The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has assigned the responsibility of conducting All India Competitive Examinations for admission to UG, PG and Ph.D Courses in AUs, and award of scholarships &fellowships to the NTA from 2019 onwards. 

National Testing Agency (NTA) is established The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI). It is self-sustained premier testing organization under Society Registration Act, 1860 for conducting efficient, transparent and internationalstandards tests in order to assess the competency of candidates for admissions to premier highereducation institutions.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body for coordinating, guiding, and managing research and education in agriculture in the entire country under the aegis of DARE, Ministry of Agricultureand Farmers Welfare. 

ICAR AICE-JRF/ SRF (Ph.D) 2022  shall be conducted for admission to Ph.D programs in Agriculture and Allied Sciences at Agricultural Universities.

ICAR JRF/SRF(Ph.D) 2022 Examination will be conducted in 73 Subjects at 89 Cities all over the country enabling participation of a large number of candidates seeking admission to Doctoral Degree programs in AUs in different disciplines of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Veterinary, Animal Sciences, Agril. Engineering, Community Science (erstwhile Home Science), Fisheries, Dairy Science and other allied sciences. ICAR JRF/SRF(Ph.D.) shall be awarded to 300 candidates based on merit in this examination as per their overall merit-rank and seat availability in different disciplines. However, fellowship is granted only after the Counseling, when the candidate gets admitted and pursues Ph.D Degree in an AU other than the one from where he/she has passed Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. It implies that not more than two degrees (including Ph.D) should be from the same AU. The other candidates who are declared/notified as qualified for counseling will be eligible as per their merit rank and availability of seat for admission to Ph.D. degree programme, without fellowship, in the specific subject in the Aus. The above eligibility conditions will also apply to in-service candidates.

Candidates declared eligible for registration and choice filling for counselling by ICAR will only be considered for allocation of subject and the Agricultural University. There is no provision of direct nomination for admission through ICAR in any Doctoral degree program without qualifying in ICAR AICE-JRF/ SRF (Ph.D).

Scheme of Examination

The test of AICE-JRF/ SRF (PGS) has a single paper of 3 hrs duration

Mode of Exam: LAN Based CBT

Duration:  3 Hours

Number of Questions:  200 (20 + 180)

• 20 - General knowledge/reasoning ability
• 180 - Sub-subjects under the Major Subject chosen by the candidate

Type of Questions: Multiple Choice with 4 options

Maximum Marks:  800 (80+720)

Scoring: 

• 4 marks for each correct response
• -1 for each incorrect response (negative scoring)
• 0 for non attempt

Medium of Paper: English only.

Test would consist of three Sections: 

Subtest / Section A – First 20 MCQs will be common to all the 73 specialized Subjects.

The questions assess the level of candidate’s awareness about the environment and its application to the society.

The questions are based on general knowledge in the domain of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries and Allied Sciences, etc. including current events and matters of everyday observation and experience. 

Subtest/Section B – 50 MCQs will be from the Core Group containing the specialized Subject opted by the candidate for pursuing Ph.D. Subtest/Section C - 50 MCQs will be from one of the specialized Subjects (Annexure-III) in Masters degree opted by the candidate for pursuing Ph.D.  

Streams in Ph.D Program

College from which post-graduation was completed

Stream:

• Plant Biotechnology 
• Plant Science 
• Physical Science 
• Entomology and Nematology 
• Agronomy 
• Social Science 
• Statistical Science 
• Horticulture 
• Forestry/Agroforestry and Silviculture 
• Agricultural Engineering and Technology 
• Water Science and Technology 
• Home Science 
• Animal Biotechnology 
• Veterinary Science 
• Animal Science 
• Fisheries Science 
• Dairy Science 
• Dairy Technology 
• Food Science Technology 
• Agri-Business Management 
• Basic Science 

Mode of Examination: LAN Based CBT (Computer Based Test)

Date of Examination: Will be announced later on NTA website

Duration of Examination: 120 minutes (2 hours)

Timing of Examination: As to be indicated on Admit Card

Centre, Date and Shift of Examination: As to be indicated on Admit Card.

Candidate should have passed Master Degree from recognised university.

Candidates passed out from private Agricultural Universities/Colleges not accredited by ICAR will not be considered for admission through this examination. 

Indian Nationals of at least 20 years of age as on 01.06.2022 (i.e. the date of examination) are eligibleto apply for the examination.

No relaxation is permissible regarding the minimum age limit.

For Detail Syllabus candidate should follow following link: https://icar.nta.ac.in/downloads/Final_IB_PhD.pdf

Application fee

General/Unreserved - Rs. 1,850/- 

Other Backward Classes (OBC)- (NCL) & UPS/ EWS - Rs. 1,820/-

SC/ ST/ PwBD/ Transgender - Rs. 920/-

Service charges of the concerned Bank / Payment Gateway Integrator are to be paid by the candidate extra, as applicable.

Mode of Fee Payment 

Online Mode

• Debit/ Credit card, Net Banking and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in SBI Bank or ICICI Bank or HDFC Bank or Syndicate Bank
• Cash Deposit through e-challan at SBI/Syndicate Bank Branches only.

Candidates must keep following information ready before filling online Application Form

• Govt ID (Aadhaar Number (last 4 digits)/Election Card (EPIC No.)/Passport number/Ration Card Number/ Bank Account Number/PAN Number/ Other valid Govt Ids.
• Address for communication, Mobile Number, email id, etc.
• Scanned images of latest Photograph (size of 10 kb to 200 kb) in JPG/ JPEG format only
• Scanned image of Signature (size of 4 kb to 30 kb) in JPG/ JPEG format only
• Bank Account details for payment of Fee, for uploading as part of submission of online application.

How to Apply

1. Candidates can apply for  ICAR-AICE-JRF/SRF(Ph.D.)-2022 “Online” on the website www.ntaicar.nic.in.

2. Online Application Form may be submitted by accessing NTA website www.ntaicar.nic.in. 

The Application Form other than online mode will not be accepted, in any case.

3. Only one application is to be submitted by a candidate.

4. Candidates must ensure that e-mail address and Mobile Number provided in the Online Application Form are valid as all information/ communication will be sent by NTA through e-mail on e-mail address or SMS on given Mobile Number only.

Instructions for filling Online Application Form

Step-1: Fill in the Online Application Form and note down the system generated Application No.

Step-2: Upload scanned images of Candidate’s Photograph (between 10kb - 200kb) and Candidate’s Signature (between 4kb - 30kb) in JPG/JPEG format.

Step-3: Make payment of application form through SBI/Syndicate/ICICI/HDFC Payment Gateway(s) and keep proof of fee paid.

Step-4: Print at least three copies of Confirmation Page after successful remittance of fee.

Admit Card for AICE-JRF/ SRF(Ph.D)-2022

The candidate has to download the Admit Card from the NTA website as specified in Schedule of AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) and appear for the Examination at the given Centre strictly as per the Date and Shift (Timing) indicated on the Admit Card.

No candidate will be allowed to appear at the examination center, on Date and Timings other than that allotted to them in their Admit card.

The candidates are advised to read the instructions on the Admit Card carefully and follow them during the conduct of the examination.

In case of any discrepancy in the particulars of the candidate or his/her photograph and signatures shown in the Admit Card and Confirmation Page, the candidate may immediately approach the Help Line between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. In such cases, candidates would appear in the examination with the already downloaded Admit Card. However, NTA will take necessary action to make correction in the record later.

LIST OF CITIES FOR EXAMINATION CENTRES for AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D) 2021

Andaman and Nicobar: Portblair

Andhra Pradesh: Tirupathi

Andhra Pradesh: Vijaywada,Vishakhapatnam, Itanagar/ Naharlugun

Assam: Guwahati, Jorhar,Silchar (Assam)

Bihar: Arrah,Bhagalpur,Muzaffarpur, Patna

Chandigarh: Mohali

Chattisgarh: Bilaspur, Raipur

Delhi: New Delhi/Delhi

Goa: Panaji/Madgaon

Gujrat: Anand, Meshsana, Rajkot, Surat

Haryana: Hissar

Himachal Pradesh: Kangra/ Palampur, Solan

Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu, srinagar

Jharkhand: Jamshedpur,Ranchi

Karnataka: Bengaluru, Dharawad/ Hubbal, Gulbarga, Shivamoga

Kerala: Alappuzha/Chengannur, Idukki, Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Thiruvanthapuram,Thrissur,

Ladakh: Leh

Madhyapradesh: Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore,Jabalpur, Sagar,Satna

Maharashtra: Jalgaon, Kohlapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Manded, Pune

Manipur: Imphal

Meghalaya: Shillong

Mizoram: Aizwal

Nagaland: Kohima

Odisha: Berhampur, Bhubneshwar, Sambalpur

Punjab: Bhatina, Ludhiana, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar,Udaipur

Sikkim: Gangtok

Tamilnadu: Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem 

Telangana:  Hyderabad/ Secundrabad, Ranga  Reddy, Karimnagar,  Warangal

Tripura:  Agarthala

Uttrapradesh: Agra, Allahabad,Bareilly,Kanapur, Luckhnow, Varanasi, Dehra dun, Haldwani

West Bengal: Asansol, Kolkata, Siliguri 

The examination city centre, once opted, shall not be changed.

ICAR-AICE-JRF/ SRF(Ph.D) 2022 Dates