The National Testing Agency (NTA), on behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has issued the Information Bulletin for ICAR AIEEA (PG)-2026 for admission to postgraduate degree programmes in Agriculture and Allied Sciences for the academic session 2026-27. The examination will be conducted on 04/07/2026 through Computer Based Test mode. The result and merit list will be published on the NTA website after completion of the examination and answer-key challenge process.
Post Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Organization | National Testing Agency (NTA) / Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) |
| Examination | All India Entrance Examination for Admission to Postgraduate Degree Programmes (AIEEA (PG)-2026) |
| Academic Session | 2026-27 |
| Course Level | Postgraduate Master's Degree Programmes |
| Participating Institutions | Agricultural Universities, ICAR Deemed Universities, Central Agricultural Universities and Central Universities with Agriculture Faculties |
| Category | Result / Entrance Examination Admission |
| Result Status | To be declared on the NTA website |
| Examination Mode | Computer Based Test (CBT) |
| Paper Medium | English only |
ICAR AIEEA (PG) is used for admission to 30% seats in Master's degree programmes of Agricultural Universities. All seats of the four ICAR Deemed Universities—Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) and Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE)—and the specified Central Agricultural Universities are also filled through this examination. During the 2025-26 academic session, 4,883 ICAR All India Quota postgraduate seats were available; the final 2026-27 seat matrix will be displayed during online counselling.
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Online Application Start Date | 08/05/2026 |
| Last Date to Apply Online | 07/06/2026 |
| Last Date for Fee Transaction | 07/06/2026 |
| Application Correction Window Starts | 09/06/2026 |
| Application Correction Window Ends | 10/06/2026 |
| Examination Date | 04/07/2026 |
The admit card date, display of attempted question papers and provisional answer keys, result declaration date and online counselling schedule will be announced separately on the NTA and ICAR websites.
Application Fee
| Category | Examination Fee |
|---|---|
| General / Unreserved | ₹1,300 |
| OBC-NCL / UPS / EWS | ₹1,255 |
| SC / ST / PwBD / Third Gender | ₹675 |
The fee can be paid through Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking or UPI using the SBI or Canara Bank payment gateway. Applicable bank or payment gateway service charges and GST are payable separately by the candidate. A non-refundable fee of ₹200 per question challenged is payable during the provisional answer-key challenge process.
Age Limit
Indian National candidates must be at least 19 years old as on 31/08/2026. No relaxation is permissible in the minimum age requirement for appearing in the examination. Participating universities may prescribe additional age conditions for particular programmes during counselling.
Eligibility / Qualification
Candidates must satisfy the examination as well as university-specific admission eligibility requirements. The general requirements include:
- Candidates must have passed an eligible Bachelor's degree programme of four or six years under the 10+2+4 or 10+6 pattern in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Fisheries Science, Community Science, Agricultural Engineering or another relevant discipline.
- Candidates with a five-year or five-and-a-half-year B.V.Sc. and A.H. degree are eligible for Veterinary and relevant Animal Science subjects.
- Three-year Bachelor's degree holders are generally not eligible for admission through the ICAR-AU system. Exceptions may apply to selected programmes at IARI, IVRI and NDRI according to the rules of the concerned institution.
- General, OBC, UPS and EWS candidates must have at least 60% marks where marks are awarded. SC, ST, PwBD and Third Gender candidates must have at least 50% marks.
- Where OGPA is awarded, the minimum requirement is 6.60/10.00, 5.88/9.00, 5.22/8.00, 4.57/7.00, 3.92/6.00, 3.25/5.00 or 2.60/4.00 for General, OBC, UPS and EWS candidates on 10-point, 9-point, 8-point, 7-point, 6-point, 5-point and 4-point scales respectively.
- For SC, ST, PwBD and Third Gender candidates, the corresponding minimum OGPA requirements are 5.60/10.00, 4.98/9.00, 4.42/8.00, 3.87/7.00, 3.32/6.00, 2.75/5.00 and 2.20/4.00.
- No rounding off of marks or OGPA is allowed. For example, 49.99% will not be rounded to 50%.
- Candidates other than those in the Veterinary stream must complete all degree requirements by 31/07/2026. Veterinary stream candidates must complete the degree, internship and viva-voce requirements by 15/01/2027.
- Equivalence of degrees will be decided by the admitting university.
- Subject-wise eligibility must be checked before selecting a Major Subject Group. Participating universities may prescribe additional requirements relating to age, accreditation, minimum marks or deficiency courses.
Major Subject Groups and Subjects
Master's degree programmes are offered in 81 sub-subjects under 20 Major Subject Groups:
| Code | Major Subject Group | Major Sub-Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Plant Biotechnology | Biochemistry; Molecular Biology and Biotechnology; Plant Physiology |
| 02 | Plant Sciences | Genetics and Plant Breeding; Plant Pathology; Microbiology; Seed Science and Technology; Plant Genetic Resources |
| 03 | Physical Science | Agricultural Meteorology; Soil Science; Agricultural Physics; Agricultural Chemicals; Organic Farming; Environmental Science |
| 04 | Entomology and Nematology | Entomology; Nematology; Sericulture |
| 05 | Agronomy | Agronomy |
| 06 | Social Sciences | Agricultural Economics; Agricultural Extension Education |
| 07 | Statistical Sciences | Agricultural Statistics; Computer Application; Bioinformatics |
| 08 | Horticulture | Vegetable Science; Fruit Science; Post-Harvest Management; Floriculture and Landscaping; Plantation Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops |
| 09 | Forestry / Agroforestry and Silviculture | Forest Products and Utilization; Silviculture and Agroforestry; Forest Resource Management; Forest Biology and Tree Improvement |
| 10 | Agricultural Engineering and Technology | Soil and Water Conservation Engineering; Irrigation and Drainage Engineering; Processing and Food Engineering; Farm Machinery and Power Engineering; Renewable Energy Engineering |
| 11 | Community Science | Food and Nutrition; Human Development and Family Studies; Resource Management and Consumer Science; Apparel and Textile Science; Extension Education and Communication Management |
| 12 | Animal Biotechnology | Veterinary Biotechnology; Veterinary Biochemistry |
| 13 | Veterinary Science | Veterinary Anatomy; Animal Reproduction, Gynaecology and Obstetrics; Veterinary Medicine; Veterinary Parasitology; Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology; Veterinary Pathology; Veterinary Microbiology; Veterinary Surgery and Radiology; Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology |
| 14 | Animal Sciences | Animal Genetics and Breeding; Animal Nutrition; Veterinary Physiology; Livestock Production and Management; Livestock Products Technology; Poultry Science; Veterinary Extension Education |
| 15 | Fisheries Science | Fisheries Resource Management; Aquaculture; Fish Processing Technology; Fish Physiology and Biochemistry; Aquatic Animal Health Management; Fisheries Extension; Aquatic Environmental Management; Fish Genetics and Breeding; Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology; Fisheries Economics; Fishing Technology and Engineering; Fish Biotechnology |
| 16 | Dairy Science | Dairy Microbiology; Dairy Chemistry |
| 17 | Dairy Technology | Dairy Technology; Dairy Engineering |
| 18 | Food Science Technology | Food Processing Technology; Food Process Engineering; Food Safety and Quality |
| 19 | Agri Business Management | Agri Business Management |
| 20 | Water Science and Technology | Water Science and Technology |
Exam Pattern
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Examination Mode | Computer Based Test |
| Number of Questions | 120 Multiple Choice Questions |
| Duration | 120 minutes / 2 hours |
| Marks for Correct Answer | 4 marks |
| Negative Marking | 1 mark deducted for each incorrect answer |
| Unattempted Question | 0 marks |
| Maximum Marks | 480 marks |
| Paper Language | English only |
The question paper will contain four options for each question, and candidates must select one option. The test will end automatically when the stipulated time expires. Calculators and electronic devices are not permitted.
Result Details
The result of ICAR AIEEA (PG)-2026 will be published on the NTA website. The result will be provided in the form of an overall merit rank for the candidate's selected Major Subject Group. ICAR will prepare separate merit or rank lists for each Major Subject.
In case of a tie in marks, merit will be determined in the following order:
- Candidate securing fewer negative marks will be placed higher.
- The older candidate will be placed higher.
- The candidate with a higher percentage or CGPA in Class XII will be placed higher.
Candidates declared eligible by ICAR for registration and choice filling will be considered for online counselling. Admission and scholarship benefits will be available only through the ICAR AIEEA (PG)-2026 counselling process. No direct nomination is permitted without qualifying in the entrance examination.
Answer Key and Challenge Process
NTA will display the provisional answer key, attempted question paper and recorded responses before declaration of the result. The provisional answer key is expected to remain available for two to three days, while recorded responses are expected to remain available for three days.
Candidates may challenge a provisional answer key online by paying a non-refundable fee of ₹200 per question. The decision of NTA and the concerned subject experts on challenges will be final. The result will be prepared using the final answer key, and no representation regarding the answer key will be accepted after result declaration.
If a question is dropped because of a technical error, full marks will be awarded to all candidates, irrespective of whether they attempted that question. If multiple correct options are identified or the answer key is changed, marks will be awarded according to the revised answer key rules stated in the bulletin.
Reservation Policy
- Scheduled Caste candidates: 15% reservation.
- Scheduled Tribe candidates: 7.5% reservation.
- Central OBC-NCL reservation: As per the latest Government of India instructions applicable during counselling.
- EWS reservation: As per Government of India rules applicable to Central Educational Institutions.
- PwBD candidates: 5% horizontal reservation across categories, subject to a valid disability certificate and suitability for the programme.
- Remote and Underprivileged States/UTs: 2% horizontal reservation under each discipline for eligible candidates from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Ladakh.
PwBD candidates with at least 40% benchmark disability may receive a scribe and compensatory time of at least 20 minutes per hour of examination, subject to the prescribed certification. Candidates with less than 40% disability but with a certified writing limitation may also be permitted to use a scribe under the specified provisions.
Scholarship Details
Limited meritorious candidates may be awarded the ICAR-PG Scholarship based on merit rank and seat availability. The scholarship is payable for two years from registration in the Master's degree programme and is valued at ₹12,640 per month, together with a contingent grant of ₹6,000 per year for approved research-related chemicals, equipment, books and travel.
The National Talent Scholarship (PG) may also be awarded to eligible candidates under the applicable NTS guidelines. Scholarships are awarded only after completion of online counselling. There is no reservation of ICAR-PG Scholarship for General-EWS, OBC-NCL and UPS candidates.
Examination Centre Instructions
Candidates must carry the following items to the examination centre:
- Printed admit card downloaded from the NTA website.
- Duly completed Self Declaration or Undertaking.
- One passport-size photograph matching the photograph uploaded in the application form.
- One original, valid and non-expired photo identity document such as PAN Card, Driving Licence, Voter ID, Passport, Aadhaar Card with photograph, Aadhaar Enrolment Number or Ration Card.
- PwBD certificate and UDID card, wherever applicable.
- A simple transparent ballpoint pen and personal transparent water bottle.
Mobile phones, smart watches, calculators, electronic devices, cameras, headphones, bags, purses, stationery boxes, printed or written material, loose or packed food and metallic items are prohibited. Diabetic candidates may carry sugar tablets, fruits and a transparent water bottle, but packed food is not permitted.
Candidates must report according to the time mentioned on their admit card. The registration desk will close 30 minutes before the examination begins. The examination city, centre, date and shift allotted by NTA will be final.
Unfair Means and Penalties
Impersonation, possession of prohibited items, attempting the examination at an unauthorised centre, use of electronic devices, unauthorised communication, copying, assisting malpractice, manipulation of application or examination documents, uploading morphed photographs or signatures, misuse of a scribe or compensatory time and disruption of the examination process are treated as unfair means practices.
Under the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, a candidate may face cancellation of candidature or result, criminal action, additional disciplinary action and debarment from future public examinations for up to three years.
Counselling and Admission
Only candidates declared eligible by ICAR for registration and choice filling will participate in online counselling. Candidates will select sub-subjects and Agricultural Universities during counselling, subject to merit rank, seat availability and fulfilment of university-specific eligibility conditions. The final university-wise seat matrix will be displayed by ICAR during counselling.
The admission is valid only for the academic session 2026-27. Candidates must produce original educational, category, domicile, PwBD and other required documents during counselling or admission verification. False, incomplete or incorrect information may result in cancellation of candidature or admission.
Important Notes
- Only one application form may be submitted by a candidate.
- The complete application process is online.
- Candidates must download and preserve multiple copies of the Confirmation Page and fee-payment proof.
- The registered email address and mobile number must belong to the candidate and remain active.
- Candidate details entered in the application form will be treated as final after the correction period.
- The examination record maintained by NTA will be available for up to 90 days after result declaration.
- Disputes concerning the examination and result will fall under the jurisdiction of Delhi. Legal questions must be raised within 30 days of result declaration.
Official Websites
The result, admit card, answer key, counselling notices and other updates will be published through the official NTA and ICAR portals listed below.