The 2026 ITI Electrician CBT for your first year is a two-hour exam with a total of 75 questions. These questions are split between your core Trade Theory and the crucial Employability Skills section. Your final score is calculated out of 150 marks.

While your Trade Theory makes up the bulk of the exam, the 25 questions from Employability Skills can significantly impact your overall percentage. These aren't just soft skills; they cover specific, examinable topics with a clear distribution of marks. The DGT places a strong emphasis on these areas as they are critical for a modern technician.

As you can see, proficiency in English, Communication, and IT Literacy accounts for 21 out of the 25 questions. Mastering these specific modules is a high-impact strategy for boosting your score.

Walking into the exam hall, you'll be seated at a computer terminal. After logging in with your credentials, the NIMI exam interface will appear. It's designed to be straightforward, but knowing its layout beforehand gives you a major advantage. You won't waste precious minutes figuring out the controls.

The most useful feature on the console is "Mark for Review & Next". If a question seems too difficult or time-consuming, don't get stuck. Use this button to flag it. The question's number in the palette on the right will change color, creating a visual reminder to come back to it later. This lets you secure all the easy marks first before tackling the tougher problems.

You have 120 minutes to answer 75 questions. This breaks down to roughly 1 minute and 36 seconds per question. However, not all questions require the same amount of time. Some IT Literacy or Communication Skills questions might take you only 20 seconds, while a complex Trade Theory calculation could take over two minutes.

Adopt a two-pass strategy for maximum efficiency:

1. First Pass (60-70 minutes): Go through the entire paper from question 1 to 75. Answer every question you are 100% confident about instantly. Use the "Mark for Review" button liberally on anything that makes you pause for more than a few seconds. The goal here is to lock in all the guaranteed marks quickly.

2. Second Pass (50-60 minutes): Now, use the question palette to jump directly to all the questions you marked for review. With the easy questions done and time pressure reduced, you can focus your full attention on these more challenging problems. Even if you can't solve everything, you've already built a strong foundation for your score in the first pass.

By understanding the structure, mastering the interface, and managing your time wisely, you turn the CBT from a simple test of knowledge into a strategic exercise you can win.