B.Com./B.A. graduates, diploma holders, DCCP holders, ITI pass-outs and two-year vocational certificate holders. Selection is purely on academic merit followed by document verification — there is no written test, no interview and no application fee. Online registration runs from 6 November 2026 to 26 November 2026.

The engagement is made under the Apprentices Act, 1961 and its 1973 amendment. That legal framing matters more than most candidates realise: it means the position is a training contract, not a job. The stipend ranges from ₹9,600 (Trade and Vocational) to ₹12,300 (Graduate) per month, the training lasts exactly 12 months from the date the apprenticeship contract is signed, and the notification states clearly that apprentices acquire no claim to any temporary or permanent post in SDSC SHAR or any other ISRO/Department of Space unit afterwards.

Applying is a two-portal process. Graduate, diploma and vocational candidates first register on the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) portal, while ITI candidates use the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) portal. Only after receiving an enrolment or registration number do they submit the SDSC SHAR application on the UMANG portal. Candidates who skip the first step cannot complete the second.

2. About Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR

Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR) is the launch centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Department of Space, Government of India. It is located on Sriharikota, a barrier island on the Andhra Pradesh coast between Pulicat Lake and the Bay of Bengal, roughly 80 km north of Chennai. Every orbital launch vehicle India flies — the PSLV, GSLV and LVM3 — lifts off from its launch pads, including missions such as Chandrayaan-3.

For an apprentice, the relevance is the range of shop-floor work the centre runs beyond launches: solid propellant production, static testing of rocket motors, range and tracking systems, propellant storage, civil and electrical infrastructure, workshops, a hospital and a large residential township. That is why the 2026 notification spreads positions across trades as different as Fitter, Chemical, Refrigeration & AC, Medical Lab Technician and Photography — each maps to a real function inside the centre.

3. Important Dates and the 20-Day Window

The SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 online registration opened on 6 November 2026 and closes on 26 November 2026 — a 20-day window. The notification gives no dates for the merit list, document verification or joining; these will be announced only on the ISRO/SDSC SHAR website.

The real deadline is earlier than 26 November for anyone who has not yet enrolled on NATS or NAPS. Portal enrolment requires uploading your certificate and government ID, and the enrolment or registration number is generated only after the registration goes through. We recommend treating 19 November 2026 as your personal cut-off for completing NATS/NAPS enrolment, so a full week remains for the UMANG application and any document re-uploads.

4. Vacancy Details: 400 Positions Across 6 Apprentice Categories

SDSC SHAR has notified 400 apprentice positions split across six categories: Engineering Graduate (50), Non-Engineering Graduate (60), Technician Diploma (35), Diploma in Commercial & Computer Practice (60), Trade/ITI (180) and Vocational (15). Trade Apprentices alone account for 45% of all positions, and a single trade — Fitter, with 75 positions — is larger than the entire Engineering Graduate category.

Engineering Graduate Apprentice — 50 Positions

Non-Engineering Graduate Apprentice — 60 Positions

Technician Apprentice (Diploma) — 35 Positions and DCCP — 60 Positions

Trade Apprentice (ITI) — 180 Positions

Vocational Apprentice — 15 Positions

What the Category Split Does Not Tell You

The notification publishes the UR/OBC/SC/ST/EWS split only at the apprenticeship category level (for example, 22 UR seats across all 50 Engineering Graduate positions). It does not publish how those reserved seats fall within each discipline. In practice, this means an SC candidate in Civil Engineering (4 positions) cannot tell from the notification whether any SC seat sits in Civil at all. The notification says reservation is applied at the category level and shortlisting is done discipline-wise against the merit list, so small branches — Photography (1), Turner (2), Welder (2), Motor Mechanic (2) — are where reserved-category outcomes are hardest to predict.

Category-wise percentages also fall slightly below the standard national ceilings because the pools are small and seats must be whole numbers: OBC is 26.25% of 400, SC 14.25%, ST 6.75% and EWS 9.0%, with UR at 43.75%.

5. Eligibility Criteria by Apprentice Category

Eligibility for the SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 depends on the apprentice category: Graduate and Technician categories need a first-class pass with at least 60% marks or 6.32 CGPA, passed in 2022 or later; Trade Apprentices need SSLC/SSC plus an NCVT ITI/NTC in the relevant trade; and Vocational Apprentices need a two-year AICTE-recognised vocational certificate after the secondary stage. Only Indian nationals may apply.

Three Eligibility Details Most Candidates Miss

The 2022 pass-year rule applies only to Graduate and Diploma apprentices. The notification limits the "2022 or thereafter" condition to Graduate and Diploma apprenticeships. Trade (ITI) and Vocational applicants are not bound by it as written — an ITI pass-out from 2019 is not excluded by pass year alone, although the one-year work-experience bar (Section 6) may still apply.

Not every B.Sc. qualifies. The Science stream is restricted to B.Sc. in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Electronics or Computer Science. A B.Sc. in Botany, Zoology, Biotechnology, Microbiology or Agriculture does not meet the stated condition. B.Com. and B.A. carry no subject restriction in the notification.

The 6.32 CGPA figure is the exact CGPA equivalent of 60%. Multiply 6.32 by 9.5 — the fallback conversion factor the notification uses — and you get 60.04%. A 6.31 CGPA converts to 59.94% under the same factor. Section 11 explains why your own university's conversion formula can change the outcome.

6. Who Is Not Eligible: The Disqualification Matrix

Seven groups of candidates are barred from the SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 even if they meet the qualification and marks criteria. The most consequential is the experience bar: anyone with one year or more of work experience in any organisation cannot apply. Because there is no written test to filter candidates, these conditions are checked at document verification, and a mismatch found at any stage leads to cancellation.

NATS and NAPS keep a record of every apprenticeship contract registered against your profile. A candidate who hides a previous apprenticeship is therefore likely to be caught when the new contract is executed on the same portal — and the notification states that any discrepancy discovered at any stage cancels the candidature.

7. Is There an Age Limit?

The SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 notification does not prescribe any minimum or maximum age, and therefore lists no category-wise age relaxation. Age is still checked: the notification lists age among the details that must match your documents, and a mismatch in name, age, percentage or year of passing at any stage cancels the candidature.

In practice, the effective age filter for Graduate and Diploma applicants is the pass-year condition (2022 or later) combined with the one-year experience bar. Together they target recent pass-outs without naming an age. For Trade and Vocational applicants, neither a pass-year rule nor an age limit appears in the notification, but general Apprentices Act provisions on minimum age and fitness continue to apply.

8. Stipend and Total 12-Month Earnings

SDSC SHAR pays a monthly stipend of ₹12,300 to Graduate Apprentices, ₹10,900 to Technician (Diploma) Apprentices and ₹9,600 to Trade and Vocational Apprentices, for 12 months. These figures match the revised statutory minimum stipend rates under the Apprenticeship (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which raised the Graduate minimum from ₹9,000 to ₹12,300 — so SHAR pays the legal minimum rather than a premium over it.

Total Earnings Over the 12-Month Contract

Why Aadhaar–Bank Seeding Directly Affects Your Stipend

The notification insists that your Aadhaar be seeded to your bank account and enabled for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The reason is how apprentice stipends are funded. Under NATS, the Government of India shares the prescribed minimum stipend with the employer on a 50:50 basis, and since the NATS 2.0 portal launch in July 2024 the Government's share is credited directly to the apprentice's bank account through DBT. Under NAPS-2, which covers trade apprentices, the Government's support was stated in Parliament in 2023 as 25% of the stipend up to ₹1,500 per month, also paid through DBT.

In plain terms, a Graduate Apprentice should expect the ₹12,300 to arrive as two credits — one part from SDSC SHAR and one part from the Government via DBT — rather than as a single salary credit. If your Aadhaar is not seeded or DBT is not enabled, the Government's portion can be held up even though SHAR pays its part.

Across all 400 positions, assuming the DCCP rate of ₹10,900, SDSC SHAR's monthly stipend bill for this batch works out to roughly ₹42.6 lakh — about ₹5.1 crore over the full year.

9. Application Fee

There is no application fee for the SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 for any category. Registration on NATS, NAPS and UMANG is also free. Any website or person asking for money to "process" your SHAR apprentice application is not acting for SDSC SHAR.

The costs you should actually budget for are indirect: scanning and resizing documents, obtaining a fresh caste or EWS certificate if yours is outdated, and travel, lodging and food for document verification at Sriharikota, for which no Travelling Allowance is paid.

10. Selection Process: Merit List and Document Verification

SDSC SHAR selects apprentices in four steps: a category-wise merit list based on academic score, discipline-wise shortlisting, document verification of original certificates, and a medical fitness certificate at joining. There is no written test, skill test or interview, so your qualifying-exam aggregate is effectively your entire score.

What Decides Your Merit Rank

Because the merit list is built from the data you type into UMANG, two things decide your rank: your aggregate percentage (or CGPA converted to percentage) and the accuracy of what you enter. The notification requires aggregate marks to be entered exactly as shown on the consolidated mark list, and treats any figure that cannot be verified from the uploaded certificates as a disqualification. Over-stating a percentage does not improve your rank — it removes you from the list entirely.

The notification does not specify a tie-breaking rule for candidates with identical scores. Expect SDSC SHAR to apply its own internal criteria, which are not published in this notification.

11. How CGPA Is Converted to Percentage for the Merit List

SDSC SHAR converts CGPA to percentage using your own institution's prescribed formula. Only if your institution has no formula is the fallback of CGPA × 9.5 applied. This single rule can move a candidate several merit positions, because different universities use different formulas for the same CGPA.

Reading the Table

The 6.32 floor is built on the fallback factor. Under CGPA × 9.5, 6.32 is the lowest two-decimal CGPA that reaches 60%. That is almost certainly why the notification pairs "60% marks" with "6.32 CGPA".

A subtract-type formula creates a grey zone. If your university converts with a formula that subtracts a constant before multiplying, a 6.32 CGPA converts to less than 60%. The notification lists 6.32 CGPA as an alternative to 60% for eligibility, so on our reading such a candidate still meets the eligibility floor, but would enter the merit list at the lower converted percentage. If this applies to you, carry your university's official conversion circular to document verification.

Enter what your mark sheet shows. If your consolidated mark list states a percentage, enter that percentage. If it states only CGPA, enter the CGPA. Do not convert it yourself and type a percentage that does not appear on any document you upload.

12. How to Apply: NATS/NAPS Registration, Then UMANG

Applying for the SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 takes two separate registrations. First, enrol on the apprenticeship portal for your category — NATS for Graduate, Diploma, DCCP and Vocational candidates, or NAPS for ITI Trade candidates — to obtain an enrolment or registration number. Second, apply for SDSC SHAR Apprenticeship on the UMANG portal before 26 November 2026. Applications through any other route are not accepted.

13. Document and Upload Checklist

You need two sets of documents for the SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026: scanned uploads for NATS/NAPS and UMANG during application, and originals with self-attested copies for document verification. Supporting certificates on UMANG must be JPG, JPEG or PNG and no larger than 1 MB — PDF is not listed as an accepted format.

14. Document Verification at Sriharikota: Practical Planning

Shortlisted SDSC SHAR apprentices attend document verification at their own cost: the notification provides no Travelling Allowance and asks candidates to arrange their own lodging and boarding. Sriharikota is an island launch site with restricted access, so plan your travel around the reporting time in your call letter rather than arriving the same morning from a distant city.

Sriharikota sits on the Andhra Pradesh coast close to the Tamil Nadu border, roughly 80 km north of Chennai. Candidates usually reach the nearest towns on the mainland first and then travel onto the island. Because entry to a launch centre is controlled, carry your call letter and photo ID in hand — security staff may ask for them before you reach the verification venue.

15. SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 vs the 2018 Cycle

The 2026 SDSC SHAR apprentice batch of 400 positions is slightly smaller than the widely reported 2018 batch of 435 positions, but its structure is broader: 2026 introduces a dedicated Non-Engineering Graduate category with 60 seats for B.Sc., B.Com. and B.A. graduates, while several niche diploma disciplines listed in 2018 do not appear this year.

Two practical readings follow from this comparison. First, the Fitter trade has held steady at 75 seats, which suggests it reflects a stable, recurring workshop requirement rather than a one-off. Second, the new 60-seat Non-Engineering Graduate category opens SHAR to commerce and arts graduates who were largely outside earlier batches — an unusual opportunity at a launch centre, where most openings traditionally favour engineers and technicians.

16. General Instructions and Terms of Engagement

The SDSC SHAR Apprentice 2026 notification sets out 20 other terms. The ones below are the conditions most likely to affect a candidate's outcome after applying.

• Training contract: Selected candidates must execute a contract of apprenticeship under the Apprentices Act, 1961 and Amendment Act, 1973.
• Duration: Training lasts 12 months from the date the contract is executed.
• No job guarantee: Apprentices have no claim to any ad hoc, temporary or permanent employment in SDSC SHAR or any ISRO/Department of Space unit after training.
• Information is final: Shortlisting relies on the application data; any discrepancy in name, age, percentage or year of passing at any stage cancels the candidature.
• Discipline: Apprentices must follow the applicable rules and maintain discipline throughout the training period.
• Accommodation: If required, shared accommodation may be provided in a SHAR residential colony, subject to availability.
• Official updates: Any corrigendum or addendum will be published only on the ISRO/SDSC SHAR website.
• Language precedence: In case of any ambiguity between the Hindi and English versions, the English version prevails.
• Right to alter: SDSC SHAR may cancel or change the number of positions in any discipline, or the entire engagement process, without assigning reasons.
• Enquiries: Email only — telephone enquiries are not entertained.

17. Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the most commonly asked questions about the ISRO SDSC SHAR Apprentice Recruitment 2026. If your question is not answered here, refer to the official notification or the SDSC SHAR website, or email the apprenticeship cell listed in the Important Links section.

18. Important Links

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)