Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited opened applications on 21 August 2026, and the window runs through 19 September 2026, 6:00 PM — a little under two weeks from today. Nothing else in this cycle is pending; MRPL’s process from here runs entirely off your GATE 2026 score, so once applications close, the next real checkpoint is whether you get shortlisted for Group Discussion and Personal Interview.
Before anything else, here’s the detail that changes who this notification is actually for: Mechanical and Electrical Engineering posts are notified exclusively under a Special Recruitment Drive for SC/ST/OBC(NCL) candidates. There are no UR or EWS seats in either of those two disciplines at all — not a smaller quota, zero. If you’re General or EWS category with a Mechanical or Electrical GATE score, this notification doesn’t have a seat for you in those disciplines; Chemical Engineering is the only discipline open to all categories.
The Basics
| Particular | Detail |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), subsidiary of ONGC |
| Category | Schedule ‘A’ Miniratna CPSE, under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas |
| Advertisement No. | 94/2026 |
| Post | Assistant Engineer, E2 Grade, Management Cadre, Regular Basis |
| Total Vacancies | 26 |
| Selection Basis | Valid GATE 2026 score only |
| Application Window | 21 August to 19 September 2026, 6:00 PM |
| Pay Scale | Rs. 50,000 – Rs. 1,60,000, IDA pattern |
| Job Location | Mangaluru, Karnataka, with liability to transfer anywhere in India or abroad |
| Application Portal | mrpl.co.in/careers |
Where the 26 Posts Sit — And Who Can Actually Apply for Each
| Discipline | Vacancies | Open To |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 8 | SC/ST/OBC(NCL) only — Special Recruitment Drive |
| Electrical Engineering | 3 | SC/ST/OBC(NCL) only — Special Recruitment Drive |
| Chemical Engineering | 15 | All categories (UR/OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwBD) |
Chemical Engineering carries the bulk of the vacancies and is the only discipline where General and EWS candidates have any route in at all. If you hold a GATE score in Mechanical or Electrical and belong to UR or EWS, there’s genuinely no post under this specific advertisement for you — this isn’t a case of lower priority within a mixed pool, it’s a structurally separate SRD notification layered into the same advertisement.
Eligibility
You need a B.E./B.Tech./B.Sc. Engineering degree in the relevant discipline (Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical, matching your applied post) with a minimum 60% aggregate (relaxed to 50% for SC/ST/PwBD candidates), plus a valid GATE 2026 score in the matching paper.
That last point is worth underlining because it trips up repeat GATE test-takers specifically: only GATE 2026 scores are accepted — results from any previous or other year’s GATE examination will not be considered, even if that older score happens to be numerically stronger than your 2026 attempt. Some PSU recruitments accept a rolling multi-year GATE window; this one explicitly doesn’t. If your best GATE performance was in an earlier year and your 2026 attempt was weaker, that earlier score simply isn’t usable here.
Age Limit — Discipline-Specific, Not a Flat Number
| Category | Mechanical | Other Disciplines (general pattern) |
|---|---|---|
| UR/EWS | 27 years | Similar UR ceiling applies |
| OBC-NCL | 30 years | Standard 3-year relaxation |
| SC/ST | Further relaxed per rules | Standard 5-year relaxation |
| PwBD | 37 to 42 years, per Government rules | As applicable |
Age is reckoned as on 19 September 2026, the closing date. Since Mechanical and Electrical only carry SC/ST/OBC(NCL) seats, the practical age band you’ll actually be checked against is whichever of those three category ceilings applies to you — there’s no UR age line relevant to those two disciplines in the first place.
Application Fee
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| UR / OBC (including NCL) / EWS | Rs. 118 (Rs. 100 + 18% GST), non-refundable |
| SC / ST / PwBD / Ex-Servicemen | Nil |
Payment is online only, through the payment gateway integrated with the application portal.
Pay and What You Actually Take Home
Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,60,000 basic pay under the IDA pattern, at E2 Grade — a genuinely competitive entry point for a fresh-to-mid-level engineering role in the PSU space. On top of basic pay, selected candidates get Dearness Allowance (IDA pattern) plus other perquisites and allowances as per MRPL’s company rules, which typically push total emoluments meaningfully above the basic figure alone in Indian refinery-sector PSUs.
Selection Process — Your GATE Rank Is the Only Gate to the Interview
Selection runs: GATE 2026 marks → shortlisting for Group Discussion and Personal Interview → document verification → final merit.
Shortlisting for GD and PI happens strictly on GATE 2026 marks (out of 100), in a 1:5 ratio — meaning roughly five times the number of vacancies get called forward per discipline/category combination. If two candidates land on identical GATE marks, the tiebreaker moves to higher marks in the essential engineering degree — not age, not additional qualifications, specifically your qualifying-degree percentage. Final merit for actual selection is prepared per MRPL’s own rules, combining the different stages, and MRPL explicitly reserves the right to add, modify, or drop any part of the testing process at its discretion.
Since GATE marks alone decide who even reaches the interview stage, and no written test exists in this process, your GATE 2026 performance is functionally the single most consequential number in your entire candidacy — the GD and interview only get to matter for candidates who clear that first filter.
Service Bond and Post-Selection Commitment
Selected candidates execute a service bond to serve MRPL for a minimum of 3 years from the date of joining, inclusive of the training-cum-probation period. The bond amount is Rs. 3,00,000 for General category candidates and Rs. 50,000 for EWS/OBC(NCL)/SC/ST/PwBD candidates — a significant difference by category, and a real financial commitment if you’re weighing this offer against other opportunities with shorter or no lock-in periods. You’ll also be placed on training-cum-probation as per company rules before confirmation, and your posting carries liability to transfer anywhere in India or abroad — Mangaluru is your initial location, not a guaranteed permanent one.
Documents to Have Ready
- B.E./B.Tech. Engineering degree passing certificate and consolidated marksheets
- Official GATE 2026 scorecard (PDF)
- Caste/EWS/PwBD/Ex-Servicemen certificate, where applicable
- Online fee payment confirmation receipt (where fee is applicable)
How to Apply
- Read Advertisement No. 94/2026 in full first, and confirm your discipline, GATE paper, marks, age, and category as they’ll stand on 19 September 2026.
- Visit MRPL’s Careers page, open the link for Advt. No. 94/2026, and register to generate your Login ID and Password.
- Sign in and fill in your education, GATE, and category details accurately.
- Upload the required documents.
- Pay the applicable fee online, if your category isn’t exempt.
- Review everything in the preview window carefully, then submit before 19 September 2026, 6:00 PM.
- Download and print the completed application PDF for your own records — you don’t need to send this printout to MRPL by post; keep it purely for your future reference at interview stage.
MRPL advises applying well before the deadline rather than the last day, stating it won’t be responsible for submission issues caused by network congestion close to the closing time.
Important Links |
|
| Apply Online (Advt. 94/2026) | Click Here (Active 21 Aug – 19 Sep 2026) |
| Official Notification PDF | click here |
| Official Website | Click Here |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. I’m a General category candidate with a strong GATE score in Mechanical Engineering — can I apply?
No. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering posts under this notification are exclusively reserved for SC/ST/OBC(NCL) candidates through a Special Recruitment Drive. No UR or EWS seats exist in these two disciplines. Your only route in under this specific advertisement would be Chemical Engineering, which is open to all categories.
Q2. My GATE 2023 score was higher than my GATE 2026 score — can I submit the older one?
No. Only GATE 2026 scores are accepted for this recruitment. Results from any previous GATE examination, however strong, are not considered, regardless of how they compare to your 2026 performance.
Q3. If two candidates have the same GATE marks, how does MRPL decide who ranks higher?
The tiebreaker is higher marks scored in the essential engineering degree qualification — not age or any other factor.
Q4. Do I need to send a hard copy of my application to MRPL after submitting online?
No. MRPL states explicitly not to send the printout by post. Keep the downloaded PDF copy for your own reference for later stages instead.
Q5. What happens if I leave before completing the 3-year bond period?
The notification specifies a service bond of Rs. 3,00,000 for General category and Rs. 50,000 for EWS/OBC(NCL)/SC/ST/PwBD candidates, tied to a minimum 3-year service commitment from the date of joining, inclusive of training-cum-probation. Leaving before that period would trigger this bond amount.
Disclaimer: Vacancy figures (26, split 8 Mechanical/3 Electrical/15 Chemical), category restrictions, age limits, fee, pay scale, and selection process above are drawn from MRPL’s official Advertisement No. 94/2026. Only GATE 2026 scores are valid; no other exam date or written test applies to this recruitment. For the latest updates, check the official website: https://www.mrpl.co.in.
