MEA Section Officer Recruitment 2026 - Apply Offline for 60 Posts

The MEA Section Officer Deputation Recruitment 2026 is a vacancy circular to fill 60 Section Officer or equivalent posts in 20 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) across India on deputation basis, issued under Circular No. CDR-II/575/02/2025 dated 22-05-2026. These are not permanent appointments, but temporary deputation postings for eligible Central Government officers.

There are 60 vacancies in total, with 3 Section Officer posts in each of the 20 Regional Passport Offices such as Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Jalandhar, Kozhikode, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji, Pune, Srinagar, Surat, Trichy, Trivandrum, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam. The exact distribution is provided in Annexure-II of the vacancy circular.

Only serving Central Government officers are eligible. They must be working in any Ministry, Department or Office of the Central Government and holding an analogous post in Level 8 or Level 10 of the Pay Matrix on a regular basis. Applications from State Government, PSU, autonomous bodies, or private sector employees will not be considered.

The maximum age limit is 56 years as on 01-01-2026 for appointment on deputation. There is no separately prescribed minimum age other than being a serving eligible Central Government officer, but any officer who has attained more than 56 years on 01-01-2026 is ineligible.

The initial period of deputation is 2 years, which is extendable as per extant rules of the Government of India. Serving the full deputation term is mandatory, and premature relieving will not be considered except in rare or exceptional circumstances, so officers should apply only if they are ready to complete the full tenure.

Desirable attributes include good managerial and interpersonal skills, strong noting and drafting abilities, and the capacity to liaise with other Ministries, Departments and organizations. Preference is given to officers who have worked as Section Officer or equivalent in Central Government offices and handled Administration & Establishment, Policy, Court Cases, RTI, Finance & Accounts, Audit, and public dealing.

The posts are in Level 8 or Level 10 of the 7th CPC Pay Matrix, depending on the officer’s present analogous grade. Pay and allowances during deputation will be governed by DoPT’s O.M. No. 6/8/2009-Estt. (Pay II) dated 17.06.2010 and subsequent amendments, which regulate deputation pay, allowances, and related benefits.

Interested officers must apply in the prescribed pro-forma (Annexure-I) and forward their applications through proper channel via their Ministry/Department/Cadre Controlling Authority so that they reach MEA on or before 17-07-2026. An advance copy of the application can be sent by email to [email protected], but only applications duly forwarded through proper channel will be considered.