Indian Council of Agricultural Research National Eligibility Test

ICAR NET, officially the National Eligibility Test conducted by the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), is the qualifying test for Lecturer and Assistant Professor posts in State Agricultural Universities and other agricultural education institutions in India. It is a single objective paper, taken on a computer, in the discipline in which you have done your Master's degree.

Many candidates call it ICAR NET because ASRB was originally part of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, while the exam itself is now run by ASRB, an attached office of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education. This page explains who can apply, how the paper is structured, how qualifying marks work, what the syllabus looks like and how to prepare. Figures that change each cycle are marked, so please confirm them in the official notification on the ASRB website.

Table of Contents

ICAR NET

The structure above follows the combined notification ASRB issued in 2021. The board has kept the NET format stable, but always read the latest notification before you apply.

Where the current cycle stands

ASRB usually issues one combined notification for NET together with the recruitment examinations for Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Subject Matter Specialist (SMS) and Senior Technical Officer (STO) posts. NET sits inside that notification as a separate examination, with its own fee, eligibility and qualifying marks.

At the time of writing we could not confirm a final application window or exam date for the 2026 cycle from the ASRB website. Reports from third-party sites point to a computer-based test around November 2026, but these are expectations, not official dates. Treat every date in the next section as tentative until it appears on the ASRB website.

Important dates

Tentative dates come from unofficial reports and can change. Track the notices section on asrb.gov.in and your registered email and mobile number.

What the NET qualification gives you

NET is an eligibility test. Clearing it does not give you a job or a rank-based allotment. It makes you eligible to be considered for Lecturer or Assistant Professor posts in State Agricultural Universities and similar institutions, which then run their own recruitment. Many universities also use it as a basic condition for research and teaching appointments.

The same notification also covers the ARS, SMS and STO recruitment examinations. Those are different exams with a preliminary test, a mains paper for ARS and an interview. If you want both, you can apply for NET and a recruitment post in the same cycle, with a combined fee, as set out in the notification. Do not confuse the two: NET only certifies eligibility, while ARS, SMS and STO fill posts.

Eligibility

Educational qualification

You need a Master's degree or equivalent in the relevant discipline and specialisation, from an Indian university or a foreign university recognised by the Government of India. The notification lists the approved Master's degrees against each of the 60 NET disciplines, so check that your degree maps to the discipline you choose. The notification also sets a date by which the degree must be completed, so read that date carefully if your result is pending.

Age limit

The minimum age is 21 years on a reference date stated in the notification. There is no upper age limit for NET, so age relaxation does not apply to NET itself. Upper age limits and relaxations apply only to the ARS, SMS and STO posts.

Nationality and attempts

You may apply if you are a citizen of India, a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 intending to settle permanently. Other categories of persons of Indian origin are listed in the notification. There is no limit on the number of attempts.

Application fee and how to apply

The application fee depends on your category. The figures below follow the 2021 notification and have been broadly consistent in later cycles, but they are indicative only. Confirm the exact amount and payment method in the current notification. Fees are non-refundable.

Application steps:

1. Register: Open the examination section on the ASRB website and register with your name, mobile number and email.

2. Fill the form: Choose NET, select your discipline carefully and enter your qualification details.

3. Upload documents: Photograph, signature and any category certificate in the sizes the notification specifies.

4. Pay the fee: Pay online and keep the receipt.

5. Submit and save: Download the final form for your records.

Common reasons for trouble include choosing the wrong discipline, a mismatch between the degree and the discipline, and an EWS certificate that is not in the prescribed format or not dated before the closing date.

Exam pattern

What this means for you:

• Time per question: You have about 48 seconds per question, so speed matters as much as knowledge.

• Cost of a guess: A wrong answer costs one-third of a mark, so blind guessing lowers your score over a full paper. Guess only when you can remove at least one option.

• One subject, full depth: The whole paper comes from your chosen discipline at Master's level.

Older pages may still show a different format, so follow the latest notification.

Syllabus approach

ASRB publishes a separate syllabus for each of the 60 NET disciplines, grouped broadly into agricultural sciences, plant sciences, horticulture, animal and veterinary sciences, fisheries, agricultural engineering, basic and applied sciences, management and economics, technology and IT, and home science. The syllabus for your discipline is available on the ASRB website, and the paper is set at Master's degree level.

There is no common general paper. This means your preparation plan depends entirely on your discipline. Start from the official discipline syllabus, break it into units, and mark each unit as strong, average or weak.

Qualifying marks and result

NET has no rank list. You qualify by reaching the minimum marks for your category in your discipline. The 2021 notification set these minimums out of 150, and the board reserved the right to revise them in any discipline.

Some third-party sites list EWS with OBC. The official 2021 notification placed EWS candidates at the unreserved standard, so check the current notification for your category. These are the standards used in earlier notifications, so treat them as benchmarks and verify them in the current notice. See the ICAR NET cut-off page for how to set your target.

Qualified candidates receive a digital certificate through DigiLocker, which universities use to verify eligibility.

How to prepare

Build the base first

Start with the official syllabus for your discipline and your Master's textbooks. Convert each unit into short notes as you go, because revision time is limited later.

Practise in the real format

Because the paper is a timed computer-based test with negative marking, attempt sectional and full-length tests regularly. For timed practice, you can attempt online tests on Testkart as they become available for this exam, then review wrong answers and slow questions before the next attempt. Pair this with previous year questions to see how questions in your discipline are framed.

A simple phased plan

• Months 1 and 2: Finish units from your syllabus and make short notes.

• Month 3: Take unit-wise tests and start an error log of repeated mistakes.

• Final month: Attempt full-length mocks of 150 questions in 2 hours, analyse each one the same day and revise the error log.

If you teach and want to offer NET practice to your own students, educators can create and manage tests on Testkart. For the official notification, syllabus and updates, visit the ASRB website.