ICAR Scholarships Guide: NTS, PG Scholarship & JRF/SRF Eligibility

                 

ICAR Scholarships Guide: NTS, PG Scholarship & JRF/SRF Eligibility

1. National Talent Scholarship (NTS) – UG & PG

The core objective of the NTS is to encourage students to study outside their home states, promoting national integration across agricultural campuses.  

🔹 Undergraduate: NTS-UG

·         Stipend Amount: ₹3,000 per month (No contingency grant).  

·         Eligibility Criteria:

·         Must clear the CUET (UG) / ICAR All India Entrance Examination and take admission through the centralized counseling process.  

·         The student must select and enroll in an Agricultural University located outside their state of domicile (home state). If you study in your home state, you are ineligible.  

·         Must be a full-time student and cannot hold any part-time job or accept any other parallel scholarship.  

🔹 Postgraduate: NTS-PG

·         Stipend Amount: ₹5,000 per month (No contingency grant).  

·         Eligibility Criteria:

·         Must secure a seat through the ICAR AIEEA (PG) national entrance exam.  

·         Like the UG tier, this is reserved strictly for non-JRF merit-list holders who take admission in an university outside their home state.

📉 Academic Benchmarks for NTS Renewal (UG & PG)

The scholarship is initially awarded for 1 year. To ensure it renews every year/semester, you must strictly follow these rules:  

·         You must secure a minimum OGPA of 7.00 out of 10.00 (6.50/10.00 for SC/ST/PwBD) at the end of each academic year.  

·         You must clear all papers in the first attempt during regular examinations. Failing even a single paper or missing an exam stops the NTS permanently.

·         You cannot change your assigned discipline/subject or transfer universities mid-course.  

 

 2. ICAR PG Scholarship (Formerly ICAR-JRF)

Unlike the NTS, this is purely merit-ranked and does not strictly require you to move out of your home state, though institutional quotas apply.

·         Stipend Amount: ₹12,640 per month for a maximum duration of 2 years.  

·         Contingency Grant: ₹6,000 per year (allotted to purchase essential chemicals, research apparatus, academic books, or travel related to your thesis/dissertation).  

·         Key Eligibility & Terms:

·         Awarded strictly based on your top-tier merit rank in the ICAR AIEEA (PG) examination within your respective discipline group.

·         The Surety Bond: Candidates who accept the ICAR PG Scholarship must execute a formal legal surety bond with their university. If you leave the Master’s program midway before completion, you must refund the entire scholarship amount drawn up to that date back to the council with interest.

·         Reservation: A horizontal reservation of 5% is allocated across all categories (General/OBC/SC/ST) for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD).

 

 3. ICAR JRF/SRF Fellowship (Ph.D. Doctoral Level)

This fellowship is aimed at high-tier doctoral researchers entering Agricultural Sciences, Veterinary streams, Dairy, and Agricultural Engineering.

• Fellowship Amounts:
• Years 1 & 2 (JRF Phase): ₹37,000 per month + HRA (House Rent Allowance as per city norms if campus hostel housing is unavailable).  
• Year 3 (SRF Phase): Upgraded to ₹42,000 per month + HRA after a formal review of your Ph.D. research progress by a committee.
• Contingency Grant: ₹10,000 per year for doctoral research support.
• Key Eligibility:

·         Awarded solely via the ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) national-level competitive computer-based test.

·         Maximum age limits apply (typically up to 30 years for General category applicants as of the examination date, with standard relaxations for reserved categories).

 Critical Ground Rules Across All ICAR Financial Aid

 

1.      Strict Non-Duplication: You cannot dual-wield scholarships. If you take an ICAR stipend, you must explicitly give up state-level scholarships (like Post-Matric, National Scholarship Portal schemes, or private corporate aids).  

2.      Attendance & Discipline: The head of the institution must verify your monthly attendance and "good conduct". Participating in college strikes, political agitations, or showing prolonged unexcused absence results in immediate termination of the fellowship.  

3.      Mode of Payment: Funds are directly transferred from ICAR to the respective Agricultural University, which then routes the stipend to your Aadhaar-linked bank account via DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer).  

 

 NTA SWAYAM Admit Card 2026 Released Click  Link Below For Detail

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YIS-KnRFe0C8PaDM5fWUeo7_XK8qhZBt/view?usp=sharing