APEDA recruitment 2026: apply offline for 07 deputation posts within 30 days

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), operating under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has announced a recruitment drive for 07 posts, including Director, Secretary, General Manager, and Deputy General Manager. The notification for these positions, to be filled on a deputation basis, was issued on 03 October 2026.

This recruitment targets eligible officers from various government bodies, public sector undertakings, universities, and other qualified organisations. Interested candidates are required to submit their applications through a prescribed offline form within 30 days of the advertisement’s publication in Employment News.

Vacancy Details and Pay Levels

The current recruitment drive aims to fill a total of 07 vacancies across four different positions. These include one Director post at Pay Level 13, one Secretary post at Pay Level 12, two General Manager posts also at Pay Level 12, and three Deputy General Manager posts at Pay Level 11. The maximum age limit for all applicants is 56 years, and the initial deputation period is set for 2 years, which can be extended up to 5 years.

APEDA, a statutory body established to promote the export trade of agricultural commodities and processed foods, engages in market research, quality certification, and infrastructure development. The detailed breakdown of vacancies and their respective pay levels is provided below.

Eligibility Criteria for Deputation Posts

Specific eligibility criteria have been outlined for each post, primarily focusing on the candidates’ current service and experience. For the Director position, applicants must be Officers of Organized Group ‘A’ Services of the Central Government holding analogous posts on a regular basis, or have 5 years of regular service in Pay Level 12, or be a General Manager/Secretary of APEDA with 5 years of regular service.

Secretary candidates must be Officers of Organized Group ‘A’ Services of the Central Government holding analogous posts on a regular basis, or have 5 years of regular service in Pay Level 11, or be a Deputy General Manager of APEDA with 5 years of regular service. General Manager and Deputy General Manager candidates are required to be Officers from Central/State Government, Union Territories, PSUs, Universities, Autonomous Bodies or Statutory Bodies, holding an analogous post on a regular basis or having the required regular service in Pay Level 11 and Pay Level 10 respectively. In addition, General Manager and Deputy General Manager applicants must possess a relevant postgraduate qualification or Chartered Accountancy from ICAI, along with at least 5 years of relevant experience after acquiring the essential educational qualification. Accepted qualifications include fields such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing, Foreign Trade, Finance, and MBA (Finance).

Previous Recruitment Activities in 2026

This latest recruitment follows other drives conducted by APEDA earlier in 2026. Recruitment Advertisement No. 1/2026, dated 23rd May 2026, invited applications for Assistant Manager and Assistant General Manager posts. The online submission deadline for these positions was 22 June 2026. A written test for Assistant General Manager (Finance), Assistant Manager (Agriculture), and Assistant Manager was scheduled for 12 July 2026 at Delhi NCR.

The written test for Assistant General Manager (Finance) comprised 100 marks for the written component and 40 marks for an interview. For Assistant Manager and Assistant Manager (Agriculture), a single paper of 100 marks with a 2.5-hour duration was conducted. A negative marking of 25% was applied for every wrong answer in objective type questions, and candidates needed to secure 60% of the total written test marks to be short-listed. APEDA also had a recruitment drive in 2025 for 5 vacancies of Assistant Manager, with an application deadline of 20 January 2026.

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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