Indian Council of Agricultural Research All India Entrance Examination

ICAR AIEEA is the national entrance route to Master's programmes in agriculture and allied sciences at universities in the ICAR system. Its full name is the All India Entrance Examination for Admission, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts it on behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Today the exam is held at PG level as ICAR AIEEA PG, alongside a separate doctoral test, the AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD).

The ICAR AIEEA PG 2026 exam took place on 4 July 2026, results came out on 29 August 2026, and online counselling began on 29 September 2026. This page covers what candidates need for the current admission season and for the 2027 cycle: eligibility, fee, exam pattern, the 20 subject groups, seats, scholarship, counselling and a practical preparation plan. It also clears up a common confusion: there is no ICAR AIEEA UG exam any more.

Table of Contents

ICAR AIEEA PG 2026

What ICAR AIEEA Covers Today: PG, PhD and UG

Many pages still describe ICAR AIEEA as three separate exams. The current position is simpler, and it matters because students often search for an exam that no longer exists.

ICAR stopped holding AIEEA UG in 2022 and moved undergraduate admissions to the Common University Entrance Test. Candidates who qualify CUET UG apply separately through ICAR counselling, which fills 20% of All India Quota UG seats in agricultural universities. Older pages may still list "ICAR AIEEA UG" fees and dates, so ignore them and follow the CUET UG and ICAR counselling notices.

The rest of this page focuses on AIEEA PG, which is what most people mean by ICAR AIEEA today.

ICAR AIEEA PG 2026 Important Dates

The 2027 schedule has not been announced. Going by the last few cycles, registration usually opens in spring and the exam is held in early July, but treat this only as a planning guide. Track the NTA ICAR portal and your registered email for the official dates.

ICAR AIEEA PG Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility rules below are taken from the 2026-27 information bulletin. They tend to stay stable, but always read the bulletin for your cycle before applying.

Nationality and age

• Nationality: Only Indian nationals can apply.

• Minimum age: At least 19 years as on 31 August of the admission year (31 August 2026 for the 2026 cycle). No relaxation is allowed.

• Upper age limit: The bulletin does not set one.

Educational qualification

• Degree length: A four-year bachelor's degree (such as B.Sc. Agriculture or B.Tech. in an allied field), a six-year integrated degree, or the five or five-and-a-half year B.V.Sc. and A.H. degree.

• Three-year degrees: Generally not eligible. The bulletin allows a few exceptions for specific programmes at IARI, IVRI and NDRI.

• Final-year students: Can apply, but must complete the degree by 31 July of the admission year. Veterinary candidates get a later deadline (15 January 2027 for the 2026 cycle).

• Subject match: Your bachelor's subject decides which major subject group you can choose.

Minimum marks

If your university uses a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9-point scale, the bulletin gives a separate minimum for each. OGPA and percentage are not interchangeable, and results are not rounded up, so a 6.59 does not count as 6.60.

Application Fee and How to Apply

Bank and payment gateway charges are extra. Some older pages still show Rs. 1,200 for General candidates, which is not the 2026 figure.

Steps to apply:

1. Register: Open the NTA ICAR portal and register with a working email ID and mobile number.

2. Fill the form: Enter personal and academic details, choose one major subject group and four preferred exam cities.

3. Upload documents: A recent colour photograph (JPG, 10 to 200 KB, plain white background) and signature (JPG, up to 30 KB), plus any category or disability certificate.

4. Pay the fee: Pay online by card, net banking or UPI.

5. Save the confirmation page: You will need it again at counselling.

Only one application is allowed. Choose your subject group carefully, because sub-subjects and universities are selected later within that group.

ICAR AIEEA PG Exam Pattern

Every question is a multiple-choice question worth 4 marks. A wrong answer costs 1 mark, and an unattempted question scores zero. The paper is in English only.

What this means for you

• One minute per question: With 120 questions in 120 minutes, there is no spare time for long calculations. Speed comes from revision, not from the exam hall.

• Guess with care: A wrong answer cancels a quarter of a correct one. With four options, a guess after ruling out two adds 1.5 marks on average, while a blind guess adds only 0.25 marks and makes your score less predictable.

• One paper, no sections: Your rank comes from your total score, so strong units can balance weak ones.

• Your competition is your group: Ranks are prepared subject group-wise, so you compete only with candidates who chose the same group.

ICAR AIEEA PG Syllabus and Subject Groups

ICAR publishes a separate syllabus for each of the 20 major subject groups. Each group contains between one and twelve sub-subjects (81 in total), and you pick the sub-subject you want to study at counselling. The syllabus is based on the undergraduate curriculum of that discipline.

Community Science is the current name of the group earlier called Home Science. Most crop-side groups begin with a shared foundation unit on crop production, soils, cell biology, genetics, plant protection and rural development, so revise it whatever group you choose. The full unit-wise list for every group is on the ICAR AIEEA PG syllabus page, and the official PDFs are on the ICAR syllabus page.

Seats and Participating Universities

The ICAR agricultural university system has 74 universities: 63 state agricultural universities (SAUs), 4 ICAR deemed universities, 3 central agricultural universities and 4 central universities with agriculture faculties.

• 30% of Master's seats in participating agricultural universities are filled through AIEEA PG as the All India Quota.

• 100% of seats at the four ICAR deemed universities (IARI New Delhi, IVRI Izatnagar, NDRI Karnal and CIFE Mumbai) and at RLBCAU Jhansi and Dr. RPCAU Pusa are filled on the basis of AIEEA PG.

• State cap: No more than 40% of candidates from one state can be admitted to a given university, subject and category.

• Reservation: 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST, 5% horizontal for PwBD and 2% for UPS (candidates from under-privileged states and union territories notified by ICAR). OBC (NCL) and EWS reservation follows central government rules.

For reference, the 2026-27 bulletin puts the total All India Quota for 2025-26 at 4,883 seats. The seat matrix changes every year, so check the counselling portal for the current number in your sub-subject.

Result, Counselling and Scholarship

Result

NTA declares the result as a scorecard on the ICAR portal, and ICAR prepares subject group-wise merit ranks. For 2026, the final answer key and result were both released on 29 August 2026. NTA's role ends with the result; admission, document checks and seat allotment are handled by ICAR and the universities.

Counselling

ICAR runs online counselling on icarcounseling.com. The 2026 process works like this:

1. Registration: Register and pay the non-refundable counselling fee of Rs. 500.

2. Choice filling: Select sub-subjects and universities in order of preference within your major group.

3. Document upload: Upload marksheets, the NTA admit card and confirmation page, the ICAR rank card, a domicile certificate and any category or sponsorship certificate.

4. Seat allotment: Seats are allotted on merit rank, choices, eligibility and seat availability.

5. Verification and reporting: The university verifies documents, you pay the seat acceptance fee and report as instructed.

In-service candidates must hold a sponsorship certificate from an eligible employer, such as an ICAR institute, an agricultural university or a state agriculture department.

ICAR-PG scholarship

Eligible candidates admitted through counselling can receive the ICAR-PG scholarship of Rs. 12,640 per month for two years, plus an annual contingency grant of Rs. 6,000. The number of scholarships is not fixed in advance; it depends on recent participation and is finalised at counselling.

How to Prepare for ICAR AIEEA PG

The exam tests your undergraduate subject in depth, so preparation is mostly about structured revision of what you studied in your degree, then practice under time pressure.

• Download your group's syllabus first: Mark each unit as strong, average or weak. This list decides how you divide your time.

• Revise the foundation unit: Crop production, soils, genetics, plant protection and statistics recur across many groups and are quick to score.

• Use your degree notes and standard textbooks: Questions follow the UG curriculum closely, so course material is more useful than general guidebooks.

• Make short notes: Record definitions, scientists and discoveries, varieties, values and formulae on one page per unit for fast revision.

• Solve previous year papers: They show the level of detail ICAR expects and which units repeat.

A simple timeline

1. Months 1 to 3: Complete one round of the full syllabus, unit by unit, with short notes.

2. Month 4: Take topic-wise tests and fix weak units.

3. Final 6 to 8 weeks: Attempt full-length 120-question mocks in 120 minutes, analyse each one the same day and revise from an error log.

If you are planning for the 2027 cycle, starting now gives you time for two full revision rounds. Keep checking the NTA ICAR AIEEA portal .