IASST Project Assistant-I 2026: Citrus Canker Research

One research vacancy, with a bachelor's degree as the entry route

The Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, has advertised one Project Assistant-I position under Advertisement 610, dated 16 October 2026. The position supports an ANRF-funded project studying Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, the bacterium responsible for citrus canker. The scientists aim to compare strains collected from citrus-growing regions, understand how they cause disease, and investigate possible control approaches.

This is a practical laboratory-support appointment. The notice names experiments, their preparation, data collection and manuscript writing as the work involved. It does not prescribe a particular sequencing platform or named laboratory certificate as a condition for applying.

Which degrees qualify?

The essential qualification is a bachelor's degree from a recognised university in any one of the following subjects:

• Biotechnology or Agricultural Biotechnology
• Microbiology or Biochemistry
• Pharmacy or Botany

The six subjects are alternatives, not cumulative requirements. A master's degree in a listed relevant subject is desirable, but the recruitment does not require every applicant to hold an MSc. Plant Biotechnology is expressly included among the desirable master's subjects, but it is not named as a separate essential bachelor's route.

For example, a BSc Microbiology graduate need not reject the vacancy simply because they have no master's degree. A BPharm graduate has an explicitly named undergraduate route. Conversely, an MSc in a desirable subject does not automatically replace an unlisted undergraduate qualification: applicants whose bachelor's subject falls outside the six named disciplines should seek confirmation from IASST. No minimum percentage, NET/GATE condition or fixed number of years of previous employment is given.

The published maximum age is 28 years, subject to Government of India relaxation rules. The notice does not provide a category-wise table of relaxation periods.

Pay, project duration and what the job involves

The stipend is ₹27,000 per month, consolidated. IASST does not separately promise HRA or a regular government pay level in this notice. The initial contract is for one year, tied to the research project. Extension depends on satisfactory performance and availability of funds; a subsequent year or permanent employment is not guaranteed.

The project title mentions genomic and phylogenetic analysis. In ordinary terms, that means examining genetic information and relationships between bacterial strains to help understand the disease. Applicants can relate genuine microbiology, plant-pathology or lab-data experience to that work. They should not claim sequencing, culturing or plant-infection experience unless it appears in their actual academic or professional record. The employer has not published a written-test syllabus or specified interview questions.

Application by email; interview the following day

Application deadline — 1 November 2026. IASST's official contractual recruitment list gives this closing date for Job ID 610. Page 1 of the three-page notification and Annexure I instructs applicants to send the completed form with relevant documents to sshankar.pandey@iasst.gov.in. The PDF does not announce a specific cutoff hour. Use the prescribed form rather than looking for an unadvertised online application portal, and retain a copy of the sent email.

Walk-in interview — 2 November 2026, 10 AM onward. Candidates must reach IASST, Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati, one hour early (by 9 AM). Bring original documents and self-attested copies of academic credentials. Travel and daily allowances will not be reimbursed. Because the interview falls immediately after the listed email deadline, candidates travelling to Guwahati should plan both steps in advance; attendance does not replace submitting the application.

Read the attached form carefully

The official PDF contains an important post-title mismatch. Page 1 recruits a Project Assistant-I, while Annexure I on page 2 prints Project Associate-I next to 'Post Applied for'. Identify your application clearly as Advertisement 610 — Project Assistant-I and ask IASST how the preprinted label should be handled. Do not quietly change the position you are applying for.

A second point needs clarification rather than an automatic assumption of a printing error. Annexure I asks applicants to enter their age as on 12 November 2026, while the announced interview takes place on 2 November 2026. Those dates serve different stated purposes, and their difference alone does not prove the form is wrong. Follow the form's printed instruction when completing it, but if eligibility depends on the exact age cutoff, seek confirmation from IASST before relying on either date as the final recruitment cutoff.

Annexure I also asks for an account of previous project work (maximum 200 words) and an optional motivation statement of up to 100 words. Its wording refers to MSc/other work, even though a master's degree is not compulsory. A bachelor's applicant can accurately describe an undergraduate dissertation, fieldwork, internship or laboratory activity. The point is to document what you personally did, not to invent postgraduate research experience.

Do not confuse Advertisement 610 with 609

IASST issued two separate Project Assistant-I advertisements on 16 October. Advertisement 610 concerns Xanthomonas citri and explicitly accepts Agricultural Biotechnology at bachelor's level. Advertisement 609 concerns Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and has a different five-subject bachelor's list. Both show the same stipend and interview date, but these are independent vacancies and forms. Use the correct advertisement number for the project you intend to pursue.

Read the official IASST advertisement 610 and IASST recruitment listing before applying. For other openings, SarkariSapna's Science & Research jobs and Assam jobs are browsing directories, not substitutes for the institute's application instructions.