UPSC Drug Inspector, Assistant Engineer and Other Recruitment 2026 | 450 Posts

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has published Advertisement No. 07/2026 on 25 June 2026, inviting online application for 450 vacancies spread across 54 posts in 30+ central ministries and Union Territory Administrations This is one of the border-combined advertisements UPSC releases each quarter, and the 2026 edition is notable for two reasons: it carries 186 drug inspector posts for CDSCO—the largest single post count in this advertisement—and 11 Assistant Engineer (Civil) posts under the newly restructured Ladakh civil service framework. Whether you are a pharmacy graduate eyeing the Drug Inspector role, a civil engineering professional looking at the Ladakh AE post, an aeronautical engineer, or a doctor with a specialist qualification, this advertisement has something across the levels from Group A to Group B Gazetted posts. Online applications open on 27 June 2026, and the window closes at 1800 hours on 17 July 2026.

The Drug Inspector post under CDSCO has seen a dramatic upward spike in this advertisement. The previous UPSC recruitment round for Drug Inspector roles carried a far smaller number: the 2025 batch (Advt No. 06/2025, Vacancy No. 25050624624) had only 20 posts for Drug Inspector (Medical Devices), while prior cycles for Drug Inspector under CDSCO ranged between 20 and 30 posts. The jump to 186 posts in 2026 is unprecedented in recent CDSCO history and directly follows the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare notifying new Recruitment Rules in November 2025 (G.S.R. 832(E)), which opened the pool significantly and is understood to reflect a long-pending backlog of vacancies across CDSCO offices. This is the single largest UPSC Drug Inspector recruitment in at least a decade. With 186 seats across UR, EWS, OBC, SC, and ST categories, even candidates who narrowly missed earlier smaller batches now have a realistic shot—competition will be higher in absolute number, but so will selections.

UPSC has not published a post-specific exam pattern in this advertisement, but based on the pattern followed in earlier cycles for Drug Inspector (Medical Device) and similar roles, the typical structure is: 1. Paper I - Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemistry: Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy, analytical techniques 2. paper II - Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Chemistry Practice: Drug action mechanisms, adverse drug reactions, microbiology fundamentals, clinical pharmacology 3. Paper III - Drug Regulatory Affairs and Law: Drug & Cosmetics Act 1940 + Rules 1945, CDSCO structure, schedules H/H1/X, and spurious. adulterated definitions, prosecution procedures, Drug Controller functions 4. General studies/current affairs component is sometimes included

Official cutoff marks for UPSC Drug Inspector recruitment tests are published on the UPSC website under the Recruitment Test > Cutoff section. For this advertisement specifically, cutoffs are not yet available (the examination has not been conducted). Below is what is known from the past cycle: - 2025 (Drug Inspector Medical Devices, Advt 06/2025, 20 posts): Recruitment Test held 2 November 2025. As of June 2026, the official cutoff has not yet been published. - 2023 (Drug Inspector, CDSCO): UPSC published cutoff. UR candidate cutoff was in the range of 65-55-60%. Category-specific figures are available at upsc.gov.in/recruitment/recruitmenttest/cutoff/archives.

- General / OBC / EWS (Male candidates): Rs. 25 - SC / ST: Nill (Exempted) - Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD): Nil - Women candidates (all categories): Nil Mode: Visa / Master / RuPay Credit/Debit Card, UPI, or Internet Banking

Age limits are post-specific and are provided in the vacancy details section of this article. The following general relaxations apply across posts: - SC/ST Candidates: +5 years above normal UR age limit - OBC Candidates: +3 years above normal UR age limit - PwBD Candidates: +10 years above category limit (SC/ST Pwbd get up to +15 years total, OBC Pwbd Up to +13 years) - Ex-servicemen and Commissioned Officers (ECOs/SSCOs): + 5 years, provided 6+ month of continuous Armed Forces service after attestation - Central/UT government employees: +5 years, subject to 3 years of continuous service in the same or allied cadre.

- Advertisement Published: 25 June 2026 - Online applications open: 27 June 2026 - Last date for online application submission: 17 July 2026 - Date for determining eligibility in every respect: 17 July 2026 - Interview / RT dates: To be notify separately on UPSC website

1. Printout of the online application (ORA) 2. Original and self-attested copies of educational qualification certificates (degree, marksheets, certificates) 3. Date of birth proof—matriculation / 10th certificate 4. Category certificate - SC/ST/OBC/EWS in the central government prescribed format (mandatory for reserved category candidates) 5. PwBD Certificate from the chief medical officer / civil surgeon if claiming disability benefit 6. Ex-servicemen certificate from the appropriate authority if claiming age relaxation 7. Central/UT government employee certificate if claiming age relaxation on that basis 8. Experience certificate (if experience is claimed in application) 9. Any other item specified in the interview summon letter