If you hold an M.F.Sc. \u2014 or you are finishing one \u2014 the single most valuable exam on your calendar is not the one with the nearest deadline. It is the ICAR All India Competitive Examination for JRF/SRF (Ph.D.), AICE-JRF/SRF, the national entrance test the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. One sitting decides your PhD admission and whether you study on a \u20b931,000-a-month fellowship for three years.
Read this first, because honesty matters more than hype: NTA has not announced the 2027 dates yet. As of 6 November 2026, no 2027 information bulletin, application window or exam date exists. What this post gives you instead is the complete, verified picture from the latest official document \u2014 the 2026 information bulletin (8 May 2026) \u2014 plus the 2026 cycle as it actually ran, so you can start preparing now and apply the moment the bulletin drops, expected in May 2027. Every figure below is labelled as 2026-cycle or expected; nothing here is presented as a 2027 announcement.
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) 2027 at a glance
| Item | What is verified |
|---|---|
| Full name | ICAR All India Competitive Examination for JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) |
| Conducted by | National Testing Agency (NTA) for ICAR; counselling by ICAR |
| Purpose | PhD admission in agricultural universities + ICAR JRF/SRF fellowship |
| Subjects | 72 subjects, including 3 fisheries core groups |
| Exam format | Single 2-hour computer-based test, 120 MCQs, 480 marks, English only |
| Marking | +4 correct, \u22121 wrong, 0 unattempted |
| 2027 status | Not announced yet \u2014 bulletin expected May 2027, exam expected July 2027 (based on 2026) |
| 2026 cycle | Form opened 8 May 2026; exam 4 July 2026; result 29 August 2026 |
| Fellowship | \u20b931,000/month (JRF, years 1\u20132) + HRA; \u20b935,000/month (SRF, year 3) + HRA |
| Official portal | exams.nta.nic.in/icar (applications) \u00b7 icarcounseling.com (counselling) |
The 2027 timeline: what to expect, and what is not yet real
The 2027 schedule does not exist yet, so treat the dates below as expected months based on the 2026 cycle \u2014 they tell you when to watch the portal, not when to book travel.
| Event | 2026 (actually happened) | 2027 (expected) |
|---|---|---|
| Information bulletin + online application | 8 May 2026 | May 2027 |
| Application fee payment closes | 10 June 2026 | June 2027 |
| One-time correction window | 12\u201314 June 2026 | June 2027 |
| Exam city intimation + admit card | June 2026 | June 2027 |
| AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) exam | 4 July 2026, 3\u20135 PM | July 2027 |
| Provisional answer key + challenge | August 2026 | August 2027 |
| Result | 29 August 2026 | August 2027 |
| ICAR online counselling | Registration 29 Sep\u20132 Oct 2026; allotment rounds in October; mop-up 19\u201324 October 2026 | September 2027 |
Two warnings from the 2026 cycle. First, the exam and the AIEEA (PG) master’s entrance were held on the same day, 4 July 2026 \u2014 AIEEA (PG) in the morning, the PhD paper from 3 to 5 PM \u2014 so if you are also sitting the PG paper, plan for a full day. Second, the correction window is genuinely one-time: in 2026, mobile number, email, name, parents’ names, date of birth and gender could not be changed at all. Fill the form slowly the first time.
The exam pattern: 120 questions, 480 marks, 2 hours
The paper is one 2-hour LAN-based computer test in English only, with 120 multiple-choice questions for 480 marks. It is split into three parts, and the split decides your preparation:
| Part | What it covers | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | General knowledge of agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and allied sciences, including current events \u2014 common to all subjects | 20 | 80 |
| Part B | The core group that contains your chosen PhD subject | 50 | 200 |
| Part C | Your specialised subject at Master’s level | 50 | 200 |
| Total | 2 hours, English only; +4 correct, \u22121 wrong, 0 unattempted | 120 | 480 |
Parts B and C follow ICAR’s subject-wise syllabus. Part A is the part fisheries graduates most often neglect \u2014 it is only 80 marks, but in a merit list where a single mark can decide a fellowship, 80 marks of general agriculture and current affairs is not a rounding error. Budget real preparation time for it: ICAR schemes, recent fisheries and agriculture policy, and the allied-science basics from your B.F.Sc. years.
The three fisheries subject groups \u2014 pick one, and only one
You choose one subject of specialisation in a single application, and only one application is allowed. For fisheries graduates, the choice sits inside three core groups covering 11 subjects. Pick the group that matches your Master’s degree, because Part C tests your specialised subject at Master’s level:
| Core group | Subjects in the group | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Fishery Science I | Fisheries Resource Management; Fish Processing Technology; Fishing Technology and Engineering; Aquatic Environmental Management | M.F.Sc. in FRM, fish processing, fishing technology, aquatic environment |
| Fishery Science II | Aquaculture; Aquatic Animal Health Management; Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology | M.F.Sc. in aquaculture, fish health, fish nutrition \u2014 the largest fisheries cohort |
| Fishery Science III | Fish Genetics and Breeding; Fish Biotechnology; Fish Physiology and Biochemistry | M.F.Sc. in genetics, biotechnology, physiology and biochemistry |
Check the subject-wise eligibility table in the bulletin before you choose. A Master’s in a subject ICAR does not list as eligible for your chosen PhD subject will not be accepted, and there is no way to switch subjects after the form closes. If your Master’s straddles two groups \u2014 say, aquaculture with a heavy genetics component \u2014 choose the group where your Master’s syllabus overlaps most with Part C, because that is where 200 of your 480 marks live.
The fellowship: \u20b931,000 a month, and what it actually buys
The ICAR JRF/SRF fellowship pays \u20b931,000 a month plus HRA for the first two years (JRF) and \u20b935,000 a month plus HRA in the third year (SRF), for a total of three years, awarded strictly by merit rank after online counselling. To keep it, you must maintain an OGPA of 7.00 out of 10 each year (6.50 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates).
One fact-check note, because this is where the internet misleads fisheries students: some exam-guide sites quote \u20b937,000 and \u20b942,000 for this fellowship. Those are the CSIR-UGC NET JRF/SRF rates, not ICAR’s. The ICAR AICE fellowship is \u20b931,000/\u20b935,000 plus HRA, corroborated by ICAR’s own norms as reflected in IARI fellowship listings and independent 2026 cycle guides. Do not budget your PhD on the higher figure.
The fellowship is awarded only after online counselling, and the number of fellowships in each subject depends on how many candidates appeared in that subject over the previous three years \u2014 so it is known only at counselling time. Candidates who qualify for counselling but miss a fellowship can still get a PhD seat without fellowship, based on rank and seat availability. That matters: a seat at a good institute without the ICAR fellowship is still a PhD, and many students then fund it through CSIR/UGC/DBT fellowships or institute support.
Through this exam, ICAR fills 30% of PhD seats in agricultural universities and 100% of seats at IARI, IVRI, NDRI, ICAR-CIFE, Dr. RPCAU Pusa and RLBCAU Jhansi \u2014 so for fisheries graduates, this is the only route into a PhD at ICAR-CIFE, India’s premier fisheries university. In 2026, 11,491 candidates registered and 10,417 appeared for the exam, according to NTA’s result press release of 29 August 2026.
Who can apply: eligibility in one table
| Rule | What the 2026 bulletin says (latest official) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian national |
| Qualifying degree | Master’s degree in the matching agricultural or allied subject, as listed in the bulletin’s subject-wise table |
| Minimum marks (General, OBC-NCL, UPS, EWS) | OGPA 6.50/10 or 60% \u2014 marks are not rounded off |
| Minimum marks (SC, ST, PwBD, third gender) | OGPA 5.50/10 or 50% |
| Final-year students | Can apply, but must complete the Master’s, including thesis and viva, by the date the bulletin fixes (31 July in 2026) |
| Minimum age | At least 20 years on the date fixed in the bulletin (31 August in 2026). No upper age limit. |
| Already in a PhD? | Can apply afresh if you have not completed two years on the exam date |
| Three-year Bachelor’s | Not accepted, except in a few courses at IARI and NDRI |
| In-service candidates | Need a sponsorship certificate from the employer at counselling |
| Reservation | 15% SC, 7.5% ST, 5% horizontal reservation for PwBD |
How to apply when the bulletin drops (expected May 2027)
- Go to exams.nta.nic.in/icar and read the bulletin first \u2014 especially the subject-wise eligibility table. Do not apply from a coaching site’s summary.
- Register with your own mobile number and email ID, and note the system-generated application number. These are the only channels NTA will use to reach you.
- Log in and fill in your personal details, the PhD subject you want, your Master’s degree details and your preferred exam cities.
- Capture a live photograph and upload a scanned photograph, signature and, if it applies, a PwBD certificate.
- Pay the fee online by debit card, credit card, net banking or UPI. The 2026 fee was Rs 2,000 (General), Rs 1,955 (OBC-NCL, UPS, Gen-EWS) and Rs 1,075 (SC, ST, PwBD, third gender), plus processing charges and GST.
- Download the confirmation page and keep a printout. Use the one-time correction window if you spot an error \u2014 but remember the fields listed above cannot be changed at all.
An 8-month prep plan for fisheries graduates (November 2026 \u2013 July 2027)
You have roughly eight months until the expected July 2027 exam. That is enough to prepare properly \u2014 and short enough that drifting until May is fatal. Here is a plan built around the paper’s actual weightage:
- November\u2013December 2026: lock the subject and the syllabus. Download ICAR’s subject-wise syllabus for AICE-JRF/SRF from icar.org.in and map every unit in your core group against your M.F.Sc. notes. Identify the 20% of units you never studied properly \u2014 for most aquaculture graduates, that is the genetics or physiology edge of their group. Those units decide Part B.
- January\u2013February 2027: Part C first. Part C is 200 marks on your own Master’s subject \u2014 the highest return on effort in the paper. Rebuild it from your M.F.Sc. textbooks and standard references, unit by unit, with short notes you can revise in June.
- March\u2013April 2027: Part B core group. The 50 questions of Part B cover the whole core group, not just your subject. An aquaculture candidate must still answer fisheries resource management and fish processing questions. Use the ICAR syllabus unit list as a checklist and close the gaps subject by subject.
- May 2027: apply, then Part A. When the bulletin drops, apply in the first week \u2014 never the last day, when portals slow down. Then switch to Part A: general agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and current events. Read the ICAR and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying releases for the year; Part A rewards breadth, not depth.
- June 2027: mocks under exam conditions. Two hours, 120 questions, English only, with negative marking. Practise the attempt strategy below on full papers, not chapter tests. In 2026 the paper ran 3\u20135 PM; train your concentration for an afternoon slot.
- July 2027: revise notes, not new books. The last two weeks are for your short notes, the syllabus checklist and one final mock. New material now costs more marks than it earns.
The negative-marking maths: when to guess and when to skip
Each correct answer earns 4 marks and each wrong answer loses 1, so a blind guess between four options has an expected value of (0.25 \u00d7 4) + (0.75 \u00d7 \u22121) = +0.25 marks \u2014 barely positive, and only if you truly know nothing. The real rule is simpler: attempt a question when you can eliminate at least one option, because eliminating one option lifts the expected value to (0.33 \u00d7 4) + (0.67 \u00d7 \u22121) = +0.67. Skip the ones where all four options look equally plausible. With 10,417 candidates appearing in 2026, the fellowship cut-off is decided by a handful of marks \u2014 reckless guessing is how candidates lose ranks they had already earned.
If you miss the fellowship, you have not missed the PhD
Three honest fallbacks, in order of value. First, a PhD seat without fellowship is still a PhD at an ICAR institute or agricultural university \u2014 take the seat, then apply for project JRF positions at the same institute, which pay the same \u20b931,000/35,000 project rates. Second, the CSIR-UGC NET Life Sciences paper now carries the merged DBT fellowship too, and its December 2026 exam is already behind us \u2014 the next cycle is the route into a PhD at ICAR-CIFE for fellowship holders, which CIFE’s own admission notice confirms. Third, watch the project JRF and research-associate calls that ICAR institutes publish through the year; they need NET-qualified or M.F.Sc. candidates and keep coming long after the AICE cycle closes.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2027 exam date announced? No. As of 6 November 2026, NTA has not released the 2027 schedule. Based on 2026, expect the bulletin and applications in May 2027 and the exam in July 2027. Check exams.nta.nic.in/icar \u2014 do not trust coaching-site countdowns.
Can I get a PhD seat without the fellowship? Yes. ICAR awards a limited number of fellowships by merit; other candidates declared qualified for counselling can get a PhD seat without fellowship, based on rank and seat availability.
Is the paper in Hindi? No. The 2026 bulletin says the AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) paper is in English only.
Who runs the counselling? ICAR runs online counselling at icarcounseling.com after NTA declares the result. In 2026, registration ran from 29 September to 2 October 2026, followed by allotment rounds in October.
Which fisheries subject should I pick? The one that matches your Master’s degree most closely, because Part C (200 marks) tests your specialised subject at Master’s level. Check the bulletin’s subject-wise eligibility table before choosing.
Does the fellowship cover CIFE? Yes \u2014 100% of PhD seats at ICAR-CIFE are filled through this exam, and the fellowship is valid at agricultural universities, ICAR deemed universities, central agricultural universities and the central universities with an agriculture faculty listed in the bulletin.
Related reading on Fisheries India
- CSIR NET Dec 2026: \u20b937,000 JRF \u2014 Apply Tonight! \u2014 the other national fellowship route for fisheries graduates; its late-fee window runs to 9 November 2026.
- ICAR-CIFE RA & JRF 2026: \u20b961,000 Pay, Apply by Nov 7 \u2014 project JRF/RA posts at CIFE itself; applications close 7 November 2026.
- DAAD Funds Fisheries Masters in Malawi \u2014 Nov 12 \u2014 a funded international Master’s in aquaculture and fisheries science, deadline 12 November 2026.
- $75,000 PhD in Ocean Science? Canada Opens 10 Seats \u2014 ten funded doctoral seats in ocean science at UQAR, Canada, deadline 5 February 2027.
Sources and official links
- ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) 2026 Information Bulletin (8 May 2026, latest official) \u2014 via NTA ICAR portal: exams.nta.nic.in/icar
- ICAR syllabus for AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.), all subjects: icar.org.in/node/21053
- ICAR online counselling portal: icarcounseling.com (2026 counselling brochure and schedule, 29 September 2026; revised mop-up notice, 17 October 2026)
- AgLasem summary of the 2026 bulletin and 2027 status, updated 18 October 2026, checked 6 November 2026: admission.aglasem.com/aice-srf-pgs (exam pattern, fees, eligibility, 2026 dates, 2026 appearance figures from NTA’s 29 August 2026 result press release)
- ICAR JRF/SRF stipend corroboration (Rs 31,000/35,000 + HRA): IARI fellowship listings and 2026 cycle guides, checked 6 November 2026
Fact-check note (6 November 2026): the 2027 dates in this post are EXPECTED months based on the 2026 cycle, not announcements \u2014 NTA has not released the 2027 schedule. All 2026-cycle dates, fees, eligibility rules, pattern and appearance figures are from the 2026 information bulletin as summarised on 18 October 2026 and checked again on 6 November 2026. The official 2026 bulletin PDF could not be fetched on 6 November (source timeout), so the fellowship figure uses the Rs 31,000/35,000 + HRA rate corroborated by IARI listings and multiple 2026 guides, and the post flags the Rs 37,000/42,000 figure found on one guide site as the CSIR-UGC NET rate, not ICAR’s. Re-verify every date on exams.nta.nic.in/icar when the 2027 bulletin is published. The featured image is an illustration, not a photograph of an ICAR campus.
1 thought on “ICAR PhD 2027: ₹31,000 Fellowship, 120 Questions”