ICAR Committee Endorses Regrouping and Rationalisation of PG and PhD Entrance Examinations

25 October 2026, New Delhi

A high-level consultation meeting was held under the chairmanship of Dr M. L. Jat, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, to deliberate on the regrouping and rationalisation of the ICAR AIEEA (PG) and AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) national-level entrance examinations.

Dr Jat emphasised the need to reform ICAR’s entrance examination system and pattern to enhance efficiency, transparency, flexibility and academic relevance, in line with evolving educational standards and institutional requirements.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), Directors and Joint Directors of ICAR Deemed Universities, Vice-Chancellors of Agricultural Universities, Assistant Director Generals of the ICAR Agricultural Education Division and other senior officials.

During the meeting, Dr Yashpal Singh Malik, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), presented the proposal for regrouping ICAR’s entrance examinations, highlighting the need for the proposed changes to expand opportunities for students and align the examination system with emerging academic requirements.

The Committee unanimously endorsed the proposal to regroup and rationalise the entrance examinations for admission to postgraduate and doctoral programmes in agricultural and allied sciences.

The proposed reforms aim to provide students with greater flexibility and a wider choice of disciplines for postgraduate admissions, while improving the competitiveness, operational efficiency and financial sustainability of the examination system.

The revised eligibility criteria, examination syllabi and other relevant guidelines for the entrance examinations will be finalised and notified in due course.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Seema Jaggi, Assistant Director General (Human Resource Development), ICAR.

(Source: Agricultural Extension Division, ICAR)