Howrah NHM Recruitment 2026: Staff Nurse, CHA and Pharmacist Contract Posts

Women who are permanent residents of Howrah district and hold an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) or General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course can apply for 86 Community Health Assistant posts. Howrah NHM recruitment 2026 also has 53 Staff Nurse posts and 17 others, 156 in all. They are contract posts under the National Health Mission (NHM) and the XV Finance Commission Health Grant, listed in Recruitment Notice No. DHFWS/HOW/2284 of 13 October 2026. The District Health & Family Welfare Samiti (DHFWS), Howrah runs the hiring. You apply online on wbhealth.gov.in, and there is no fee. Registration and applications opened on 16 October 2026. Online registration closes on 30 October 2026, and the online application closes at 11:59 PM on 31 October 2026. You must be a permanent resident of West Bengal and know Bengali or the local language. The Community Health Assistant posts are only for women who are permanent residents of Howrah district.

Howrah registration closes on 30 October 2026, though page 1 prints 2025

The date table on page 1 of the notice has one printing mistake in a year. The online application portal shows the correct date:

A registration end in 2025 cannot be right, because registration only opened on 16 October 2026. The portal row for each of the 11 post rows gives 30 October 2026 as the last date for registration. Page 9 of the notice (item 27) repeats the application deadline: 11:59 PM on 31 October 2026.

So finish your registration on or before 30 October 2026, and submit the full application by 11:59 PM on 31 October 2026. Do not leave registration for the last hours. If the portal gives a technical error, write to hrtechnical.howrahdhfws@gmail.com with a screenshot before the window closes.

Five programmes behind the 156 Howrah NHM recruitment 2026 posts, and what each row pays

All posts are on contract under the National Health Mission (NHM) or the XV Finance Commission Health Grant (XV FC HG). The notice gives a single monthly amount for each post, not a pay scale.

The notice gives a total for each row but no grand total, so 156 is our sum. NUHM is the urban part of NHM. NPHCE is the national programme for the health care of the elderly, and NTEP is the national TB programme. The notice does not spell out HCP. Most posts are in urban health centres of the municipal areas (ULBs) of Howrah district. The STS and TBHV posts are in TB units, and the Block Data Manager posts are in block health data (HMIS) units.

Row 04 alone has 11 ST seats: reserved seats in each Howrah row

UR means unreserved, open to all. SC, ST and OBC are Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. EWS is the Economically Weaker Section. PwBD means persons with benchmark disabilities.

B.Sc. Nursing counts for three Staff Nurse rows, but not for Uluberia

Staff Nurse rows 03, 05 and 06 need a GNM course or a B.Sc. Nursing course. The GNM institute must be recognised by the Indian Nursing Council (INC) or the West Bengal Nursing Council (WBNC). You must also be registered with the WBNC. The age rule for these three rows is “40 years or less”, as on 1 January 2026, with relaxation as per government norms.

Row 11, the single Uluberia post, is different. It lists GNM only, not B.Sc. Nursing. Its age range is 21 to 40 years, and work with Thalassaemia patients is desirable.

Your nursing registration must be from West Bengal and must be in hand by 16 October 2026, the first date of the online application. Your name must match in the application and the registration.

The 86 Community Health Assistant posts are for Howrah women only

Both Community Health Assistant (Urban) rows are only for female candidates. You need an ANM or GNM course from an institute recognised by the INC, with WBNC registration. The notice says you should be proficient in Bengali and a permanent resident of Howrah district. The age range is 21 to 40 years as on 1 January 2026.

Pharmacist, physiotherapy, TB and data posts in the Howrah list

• Pharmacist: a 2-year Diploma in Pharmacy (allopathic) recognised by the West Bengal government, and registration as an “A” category pharmacist with the West Bengal Pharmacy Council. You also need computer skills, including MS Office and the internet.
• Multi Rehabilitation Worker: a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy and at least 2 years of work in a hospital. A master’s in physiotherapy is desirable.
• Senior Treatment Supervisor: a science graduate who knows MS Word and Excel, with a permanent two-wheeler driving licence. A Master of Social Work (MSW) and 1 year in a national health programme are preferred.
• TBHV: a science graduate with at least 1 year as a Multi-Purpose Worker (MPW), Lady Health Visitor (LHV), ANM or health worker. You also need a computer course of at least two months.
• Block Data Manager: a graduate with a 1-year diploma in computer application from a government registered institution. You need working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and the internet. You also need 3 years of data work in the government sector, or 5 years in the private sector.

The age range for all these posts is 21 to 40 years as on 1 January 2026, with relaxation as per government norms. The notice does not print the number of relaxation years. Existing NHM staff in the same position get 5 extra years.

Nursing marks rank most Staff Nurse and CHA applicants; some posts add a test or interview

For Staff Nurse rows 03, 05 and 06 and both Community Health Assistant rows, the notice says selection may be a single stage. Only your documents are checked at that stage. The general rules still allow a written or computer test or an interview where needed. Merit comes from the marks in your nursing course (100 marks for Staff Nurse, based on your percentage).

Other posts mix marks with a test or interview:

Experience in government work earns double the marks of private work. For example, 5 years or more earns 10 marks in government service but 5 marks in a private job. Experience is counted only after you got the required qualification, up to 16 October 2026.

The notice also sets out how marks are counted. Class 10 marks leave out additional or optional subjects. Class 12 marks use your best five subjects, leaving out compulsory subjects. Marks are not rounded off, and only two decimal places count. If two candidates tie, the older one gets preference.

Caste, EWS and PwBD certificates must be from West Bengal, dated by 16 October

• Any certificate for a reserved post must be issued by a West Bengal authority on or before 16 October 2026.
• Only digitised caste and PwBD certificates are accepted. Handwritten ones are not.
• The EWS certificate must also be issued by 16 October 2026 by a West Bengal authority.
• OBC eligibility follows the West Bengal Backward Classes Welfare Department notifications listed in the notice, the latest dated 7 August 2026. The notice says these depend on court cases still pending.

Keep your Howrah registration number: the district will not send it again

1. Open the department’s application portal, hr.wbhealth.gov.in. Each of the 11 Howrah post rows has its own entry there, marked “2284 dt 13.10.26” and named with its programme, for example “Staff Nurse Under NUHM”.
2. Register first (by 30 October 2026), then fill in the application for your post (by 31 October 2026). Keep your registration number safe. The district says it will not give it to you later.
3. Upload a proper photo and signature. The notice says an application without them will be cancelled.
4. If your grades are in CGPA (a grade point average instead of marks), enter the equivalent percentage as per your university’s rule, and keep a copy of that rule.
5. Print the registration form from hr.wbhealth.gov.in under “Application Print”. Do not post it. Bring it, with your original documents and photocopies, to document verification if you are shortlisted.

Government employees must apply through proper channel if their rules require it, and bring an original No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the interview. For technical problems, the notice gives the e-mail hrtechnical.howrahdhfws@gmail.com, to be used before the window closes. Shortlists, interview dates and any corrigendum will be posted only on wbhealth.gov.in.

The selected panel stays valid for one year. Vacancies that open later in that year can be filled from it.

Test dates, relaxation years and two-row applications: not in notice 2284

• The number of years of age relaxation for each category.
• Dates for the computer tests and interviews.
• Whether you can apply for more than one row, for example two Staff Nurse rows.

Beyond the 156 Howrah posts: a Gujarat nurse drive for PwBD candidates

See all West Bengal government jobs and health sector jobs on this site. Nursing and pharmacy diploma holders can also browse jobs for diploma holders. Nurses with a disability can look at the GSSSB Staff Nurse special drive for PwD candidates in Gujarat, which closes on 29 October 2026.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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