NTA ICAR's AICE for JRF/SRF

From 2019, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has given National Testing Agency (NTA) the responsibility of conducting All India Entrance Exams for admission to Doctoral Degree Programme and award JRF/SRF (PGS)..

The entrance test will be used for centralized admission to 25% of the seats of Ph.D degree programmes in the universities under the ICAR-AU system. 

However, admission to the three ICAR-Deemed-to-be-Universities, viz. IARI, NDRI and CIFE will not be made through AICE-JRF/SRF(PGS). These seats will be filled-up through their own entrance examination. 

The number of fellowships is not fixed and may vary depending upon the number of candidates actually appeared in the examination in a particular Sub-subject. It will finally be known only at the time of counselling. 

Admission: Major Subjects and Groups

Candidates seeking admission in Agriculture and Allied Sciences will have to appear for this examination. The examination will be conducted in 16 Major Subject Groups comprising 60 sub-subjects/disciplines at
87 cities  all over the country. Based upon eligibility at the post-graduation level, the candidates should select one Major Subject group. However, candidates choosing a Major Subject Group in examination need to attempt questions from all of the Sub-subjects listed under that Major Subject Group. 

However, fellowship to the students  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.

Syllabus: NTA ICAR's AICE

The Examination Paper for the test shall be based on the syllabus of Major Subject groups and Sub-Subject
groups as prescribed by the ICAR, available at website www.icar.org.in

Conditions for the Award of ICAR-JRF/SRF (PGS)

  • ICAR-JRF/SRF (PGS) will be awarded on the basis of merit secured in the AICE-JRF/SRF(PGS) examination leading to admission in Ph.D. degree programme in AUs, viz. State Agricultural, Veterinary, Horticultural and Fisheries Universities (SAUs), ICAR-DU, i.e. ICAR-IVRI, Central Agricultural University, viz. CAU Imphal, Manipur, Dr. RPCAU, Pusa and Central Universities having faculty of agriculture, viz. Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and Nagaland University (School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development).
  • The fellowship will NOT be available to candidates who have not taken admission in any of the above mentioned AUs.
  • One has to be a citizen of India, to avail of the fellowship.
  • The admission and fellowship would be granted only if the candidate has sought admission through counseling conducted by ICAR and pursues Ph.D. degree in an AU. It is mandatory for the candidate to pursue Ph.D. degree in an AU other than the one from where he/she has obtained Bachelor's or Master's degree, i.e. the candidate should not have obtained more than two degrees (including pursuing of Ph.D.) from the same Institute/AU.
  • The entire amount of fellowship received by him/her shall have to be refunded with interest and he/she will not be entitled for fresh ICAR-JRF/SRF(PGS), if an existing ICAR-JRF/SRF(PGS) holder seeks fresh admission,
  • If already registered as a full time Ph.D. Scholar, he/she should not have completed two years on the date of examination. The duration of fellowship in such cases, however, normally shall not exceed 3 years, including the period of study already availed for Ph.D.
  • Admission and JRF/SRF (PGS) will be awarded subject to verification of the documents by the University where the candidate seeks admission. In case of in-service candidates, admission and fellowship will be granted provided the candidate joins the University other than where he/she is working. For such candidates, in receipt of full/partial leave salary from their parent organization, the amount of ICAR JRF/SRF(PGS) shall be limited to Rs.3,000/- in addition to the research contingency as applicable to fresh candidates. 

Eligibility Criteria and Qualifications NTA ICAR's AICE

  • Indian nationals who have passed Master’s Degree programme with a minimum of Overall Grade Point Average(OGPA) from any recognized University in India and abroad would be eligible to apply for the AICE – JRF/SRF (PGS). 
  • Candidates who have passed out from private Agricultural Universities/Colleges not accredited by ICAR will not be considered for admission through this examination. 
  • In order to appear in AICE-JRF/SRF(PGS)-2019 from a specific Major Subject, candidates must have completed Master’s degree.
  • Indian Nationals of at least 20 years of age on the year of the examination (i.e. the date of examination)are eligible to apply for the examination. No relaxation is permissible regarding the minimum age limit. 

Registration and Application process NTA ICAR's AICE

NTA provides the raw scores to the universities. Candidates, additionally have to fulfill all the rules and other eligibility criteria as laid down by the University rules.

Register Online NTA ICAR's AICE

The online submission of Application Form for AICE-JRF/SRF(PGS), uploading of scanned photograph
and signatures have to be done through official website https://nta.ac.in/. 

The candidates should complete all the required details while filling up the online form. On submission of details and required fee, a  Confirmation Page with Application Number shall be generated. Candidates are required to take printout of Confirmation Page and keep it for reference.

In order to appear in AICE-JRF/SRF(PGS), the candidates are required to apply online. Before filling and submitting the online form, candidates should download the Information Bulletin and Replica of Application Form; and read them carefully. Candidates must follow the instructions strictly as given in the Information Bulletin and on NTA website. Application Forms not complying with the instructions are liable to be rejected. 

Candidates must keep following information ready before filling online Application Form:-
  • Govt Identity Details like 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.

Four Steps to Complete the Application Process NTA ICAR's AICE 

Application Form may be submitted in four simple steps:

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

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

Step 3: Make payment of fee using suitable mode of payment through bank as per details given in this section and keep proof of fee paid.

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

Admit Card for NTA ICAR's AICE

The e-Admit Card is issued provisionally to the candidates, subject to their satisfying the eligibility conditions. The candidate has to download the e-Admit Card from the NTA website.

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

In case candidates are unable to download e-Admit Cards from the website, the candidate should approach
the Help Line between 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

The Examination City Centre, once opted, shall not be changed. The e-admit card will be uploaded on NTA
website www.nta.ac.in, www.ntaicar.nic.in. Please check the e-admit card carefully for your Name, Major
Subject Group, Sub-subject, Date of Birth, Gender, Examination Centre Name, City, State Code of Eligibility
and Category, etc. In case of any problem related to e-Admit card.

Procedure of Declaration of Result NTA ICAR's AICE

  • The NTA will display Answer Key of the questions on the NTA website www.nta.ac.in, www.ntaicar.nic.in to provide an opportunity to the candidates to challenge the Answer Key. The Answer Keys are likely to be displayed for three days.
  • The Candidates will be given an opportunity to make a challenge online against the Answer Key on payment of Rs 1000/- per question challenged as processing charges.
  • The NTA will also display the recorded responses of all the candidates on the NTA website prior to declaration of result. The recorded responses are likely to be displayed for three days.
  • Decision of NTA on the challenges shall be final and the result will be declared on the basis of final answer keys. 

Declaration of Result NTA ICAR's AICE

Overall merit-rank list shall be prepared separately for every Sub-subject under each Major Subject Group as per the Information given by the candidate in the Online Application Form. In the event of candidates getting equal marks in the Entrance examination, relative merit will be determined on the basis of OGPA % of marks as applicable obtained in the qualifying Master’s degree examination. In the event of tie again, a candidate, higher in age, would be rated higher in merit.

 NTA ICAR's AICE Counseling

There will be online counseling only. The candidates declared eligible for counseling for the consideration of
admission to the Agricultural Universities would be generally larger than the number of seats available,
provided they have achieved the minimum prescribed marks to be decided by Competent Authority (DDG,
Agricultural Education) to get the sufficient number of candidates for counseling and filling the seats. The candidates shall register for online counseling as per counseling instructions given on the ICAR website www.icar.org.in. 

For latest updates about NTA ICAR's AICE visit EducationNews.Shiksha

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