Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) is India’s national R&D society for supercomputing, cyber security, multilingual computing, health informatics, and advanced software. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Pune, it runs centres across the country and two very different student funnels: C-CAT for PG Certificate training, and project-staff hiring for labs.
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CDAC is not one campus drive with one CGPA slide. You are either sitting C-CAT for a paid PG Certificate (PG-DAC, PG-DBDA, AI, cyber, and cousins) or applying to a project post (Project Associate, Project Engineer, and up) on careers.cdac.in. Eligibility is notification-specific. The rest of this hub treats both, and labels which is which.
| Path | What you get | Typical academic floor | Next step after the test |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-CAT | Rank → counselling → paid training seat | Course-wise, often 50-60% in the qualifying degree; no age cap in recent booklets | Join PG Certificate batch (Aug/Feb cycle) |
| Project Engineer / Associate | Contractual job at a centre | Often 60% (some Associate posts 50%) | Written/skill test if listed, then interview |
| Campus cell “CDAC drive” | Rare; usually a centre visit or C-CAT awareness | Whatever the cell printed | Follow that email, not a blog |
If your placement cell says “CDAC is coming,” ask: job PPT or C-CAT seminar? Mixing those two is how people prep the wrong paper for six weeks.
Academic requirements
Jobs: B.E./B.Tech often 60% or equivalent; ME/M.Tech/MCA/relevant PG as the post lists
C-CAT: Engineering / MCA / listed M.Sc streams; % from Table 1 of the booklet (commonly 50-60%)
Year: Final year can sit C-CAT provisionally (proof by a printed deadline). Job ads list passing years.
Backlogs: No active backlogs preferred for jobs; C-CAT needs the degree completed by joining
Skills they actually filter
C-CAT B: C, DS, OS, OOP, networks
C-CAT C (Cat III): Architecture, digital, microprocessors
Jobs: Same core + project defence; Java/Python if the JD names them
Exam names: C-CAT vs centre written / walk-in
CDAC does not publish one India-wide fresher CGPA for all posts. Treat 60% as the number you will see most often on PE ads in 2026, 50% on some Associate lines, and 50-60% on C-CAT courses. A 7.2 with weak C loses to a 6.4 who can explain fork(), TCP handshake, and a pointer bug.
| Range (graduation) | Jobs (typical) | C-CAT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below listed % | Out | Out | Do not argue with the PDF |
| At the floor (e.g. 60%) | Eligible if degree string matches | Eligible if course table allows | Written/interview still decides |
| Comfortably above | Same process | Same | Helps screen when applications flood; CDAC can raise the bar |
| 10th / 12th | Sometimes checked | Less central than degree % | Keep marksheets anyway |
Good fit: You like systems (OS, networks, C), you can sit a 3-hour MCQ paper without guessing wildly (negative marking), and you are fine with a project contract in Pune or another centre rather than a Bengaluru product CTC.
Harder path: You only grind LeetCode medium graphs; you refuse to relocate; you thought PG-DAC is a CDAC salary. Training fees are real. Job posts can close in days. Contract tenure is not Infosys training + confirmation folklore.
Branch myth: Mechanical/civil students sometimes clear C-CAT Category I/II if they learn C and aptitude; PE software posts still expect CS core. ECE has a natural Section C and embedded-lab story.
Gaps: Job ads are stricter on continuous education than C-CAT (no age limit in recent C-CAT notes). One active backlog is a bad idea for a government-society screen; clear it.
Download 2026 CDAC placement papers
2026 in detail
2025 placement papers
2024 placement papers
Previous year question papers
Previous-year “CDAC papers” on this site are pattern trainers for C-CAT sections and for the CS-fundamentals written some centres still run. They are not leaked live C-CAT forms and they are not a PARAM supercomputer interview dump.
| Round / paper | What previous-year sets train |
|---|---|
| C-CAT Section A | English, quant, logical; speed under +3/-1 |
| C-CAT Section B | C output, DS, OS, OOP, networks MCQs |
| C-CAT Section C | COA, digital, microprocessors (Cat III) |
| Job written (when held) | Same CS core, sometimes coding/skill |
| Interview | Project + C/OS/CN depth, why this centre |
Think of papers as simulators for negative-marking stamina. CDAC reuses themes (pointer MCQs, deadlock, subnetting) more than exact clones. A clean 2024 Section B under 60 minutes still trains a 2026 booklet even when the question IDs are new.
How to use a paper (not just “solve it”): time one section at 60 minutes; mark every guess; after the timer, list the OS/CN idea you missed; do not peek at Section C if you are Category II. Three reviewed sections beat ten PDFs you scrolled on the bus.
CDAC’s technical MCQs rarely need exotic libraries. They stack:
ptr++ vs *ptr++)fork/waitIf you can narrate memory and a TCP handshake without a slide deck, you are practicing the real skill. If you only “recognise the option from a Telegram dump,” negative marking will eat you.
Two calendars. C-CAT follows the admission booklet (register → computerised test at centres → rank → counselling → fee → batch start). Jobs follow centre advertisements (JIT / rolling): form on careers.cdac.in → screen → test if any → interview → offer/contract.
C-CAT (training)
Register at cdac.in / acts.cdac.in, pick Category II (A+B) or III (A+B+C), pay the booklet fee, sit the physical computerised test, then counselling. This is admission, not placement.
Project posts
careers.cdac.in, often centre-wise. 2026 JIT cycles have listed large multi-centre vacancy counts. One application per post/centre. Screening can raise the % bar if volume is high.
Campus / walk-in
Some centres advertise walk-ins or college talks. Same technical bar. Bring originals. Referrals exist but do not skip the interview.
Campus vs portal in practice: A college “CDAC drive” is uncommon compared with TCS-style mass hiring. More students meet CDAC via C-CAT (training) or a Pune/Bengaluru job PDF. Off-campus job applicants compete nationally; your paper and project still decide it.
Application screening (days to 2 weeks)
They match degree string, %, passing year, and keywords (C, Linux, networks, the lab’s stack). CDAC can lift the minimum if 10,000 people apply for 40 PE seats. Put C projects, OS labs, network mini-tools on the resume in plain language. “Worked on PARAM-scale systems” if you only ran a college cluster homework is a bad idea.
Written / skill test (when the ad says so, often 60-120 min)
Not every 2026 JIT post runs a long OA. When they do, expect C/C++ + OS + networks + aptitude, sometimes a short coding or Linux task. No single public “65Q/60min Honeywell-style” sheet is stable across centres. Use C-CAT Section B as the closest public simulator.
| Block | What shows up | Time habit |
|---|---|---|
| Aptitude | Easy-medium quant/logical | Do not bleed time into one DI |
| C / C++ | Output, pointers, snippets | Dry-run on paper first |
| OS / CN | MCQ + one short write | Definitions with one example |
| Coding (if any) | Easy-medium arrays/strings | Complete > clever |
Clear rate after a written, when held, is the steep drop. Interview slots are limited.
Technical interview (20-45 min)
Project walkthrough, C depth, OS (scheduling, memory, sync), networks (TCP, IP, maybe sockets), and whatever the centre builds (HPC, cyber, health, language tech). About the same flavour as a good GATE oral, not a 45-minute LeetCode contest. If you cannot explain your own GitHub README, that is the fail.
HR / admin (10-20 min, sometimes same panel)
Contract nature, joining city, notice, “why CDAC,” willingness to work on the assigned project (not your dream stack). Communication should be clear; this is not a consulting case.
| Section | Questions / time (typical) | Content | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 40 / 60 min | English, quant, reasoning | All categories |
| B | 40 / 60 min | C, DS, OS, OOP, CN | Cat II and III |
| C | 40 / 60 min | COA, digital, microprocessors | Cat III courses |
Marking in recent booklets: +3 correct, -1 wrong. Blank is 0. Guessing a 50/50 after eliminating two options is maths; guessing all 40 is how ranks collapse.
Time boxing: ~1.2 min/question average; skip and return; never leave a “I’ll think later” pile of 15 blanks if you can eliminate.
Category choice: PG-DAC-style courses are usually A+B. Architecture-heavy courses add C. Paying for C and skipping the syllabus is wasted money.
| Phase | Duration | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Form + screen | 3-14 days | Portal shortlist |
| Written (if any) | 1 day | Centre or online as advertised |
| Interview | 1-3 weeks after | Technical + HR |
| Offer / joining | Days to weeks | Contract, project start |
Total: often 2-8 weeks once a notification is live; some JIT posts move faster. C-CAT counselling is a multi-week admission calendar, not an offer letter.
If you only remember three numbers: C-CAT is not a job; PE pay is often quoted monthly; 60% is the PE floor you will see most.
Section A is “easy” until negative marking meets panic. A typical fail mode is spending 12 minutes on one seating puzzle, then guessing the last ten English items.
Working split many students use: 20 minutes quant (percentages, ratio, time-work, one DI), 20 minutes logical (skip the 3-minute monster), 20 minutes English (RC last, vocab first if you know it). If a question needs a diagram you cannot finish in 90 seconds, mark and leave. A blank is 0; a wrong is -1.
Quant that repeats: percentages and profit-loss, time and work with one equation, simple probability, averages. You do not need CAT permutation olympics. You need zero arithmetic slips.
English that repeats: one short RC, fill-ins, maybe para-jumble. Read the question before the passage. Match the option to the text, not to your opinion of supercomputers.
If the job interview and C-CAT share a spine, this is it. Two weeks of deliberate coverage beats a month of random PDFs:
| Days | Topic | Paper habit |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | C: operators, loops, arrays, strings | 20 output questions / day on paper |
| 4-5 | Pointers, structures, malloc |
Draw memory; no IDE |
| 6-7 | DS: stack, queue, tree, complexity | One “why O(n log n)” aloud |
| 8-9 | OS: process, thread, scheduling, deadlock | One example per term |
| 10-11 | Networks: OSI/TCP, IP, subnetting | One subnet question timed |
| 12 | OOP: virtual, overload, access | 15 MCQs |
| 13 | Mixed Section B mock | 40Q / 60 min, +3/-1 scoring |
| 14 | Error log only | Redo misses; stop new books |
That stack is also the PE interview syllabus. If you only need Category II, you can skip Section C entirely and spend day 12-14 on a second B mock.
CDAC panels are short. Structure answers like a lab review, not a TED talk.
fork()? Who owns the file descriptors?”free twice).If you cannot do the fork and TCP answers in under a minute each, you are not interview-ready even if your CGPA is 8.5.
Online assessment
OA format, timing, and question types.
Coding questions
DSA patterns for OA and technical rounds.
Aptitude / mock quiz
Quant, logic, and timed mock quiz.
Interview experiences
Candidate stories and round notes.
HR interview questions
Common HR questions, sample answers, STAR tips.
Week-by-week prep
Study plan and round-by-round strategy.
If a CDAC invite is 3-8 weeks out, treat this hub as the map and the linked practice pages as the drills. Do not reread eligibility ten times. Check the JD once, then spend hours on the filter that actually rejects people.
Typical fresher CTC chatter for CDAC sits around ₹4.7-6 LPA (candidate-reported - confirm the letter). Languages students mention most often: Java, C++, Python, C. Pick one and stay with it in OA and interviews.
Eligibility reminder (from student reports): It depends which CDAC path you mean. For Project Engineer / Project Associate job posts on careers.cdac.in, recent 2026 notifications commonly ask B.E./B.Tech (often 60% or equivalent; some Project Associate posts list 50%) or M.E./M.Tech/MCA/relevant PG, no active backlogs preferred, and skills in C/C++, OS, networks. For C-CAT (PG Certificate admission, not a job), qualifying degrees are listed course-wise with typ.
What you are training for: Job hiring: apply on careers.cdac.in (centre-wise posts), application screening, written or skill test if advertised, then interview. Timeline is notification-driven, often 2-8 weeks. C-CAT is a separate computerised admission test (Sections A/B/C) followed by online counselling for PG Certificate programmes. Do not treat C-CAT rank as a job offer.
Short version of the prep split: First pick the product: C-CAT for PG-DAC/PG-DBDA style courses, or careers.cdac.in for Project Engineer jobs. For C-CAT, drill Section A aptitude, Section B C/DS/OS/OOP/networks, Section C architecture/digital if you need Category III. For jobs, same CS core plus a project you can defend, then STAR stories. Full week plan: /cdac/preparation-guide/.
Week 1 - pattern, not vibes. Timed aptitude + one easy coding problem a day, plus a one-page cs fundamentals sheet. Open the CDAC previous-year sets on this site and mark which sections ate your time. Write the timing on a sticky note. That number is more useful than a 200-problem LeetCode streak you never timed.
Week 2 - the steep filter. Most CDAC drives fail people on the first timed paper or OA. Do three timed sits this week. After each one, log every miss in a two-column note: topic and why (slow, wrong formula, bad edge case, panic). The next sit should only add problems from that log.
Week 3 - talk tracks. Technical interviews at CDAC usually want a clean project story, one or two CS fundamentals, and (if the process has it) a behavioral or values round. Write STAR stories on paper, not in your head. Practise “Why CDAC?” with one concrete product, lab, or business line - not a slogan.
Week 4 - mocks and logistics. Two full mocks, then only error-log topics - no new patterns. If you still have energy, redo only the questions you failed in week 2.
| Slice | Share of weekly hours | What “done” looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Timed papers / OA | ~40% | You finish a CDAC-style sit without guessing the clock |
| Coding / role technical | ~30% | You can explain a solution out loud in your chosen language |
| Fundamentals / domain | ~20% | You can teach one OS/DBMS/networks (or domain) topic to a friend |
| Stories + HR | ~10% | Two STAR stories and a specific Why-this-company answer |
If you only have 10 days, keep the same ratios and cut volume, not the timed sits.
Use this hub for the CDAC story (eligibility, rounds, salary). Use those pages for timed reps and interview notes.
If you do one thing after reading this: schedule three timed CDAC papers on three different days, then interview prep on the leftovers.
Figures below mix official-style consolidated monthly bands from recent multi-centre ads and candidate-reported annual ranges as of August 2026. CDAC is a society; many technical posts are project contracts, not Infosys-style CTC + variable + joining bonus.
| Level | Monthly (indicative) | Rough annualised | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Associate | ₹28,750-35,000 | ~₹3.5-4.2 LPA | Lower bar on some centres |
| Project Engineer | ₹39,100-50,000 | ~₹4.7-6 LPA | Main fresher technical post |
| Senior Project Engineer / Module Lead | ₹60,000-75,000 | ~₹7.2-9 LPA | Experience / later contract |
| Project Manager and up | ₹64,000-1,60,000+ | Wide | Not a campus fresher default |
| Band | Typical quote | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Fresher PE | ₹6-12 LPA | Upper end usually SPE / longer contracts / blended reports; confirm monthly in writing |
| PG-DAC campus “placement” | Varies by the company that hires you after the course | That is not CDAC payroll |
Confirm PF, tax, and whether the number is consolidated. Do not negotiate like a product company before you have a letter.
Lab work on national projects (HPC, cyber, language, health), centre facilities, learning that looks like GATE-depth CS rather than ticket-only support. Hybrid is team-dependent. Relocation to the centre that hired you is the default. Rural/small-city centres exist; ask before you assume Pune only.
Growth: PE → Senior PE → Project Leader on later ads. Internal movement across centres is possible but not a Zoho-style product hop. PG-DAC alumni often use the certificate to enter private IT; that is a third path, not “CDAC salary.”
How to talk pay in HR: Know the monthly band on your advertisement. Asking “is this consolidated, what is tenure, is there a chance of extension?” is adult. Quoting a 12 LPA blog at a 39k PE post is how panels shut down.
Large JIT job cycles
2026 centre-wise JIT ads have listed very large provisional vacancy counts (hundreds of posts across ~11 centres). Still contractual and screen-heavy.
C-CAT still the training gate
August/February PG Certificate batches still run through C-CAT + counselling. Final-year students can apply provisionally per booklet rules.
Two calendars
Job PDFs can close in weeks. C-CAT is a published exam calendar. Do not wait for one if you need the other.
Same technical bar
C, OS, networks, and a real project still beat buzzword resumes. Supercomputing brand does not mean you will write CUDA on day one.
Net for 2026 prep: pick job vs C-CAT this week. Double down on handwritten C and OS/CN MCQs. Do not wait for a “new pattern” rumour. PARAM posters in the PPT do not change Section B.
Also expect more multi-centre JIT noise on Telegram. Apply only on careers.cdac.in / cdac.in. Paid “CDAC job dumps” are a scam pattern.
Yes. Free CDAC placement papers PDF and previous-year style questions (2024-2026) with solutions are on this site. No registration. Start with the 2026 PDF and the archive. Papers train C-CAT / CS written themes; they are not official leaked forms.
No. C-CAT is the admission test for PG Certificate programmes. A job is a separate careers.cdac.in advertisement. Clearing C-CAT gets you a training seat after fees and counselling, not a Project Engineer offer.
Typically three papers of 40 questions / 60 minutes: A (English, quant, reasoning), B (C, DS, OS, OOP, networks), C (architecture, digital, microprocessors) for Category III. Marking commonly +3 / -1. Category II is A+B. Confirm the current booklet.
Recent booklets use +3 / -1. Blank is safer than a wild guess. Eliminate two options before you take a 50/50.
Jobs: portal form → screen → written/skill test if advertised → interview → contract. C-CAT: register → computerised test → rank → counselling → fee → batch. Timelines 2-8 weeks for many job cycles; C-CAT follows the published admission calendar.
Most PE loops report two major stages after the form: written (optional) and interview (technical + HR, often same day). Walk-ins may be resume to interview. C-CAT is not an interview round.
Pune (HQ), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Noida, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Chennai and others post separately. Apply to the centre on the PDF. One form is not India-wide.
Jobs: often B.E./B.Tech at 60% (some Associate posts 50%) or listed PG; no active backlogs preferred; C/C++, OS, networks. C-CAT: course-wise degrees at typically 50-60%, no age limit in recent notes, final year provisional per booklet. Same bar as recent cycles unless your PDF changed.
C/C++ first. Java and Python show up on some JDs. Interviews still reward pointer tracing and OS/CN speech over Spring Boot name-drops.
For jobs, assume no active backlogs. For C-CAT, you must complete the qualifying degree by the joining/proof date. Do not treat leniency as a plan.
Many PE software posts prefer CS/IT/ECE-related strings listed in the ad. ECE fits embedded/HPC-adjacent labs. Mechanical/civil are more often a C-CAT story than a default PE software shortlist. Match the exact discipline text.
PE posts often quote ₹39,100-50,000 per month consolidated (~₹4.7-6 LPA). SPE higher. Candidate-reported ₹6-12 LPA annual bands mix levels and years. The appointment letter wins. PG-DAC “average package” is what other companies paid that batch, not CDAC CTC.
Contractual technical post on a funded project: implementation, research support, or productisation depending on the centre (HPC, cyber, language, health, e-gov). Selected via the job process, not via C-CAT rank.
Pick job vs C-CAT. Drill Section A speed and Section B C/OS/CN. Write C on paper. One project with a diagram. Week plan: preparation guide.
Print the PDF you will actually sit. Rank C tracing, OS, and networks above random hard DSA. If you want a job, do not spend the season only chasing C-CAT counselling ranks.
CDAC: society, project contracts, C/OS/CN, C-CAT is training. ISRO/DRDO: scientist/engineer notifications, often GATE/ICRB style, different pay rules. BEL: Navratna PSU, CBT/GATE + interview, advertised PE CTC. Pick CDAC if you want advanced-computing lab work and can live with contract language; pick BEL/ISRO if you want classic PSU rules. Prep GATE-level core for all of them.
It is a paid specialised course with a campus placement season of its own. It is not a CDAC job. Worth it if you need structured C/Java/DS depth and a second shot at IT hiring; skip it if you already clear PE interviews or a decent services/product offer.
Public detailed PE interview blogs are thinner than TCS/Zoho write-ups. Treat the patterns below as composite notes from OA pages, C-CAT booklets, and student chatter, then verify your PDF. Full story dumps belong on interview experience.
C-CAT rankers (2025-2026 cycles): Students who treated Section B like a GATE CS mini-paper (C + OS + CN every day) and left doubtful A questions blank beat peers who guessed 40/40. Takeaway: negative marking is the exam. Category III without Section C prep is how people waste the extra fee.
Project Engineer screens: Applicants with a networks or systems mini-project (even a college socket chat or a scheduler sim) report more interview oxygen than “I did a React clone.” Panels ask you to draw. Takeaway: one boring systems project beats three tutorial apps.
Contract surprise: A candidate expected Infosys-style confirmation after a year and froze when HR read project tenure. Asking “what is the current contract length and extension history for this post?” is allowed. Pretending it is a permanent 12 LPA product job is not.
What to steal: separate C-CAT from jobs on your calendar; time 60-minute sections; practice C on paper; decide centre city before the cabin; read monthly pay, not a blog CTC.
What to ignore: Telegram “CDAC OA dumps”; assuming PG-DAC placement stats are CDAC salaries; skipping OS because you code in Python.
Walk-in composite: A centre posts a two-day walk-in; candidates with originals, a one-page resume, and a printed project diagram get heard. People who show up with only a phone PDF and a 40-page “portfolio” stall at document check. Takeaway: print, travel, arrive as if it were GATE document verification.
PG-DAC then private IT: Many C-CAT rankers never join a CDAC payroll. They use the six-month course and its campus season to enter product/services firms. That is a valid plan. It is a different plan. Do not quote that batch’s average package as “CDAC fresher CTC” on this hub.