ICAR National Professor and National Fellow

What is the ICAR National Professor and National Fellow scheme?

The ICAR National Professor and National Fellow scheme is a recognition and research-support scheme of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the apex body for agricultural research and education in India under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It is not a benefit that a member of the public applies for; it is a distinction conferred on a very small number of eminent agricultural scientists so that they can pursue high-quality research with dedicated support.

According to ICAR's guidelines, a scientist selected as a National Professor or National Fellow is placed on a fixed-tenure position - of the order of five years - during which ICAR funds a monthly honorarium or pay, provides for supporting or contractual staff, and sanctions an operational research grant. The idea is to free a proven researcher from routine administrative load and give them the resources to lead a focused programme of work in an area of national importance to agriculture.

Because it targets a handful of the most accomplished scientists in the country, this is a genuinely niche scheme with only a few positions active at any time. This guide describes the real institutional route accurately rather than presenting a citizen-application flow that does not exist.

Who is eligible - and who cannot apply

Who is considered:

• Distinguished agricultural scientists with an outstanding and sustained record of original research, publications, patents and peer recognition in their discipline.
• Scientists whose work is judged, through ICAR's selection process, to merit a National Professor or National Fellow position.

Who cannot apply:

• Members of the public, students and early-career researchers cannot apply - there is no open individual application, and no personal financial benefit is on offer to an ordinary applicant.
• Scientists who do not meet the very high bar of eminence and sustained contribution are not selected.

The two positions differ in standing: the National Professor is the higher recognition, reserved for the most eminent scientists, while the National Fellow recognises outstanding researchers a notch below that. Both are filled by merit-based selection and nomination, approved through ICAR's committees and Governing Body.

What does a selected scientist receive?

A scientist appointed under the scheme receives, as fixed in ICAR's guidelines:

• A monthly honorarium or pay commensurate with the seniority of the position.
• Funds for supporting or contractual staff to run the research programme.
• An operational research grant for equipment, consumables, travel and other project costs.
• Admissible allowances as per ICAR rules.

The precise rupee amounts for the honorarium and grant are set by ICAR and are revised periodically, so they should be read off the current ICAR guideline document rather than assumed. What is stable is the design: a fixed-tenure position with pay, staff and a research grant.

What documents/inputs are involved?

Because the scheme works by selection rather than public application, the "documents" are the materials placed before ICAR's selection process for a candidate scientist:

How to apply - the position is filled by selection, not open application

1. ICAR identifies the need for National Professor / National Fellow positions and invites nominations of eligible eminent scientists, as provided in its guidelines.
2. A candidate scientist's bio-data, research proposal and institutional endorsement are placed before ICAR for consideration.
3. ICAR's selection committees evaluate the candidate's sustained research record, standing in the field and the proposed programme of work.
4. The recommendation is approved through ICAR's competent authority / Governing Body, and the scientist is appointed to the position for the fixed tenure.
5. ICAR then sanctions the honorarium, staff and research grant, and the scientist takes up the programme at the host institution.

There is no counter, portal or form at which a private individual can "apply" for this benefit. Any query about the scheme should go to ICAR headquarters.

Why this is not an individual-benefit scheme

Readers sometimes search for scholarships or grants and land on schemes like this one expecting a personal application. It is important to be clear: the ICAR National Professor and National Fellow scheme is an institutional recognition for a few eminent scientists, filled by selection and nomination. If you are a student or an early-career researcher looking for personal support, the relevant routes are ICAR's fellowships, JRF/SRF programmes and scholarships offered through agricultural universities, not this scheme.

Help and information

• Policy owner: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (icar.org.in), under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• Refer to the current ICAR guideline document for the exact honorarium, grant and tenure, since these are revised from time to time.

How to check your application status

Because there is no online application ID or public tracking number for this scheme, "status" here means the status of an institutional nomination already forwarded to ICAR, not a personal application.

• Through the host institute, not directly. The nominating institute (the ICAR institute, deemed university, or SAU that forwarded the dossier) is the correct point of contact for a nominated scientist to ask where the file stands, since ICAR corresponds with the institute rather than the individual scientist during screening.
• By writing to or calling ICAR headquarters via the contact details on icar.org.in, quoting the institute's reference/dispatch details for the nomination, if the institute itself has no further update.
• Watching for ICAR's own announcements. ICAR periodically publishes notifications, orders, or updates related to National Professor/National Fellow appointments through its official website and circulars; a confirmed appointment is reflected there rather than through any personal status page.
• No SMS, portal login, or helpline ticket system exists for this scheme, since it is not a mass-beneficiary programme; treat any website or message claiming to offer "application status tracking" for this scheme with caution, and rely only on icar.org.in and the host institute.

Common reasons for rejection

A nomination for National Professor / National Fellow is far more likely to be turned down than approved, given how few positions exist. The recurring reasons are institutional and merit-based rather than paperwork errors:

• Research record not sustained or senior enough. A strong but relatively recent or narrow body of work is often judged insufficient; the fix is to build a longer, broader, well-cited track record before seeking nomination, not to resubmit the same dossier sooner.
• No credible institutional endorsement. A nomination without genuine backing from the host institute's leadership, or with only a routine forwarding letter and no substantive endorsement, tends not to survive committee review; the fix is to secure a considered endorsement that specifically vouches for the scientist's standing and the proposed programme.
• Weak or vague research proposal. A proposed programme of work that is generic, not clearly of national agricultural importance, or not distinct from the scientist's existing duties is a common ground for rejection; the fix is a sharply defined, original programme that justifies a dedicated fixed-tenure position.
• No host institute able to accommodate the tenure. Since the position is tied to a host institute, a nomination can fail simply because the institute cannot provide space, facilities, or administrative support for the tenure; the fix is to confirm institutional capacity before the nomination is finalised, not after.
• Position/grade mismatch. Some records genuinely merit a National Fellow position but are pitched at the higher National Professor grade (or vice versa); committees may decline rather than downgrade, so aligning the pitch to the appropriate grade for the record improves the odds.
• Limited number of positions available in a given cycle. Even a strong, well-supported nomination can be deferred simply because very few slots exist at any time; this is not a flaw in the nomination and the practical response is patience and resubmission in a later cycle with an updated record, through the institute.