This one’s genuinely time-sensitive: POWERGRID’s application window opened on 25 August 2026 and closes 10 September 2026 — four days from today. Every one of the ten separate regional notifications carries the same closing date, so there’s no staggered deadline to fall back on if you’re still weighing which region to apply under.
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Power, released this as ten separate regional advertisements rather than one national notification — Northern Region I, II and III, Eastern Region I and II, North Eastern Region, Western Region I and II, and Southern Region I and II. That structure matters more than it might seem, because it directly shapes how you should think about your own odds.
The Basics
| Particular | Detail |
|---|---|
| Recruiting Body | Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) |
| Engagement Type | Apprentice, under the Apprentices Act, 1961 |
| Notification Date | 21 August 2026 (uniform across all 10 regions) |
| Total Posts | 270 across 10 regional establishments |
| Duration | 1 year |
| Application Window | 25.08.2026 to 10.09.2026 |
| Application Fee | Nil |
| Application Portal | www.powergrid.in → Careers → Engagement of Apprentices |
Ten Regions, and the Seat Counts Aren’t Close to Even
| Region | Base | States/UTs Covered | Posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Region-II | Vadodara | Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat | 38 |
| Northern Region-I | Faridabad | Delhi, Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand | 35 |
| Southern Region-II | Bengaluru | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, Kerala | 32 |
| Western Region-I | Nagpur | Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP, Goa | 27 |
| North Eastern Region | Shillong | Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura | 26 |
| Northern Region-III | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand | 25 |
| Northern Region-II | Jammu | J&K, Haryana, Punjab, HP, Chandigarh, Ladakh | 24 |
| Southern Region-I | Secunderabad | Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | 22 |
| Eastern Region-II | Kolkata | West Bengal, Sikkim | 21 |
| Eastern Region-I | Patna | Bihar, Jharkhand | 20 |
| All-India Total | 270 |
Western Region-II carries the single largest share at 38 posts. But the seven states covered under North Eastern Region share just 26 posts between them — and within that, the state-wise split gets genuinely thin: Meghalaya and Mizoram get 1 post each, Nagaland and Tripura get 2 each. Compare that to Northern Region-III, where Uttar Pradesh alone carries 23 of that region’s 25 posts. If you’re eligible to apply under more than one region because you live near a state border or have a qualifying degree from an institution in a different state, the competition-per-seat math genuinely differs region to region — worth checking the full state-wise breakdown before defaulting to whichever region is geographically closest.
Trade-Wise Split (All Regions Combined)
| Trade | Posts |
|---|---|
| Diploma (Electrical) | 122 |
| ITI – Electrician | 64 |
| Diploma (Civil) | 35 |
| Graduate (Electrical) | 34 |
| Graduate (Civil) | 15 |
Diploma (Electrical) alone accounts for nearly 45% of the entire notification. Graduate (Civil) is the tightest trade nationally at just 15 posts — and worth noting, Southern Region-I doesn’t notify this trade at all, so if you’re a Civil Engineering graduate specifically eyeing Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, that particular door isn’t open under this notification cycle.
Eligibility — And the Two-Year Qualifying Window
You must have passed your final qualifying exam between 11 September 2024 and 10 September 2026 — a rolling two-year window tied to the application closing date, not a fixed academic year. If your result came out before September 2024, you don’t qualify under this cycle regardless of how strong your marks were.
| Trade | Required Qualification |
|---|---|
| ITI – Electrician | Full-time ITI in Electrician trade |
| Diploma (Civil) | Full-time 3-year Diploma in Civil Engineering |
| Diploma (Electrical) | Full-time 3-year Diploma in Electrical Engineering |
| Graduate (Electrical) | Full-time 4-year B.E./B.Tech/B.Sc.(Engg.) in Electrical Engineering |
| Graduate (Civil) | Full-time 4-year B.E./B.Tech/B.Sc.(Engg.) in Civil Engineering (not offered in SR-I) |
Only full-time, regular qualifications count. Part-time, correspondence, distance-learning, or online-mode degrees and diplomas are explicitly excluded — a genuinely common trap for candidates who completed a valid, accredited qualification through a non-regular mode and assume “recognised institution” alone is sufficient. It isn’t; the mode of study matters as much as the institution’s recognition.
You cannot apply if you:
- Are still awaiting your final exam result
- Haven’t yet turned 18
- Have already undergone, or are currently undergoing, an apprenticeship anywhere — under any organisation, for any duration, however short
- Have more than 1 year of prior job experience
That apprenticeship exclusion carries no time limit attached — unlike some other PSU notifications that only exclude ongoing apprenticeships, POWERGRID’s condition rules out anyone who has ever completed one, regardless of when.
Which Portal You Register On Depends on Your Trade
This trips candidates up more than any other single step in the process. ITI-Electrician applicants register on NAPS (apprenticeshipindia.gov.in). Diploma and Graduate applicants (Electrical or Civil) register on NATS (nats.education.gov.in) instead. These are two separate government portals with separate registration systems — an ITI candidate mistakenly trying to register on NATS, or a Diploma candidate trying NAPS, will hit a wall before even reaching POWERGRID’s own application. Confirm which of the two applies to your trade before starting anything, and make sure your NAPS/NATS profile is 100% complete with all documents uploaded — POWERGRID’s own application requires your registration/enrolment number as an input field.
Age Limit
Minimum 18 years, as on the date of application, uniformly across all 10 regions. None of the ten regional notifications specify a maximum age limit or age relaxation — so there’s no upper ceiling stated to check against, unlike most other government recruitment notifications.
Stipend — And a Detail on Accommodation Worth Knowing
| Trade | Monthly Stipend |
|---|---|
| ITI – Electrician | Rs. 13,500 |
| Diploma (Civil/Electrical) | Rs. 15,000 (includes Rs. 5,450 DBT) |
| Graduate (Electrical/Civil) | Rs. 17,500 (includes Rs. 6,150 DBT) |
The DBT portion comes from the Government of India under the NATS scheme, and it’s conditional — you need an Aadhaar-seeded, DBT-enabled bank account for that portion to actually land. A bank account that isn’t Aadhaar-linked won’t receive the government’s share of your stipend even if POWERGRID processes its own portion correctly.
Here’s the detail worth flagging for anyone budgeting their year: if company accommodation isn’t provided or isn’t availed, an additional Rs. 2,500 per month is paid. Shared bachelor accommodation “may be provided subject to availability” — it’s not guaranteed, so don’t assume housing is locked in just because you’re selected. If you’re planning around a specific city’s cost of living, factor in that accommodation is conditional, not automatic.
Apprentices also get 12 days of Casual Leave (pro-rata) and 15 days of Medical Leave across the one-year term.
Selection Process — Merit-Only, No Written Test
Selection runs purely on your qualifying-exam marks, no written test or interview at any stage. Applications get screened for eligibility, then ranked in merit order. Shortlisted candidates are called for document verification at a ratio of 1:5 against notified slots — so for a region/trade combination with, say, 5 posts, up to 25 candidates might get called for verification, informed only via registered email. No TA/DA is paid for attending this stage. After verification, a final merit list is drawn from candidates found suitable, and selected apprentices then sign a tripartite apprenticeship contract on the NAPS/NATS portal, followed by a medical certificate and police verification before actual engagement.
Documents to Have Ready
- NAPS/NATS registration number, with a 100% completed profile
- Scanned educational certificates and marksheets
- Age proof (Matriculation certificate, Aadhaar, Passport)
- SC/ST/latest OBC(NCL) caste certificate, where applicable
- Bank cancelled cheque or passbook first page (must be DBT-enabled)
- Recent colour passport photo and signature
- Disability certificate/UDID card, where applicable (a Unique Disability ID specifically required for Western Region-I)
How to Apply
- Register on NAPS (apprenticeshipindia.gov.in) if applying for ITI-Electrician, or on NATS (nats.education.gov.in) if applying for any Diploma or Graduate trade. Complete your profile fully with all documents.
- Once you have your registration/enrolment number, go to www.powergrid.in.
- Navigate Careers → Engagement of Apprentices → Apply Online.
- Select one region/state — only one is permitted.
- Fill in the application, upload documents.
- Submit before 10 September 2026.
The Rule That Costs Candidates Their Application Entirely
This is worth its own section because the penalty is severe and absolute: you may apply to only one region/state, under one trade. POWERGRID’s own instructions state that candidates submitting multiple applications, or applying across more than one region, state, or trade, will not be considered — the applications are summarily rejected, not merged or defaulted to your first submission. If you’re eligible for both, say, Northern Region-I (through your Delhi-based ITI) and Northern Region-III (through family ties to UP), you have to pick one and commit. Applying to both in the hope that “one will work” backfires; it disqualifies you from both.
What This Doesn’t Promise
As with most apprenticeship engagements, completing the year at POWERGRID creates no entitlement to future employment with the company — stated explicitly in the notification. Your training location can also be changed during the apprenticeship, including for job rotation, within the notified state — so a selected candidate shouldn’t assume their initial posting city is fixed for the full year.
important links |
|
| Apply Online (Region-Wise) | click here (Active 25 Aug – 10 Sep 2026) |
| Regional Apprenticeship Notifications | click here |
| notification pdf | click here |
| NAPS Registration (ITI Electrician) | click here |
| NATS Registration (Diploma/Graduate) | click here |
| Official Website | click here |
| first job 24 jobs | click here |
| join whatsapp channel | click here |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. I have a Diploma in Electrical Engineering — do I register on NAPS or NATS?
NATS (nats.education.gov.in). NAPS is specifically for the ITI-Electrician trade under this notification; Diploma and Graduate applicants in both Electrical and Civil trades register on NATS instead.
Q2. My result came out in August 2024 — am I eligible?
No, based on the stated window. Only candidates who passed their final exam between 11 September 2024 and 10 September 2026 are eligible. A result from before that window, even by a few weeks, doesn’t qualify.
Q3. I’m eligible under both Northern Region-I and Northern Region-III — can I apply to both to improve my chances?
No. POWERGRID explicitly states candidates applying to more than one region will have their applications summarily rejected — you must choose only one.
Q4. I completed a short apprenticeship elsewhere two years ago in an unrelated field — can I still apply?
Based on the notification’s wording, no. It excludes anyone who has already undergone or is currently undergoing an apprenticeship anywhere, for any duration, with no time limit specified on how long ago that exclusion applies.
Q5. If I’m selected, is accommodation guaranteed?
No. Shared accommodation “may be provided subject to availability.” If it isn’t provided or you don’t avail it, you receive an additional Rs. 2,500 per month instead — but it isn’t a guaranteed inclusion.
Disclaimer: Vacancy figures (270 across 10 regions), trade-wise and state-wise breakdowns, stipend, eligibility, and dates above are drawn from POWERGRID’s ten official regional apprenticeship notifications dated 21 August 2026. The application window closes 10 September 2026. For the latest updates, check the official website: https://www.powergrid.in.
