ICAR Junior Research Fellowship for Post-Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences (ICAR-JRF PGS)

What is the ICAR-JRF (PGS)?

The ICAR Junior Research Fellowship for Post-Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, ICAR-JRF (PGS), is a merit fellowship of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the apex body for farm research and education under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. According to the ICAR Education Division guidelines, the fellowship supports selected students through a master's degree (course work and research) in agricultural and allied sciences at approved universities.

ICAR-JRF (PGS) is not a scholarship you apply for with a separate form. It is attached to a rank in the All India Competitive Entrance Examination for post-graduate admission, the AIEEA-PG, whose fellowship-linked component is often called AICE-JRF: conducted on ICAR's behalf by the National Testing Agency (NTA). A fixed number of fellowships is set aside each year and awarded strictly by merit and reservation to the highest-ranked qualifiers.

Key facts

• Purpose: financial support for master's study in agriculture and allied sciences.
• Value: Rs 8,640 per month for most disciplines; Rs 12,000 per month for veterinary sciences; a contingency grant of Rs 6,000 per year in both cases.
• Duration: two years, the standard length of a master's programme.
• Route: won through the ICAR AIEEA-PG / AICE-JRF entrance examination.

How much does the ICAR-JRF (PGS) provide?

According to the ICAR-JRF/SRF (PGS) guidelines, the monthly fellowship is Rs 8,640 for candidates in most agricultural disciplines and Rs 12,000 for those in veterinary sciences. In addition, each fellow receives a contingency grant of Rs 6,000 per year to help meet the cost of books, stationery, travel for field work and similar academic expenses.

The fellowship is tenable for the two-year duration of the master's programme, subject to satisfactory progress. It is released through the university where the student is enrolled, not paid directly by ICAR to the student, and continued payment depends on attendance and academic performance certified by the institution. The rates and contingency grant are revised periodically by the Council, so a fresh awardee should confirm the current figure with the ICAR Education Division or the admitting university.

Who is eligible for the ICAR-JRF (PGS)?

You can be considered if:

• You hold, or are in the final year of, a relevant bachelor's degree in agriculture or an allied science from a recognised university.
• You have at least 60% marks or an OGPA of 6.60/10.00 in the qualifying degree. SC, ST and Persons-with-Disability candidates need 55% or 5.50/10.00.
• You are at least 19 years old on the date of the entrance examination.
• You appear in, and rank high enough in, the ICAR AIEEA-PG / AICE-JRF examination for the discipline and category you belong to.

You cannot get the fellowship if:

• You do not sit for, or do not rank within the sanctioned merit-cum-reservation quota in, the ICAR entrance examination, admission alone does not carry the fellowship.
• Your bachelor's degree does not meet ICAR's eligibility norms (for example, many three-year general-science degrees are not accepted for the ICAR-AU system except at certain deemed universities).
• You already hold another fellowship or scholarship for the same course; a fellow may draw only one award at a time.
• You take admission at a university that is not approved by ICAR for the fellowship.

How to apply for the ICAR-JRF (PGS)

There is no direct fellowship application. You compete for ICAR-JRF (PGS) through the entrance examination, so the steps are the admission steps:

1. Watch for the ICAR AIEEA-PG / AICE-JRF notification published by the National Testing Agency and linked from the ICAR website, usually issued ahead of the academic session.
2. Register and apply online on the NTA examination portal within the notified window, choosing your subject group and uploading the required documents and fee.
3. Appear for the computer-based examination on your allotted date and secure a rank in your discipline and category.
4. Take part in the online counselling / seat-and-fellowship allotment, where JRF (PGS) awards are given to the top-ranked qualifiers within the sanctioned quota.
5. Confirm admission at the allotted ICAR-approved university and submit the fellowship claim; the university then disburses the monthly amount and contingency grant on ICAR's behalf.

Where the fellowship can be used

ICAR-JRF (PGS) is tenable only at universities approved by ICAR for the purpose: State Agricultural Universities, ICAR Deemed-to-be Universities and select central universities with agricultural faculties. The fellowship supports the recognised master's programme in the awarded discipline and cannot be carried to an unapproved institution or transferred to a different level of study.

A note for readers

ICAR-JRF (PGS) is a narrow, examination-linked award rather than an open-ended welfare scheme, so the material that genuinely applies to it is limited to the entrance route, the fellowship value and the tenure conditions above. Prospective candidates should always confirm the current-year eligibility, marks bands and fellowship rates in the official ICAR notification and guidelines before relying on any figure, because ICAR revises these periodically.

Help and where to verify

• ICAR Education Division, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-II, Pusa, New Delhi, for fellowship and guideline queries.
• National Testing Agency examination portal, for AIEEA-PG / AICE-JRF registration, admit cards and results.
• The admitting university's academic / scholarship section, for disbursement of the monthly fellowship and contingency grant.

How to check your ICAR-JRF (PGS) status

Because the fellowship rides on the AICE-JRF / AIEEA-PG entrance exam rather than a separate application, "checking status" actually means tracking three different things at three different stages: the exam process, the fellowship allotment, and the monthly payment once you are enrolled.

1. During the exam and counselling stage (through NTA), track:

• Application status: log in to the NTA AICE-JRF/AIEEA-PG candidate portal with your application number and password to confirm your form was accepted and fee payment cleared.
• Admit card: released on the same portal closer to the exam date; download it as soon as it appears rather than waiting for a separate notification.
• Result / rank card: published on the NTA portal after the exam; this rank card is the document that determines whether you fall within the sanctioned JRF (PGS) quota for your discipline and category.
• Counselling / seat-and-fellowship allotment status: a separate round conducted after the result, where your rank is matched against available fellowship slots and university seats. Check this on the counselling portal linked from the ICAR website, not the exam portal, since the two systems are handled separately.

2. To confirm you have actually been awarded the fellowship (not just admission):

Getting a seat through the entrance exam does not automatically mean you hold a JRF (PGS) award; the fellowship is a limited, ranked allocation within that admission process. Confirm your fellowship status by:

• Checking the official allotment list or letter issued at counselling, which states explicitly whether you have been allotted "with fellowship" or "without fellowship."
• Asking the academic or scholarship section of the university you are admitted to, since they receive the fellowship-award list from ICAR and administer the claim.

3. Once enrolled, to track the monthly payment:

• The fellowship is disbursed through the university, not directly by ICAR to the student's bank account in most cases, so the first point of contact for a missed or delayed monthly payment is the university's scholarship or accounts section, not ICAR headquarters.
• Ask the university for the internal reference number or ledger entry under which your fellowship claim is processed, and follow up there each semester.
• If the university itself is awaiting funds or clarification from ICAR, the university writes to the ICAR Education Division at Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-II, Pusa, New Delhi; an individual student rarely needs to contact ICAR directly for a routine payment delay, but can do so in writing if the university is unresponsive over an extended period.
• There is no SMS or app-based tracking specific to this fellowship; status confirmation is by portal login (for the exam and counselling stages) or written/in-person follow-up with the university (for the payment stage).

Common reasons ICAR-JRF (PGS) applications or claims are rejected

Because the "application" here is really the entrance exam and the "claim" is the fellowship request filed after admission, rejections happen at different points for different reasons. Knowing which stage a rejection belongs to helps you fix the right thing.

At the exam-application stage:

• Bachelor's degree does not meet ICAR's subject-eligibility norms. Many general three-year science degrees are not accepted for the ICAR-AU admission system, even if the marks are high enough. Fix: check the discipline-wise eligibility list in the current AIEEA-PG information bulletin before applying, not after appearing for the exam.
• Marks or OGPA below the required threshold entered incorrectly, or the category claimed does not match supporting documents. Fix: enter marks exactly as they appear on the final degree certificate or provisional marksheet, and apply under a relaxed category (55% / 5.50 OGPA for SC/ST/PwD) only if you can produce the matching certificate later.
• Age proof mismatch. The minimum age of 19 years is checked against the date of birth in your matriculation certificate; a different date of birth on other documents can cause disqualification at verification. Fix: use the matriculation certificate's date of birth consistently across the exam form and later document verification.

At the fellowship-allotment stage (you qualify the exam but do not get the fellowship):

• Rank falls outside the sanctioned JRF (PGS) quota for your discipline and category, even though it is good enough for plain admission. This is not a rejection you can appeal since the number of fellowships is fixed each year; it simply means demand for that year's quota exceeded the award count in your bracket.
• Choice of an unapproved university. If you accept a seat at an institution not on ICAR's approved list for the fellowship, you may get admission but not the JRF (PGS) award. Fix: verify a university's ICAR-approved status before confirming your seat if the fellowship matters to you, not after joining.

At the fellowship-claim / disbursement stage (after admission):

• Already holding another fellowship or scholarship for the same course. ICAR-JRF (PGS) cannot be combined with another award for the same programme, and a claim filed while another scholarship is active will be held up or rejected. Fix: formally surrender or decline the other scholarship before submitting the ICAR-JRF claim, and keep written proof of having done so.
• Incomplete admission or enrolment confirmation. The university will not forward a fellowship claim until your admission is fully confirmed, including any pending document verification. Fix: clear all outstanding admission formalities first; the fellowship claim is filed only after that.
• Unsatisfactory attendance or academic progress in a given semester, which can pause or stop the monthly disbursement even for an already-sanctioned fellow. Fix: maintain the attendance and academic standards the university certifies each term, since continued payment is conditional on that certification, not a one-time award.