DRDO STA-B Preparation Guide

DRDO STA-B Preparation Guide

DRDO's CEPTAM Senior Technical Assistant B recruitment opens with a 150-question Tier I screening test — broader and slightly larger than the equivalent Technician A paper, with real negative marking to manage.

Exam Pattern

Tier I (Screening Test): 150 objective questions worth 150 marks, attempted in 2 hours, covering General Science, General Intelligence & Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and General English. Each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks. Minimum qualifying marks are 40% for UR/OBC/EWS and 35% for SC/ST/PwBD candidates.

Preparation Strategy

1. Respect the 0.25 negative marking: Unlike Technician A's Tier I, this paper does penalise wrong answers — guess only when you can eliminate at least one option.
2. Clear the qualifying cutoff with genuine margin: Tier I only advances you to Tier II — a bare pass still leaves the subject-specific stage to come.
3. Spread preparation across all four sections: With no single subject dominating, a weak section drags down your overall score.
4. Practise Quantitative Aptitude at a standard competitive-exam level: This section tests general numerical ability, not specialised engineering mathematics.
5. Start Tier II subject-specific preparation once Tier I is on track: Tier II tests in-depth technical knowledge for your applied post code — begin building this in parallel once you're confident of clearing Tier I.
6. Time yourself at 48 seconds a question: 150 questions in 120 minutes requires consistent pace — full-length timed practice is the best way to build it.

Sectional Notes

General Science — Foundational science concepts.

General Intelligence and Reasoning — Verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Quantitative Aptitude — Standard numerical ability.

General English — Grammar, comprehension and vocabulary.