ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Latest Admission Updates (2026)

Admission to ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi for 2026 runs entirely through the National Testing Agency (NTA) entrance exams: ICAR AIEEA (PG) for M.Sc and M.Tech, and ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF for PhD. The single most important fact as of June 2026 is that the entrance exam is fixed for 4 July 2026, with the admit card expected around 27 June 2026. IARI is ranked No. 1 in the NIRF 2025 Agriculture and Allied Sectors list (score 89.23), so competition for its seats is intense and every deadline below matters.

• Exam date confirmed - 4 July 2026: NTA is conducting ICAR AIEEA (PG) 2026 and ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) 2026 on 4 July 2026 (Computer-Based Test).
• Admit card - expected 27 June 2026: The hall ticket for both exams is expected to be released around 27 June 2026 on the NTA portal. The advance exam city intimation slip has already been released (as of June 2026).
• Application window - now closed: The application form opened on 8 May 2026, was extended, and closed on 10 June 2026. Fresh applications are no longer being accepted for the 2026 session.
• Correction window - closed: The form correction/edit facility was provided in mid-June 2026 and is now closed.
• Counselling - expected from September 2026: Counselling and seat allotment across ICAR deemed universities (including IARI) and State Agricultural Universities is expected to begin from September 2026.
• Result/score - expected after the exam: The provisional answer key and result/score card are expected in July-August 2026 (to be announced by NTA).

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute Admission 2026: Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility at IARI is exam-linked: you must first meet the academic minimum for your programme and then qualify the relevant ICAR entrance test. The table below sets out the verified base eligibility for the institute's flagship postgraduate and doctoral programmes - M.Sc (Agriculture), M.Tech and PhD. It answers the most common applicant question: "Am I eligible to apply to IARI?" Read each row as a single rule set - the qualifying degree, the minimum aggregate, and the accepted entrance exam must all be satisfied together. Only the base/general eligibility that we can verify is listed; confirm any category relaxation on the official NTA information bulletin before applying.

The key takeaway is that a 60% aggregate in the qualifying degree is the common minimum across M.Sc, M.Tech and PhD at IARI. M.Sc and M.Tech aspirants route through ICAR AIEEA (PG), while doctoral aspirants must clear ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF - the two are separate exams even though both are held on 4 July 2026. Your next step is to confirm your specific discipline's eligibility in the NTA information bulletin, since IARI offers PG programmes across many specialised agricultural disciplines. Do not apply unless both your degree and your aggregate satisfy the rule for your chosen programme.

Course-Wise Admission Status

This section tells you, programme by programme, whether the 2026 application is still live and how admission is decided. For the 2026 session the AIEEA (PG) and AICE-JRF/SRF application windows have already closed (10 June 2026), so the current status is "Closed" for fresh applicants. The table also clarifies the admission mode (entrance-exam plus counselling) and the exact exam each programme accepts. Seat numbers per discipline are released by IARI/ICAR in the counselling notification and are not separately confirmed here, so they are marked "to be announced".

The practical takeaway: if you have already applied for AIEEA (PG) or AICE-JRF/SRF 2026, your focus now shifts to downloading the admit card (expected 27 June 2026) and sitting the exam on 4 July 2026. If you missed the 10 June 2026 deadline, you cannot enter the 2026 IARI cycle and should target the 2027 session. Watch the official counselling notification for the discipline-wise seat matrix, which is published before choice-filling.

Application Fees

Two different fees apply at IARI and you must not confuse them. The first is the entrance/application fee paid to NTA when you register for ICAR AIEEA (PG) or ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF; the second is the institute's tuition/programme fee paid to IARI only after you secure a seat. The table below lists the verified NTA application fee for the 2026 session for every category on its own row, because OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST and PwD amounts differ from the General fee. Read the "Programme / Exam" column to match the correct exam to your programme. All figures below are the 2026 NTA fees verified during this run.

Separately, IARI's institute programme fee on record is Rs 31,000 for M.Sc (Agriculture) and Rs 31,000 for M.Tech, and Rs 75,200 for the PhD - these are the latest figures available and carry no specific admission year, so verify the current-session amount on the official IARI/ICAR source before paying. Note that the entrance fee (Rs 675 to Rs 2,000 depending on category and exam) is paid to NTA at registration, while the tuition fee is paid to IARI only after seat allotment. SC, ST and PwD candidates pay the lowest entrance fee in both exams, so make sure you select the correct category to avoid overpaying. Keep your fee payment receipt, as it is required during counselling and document verification.

Entrance Exam Requirements

IARI does not run its own admission test - it accepts the centralised ICAR exams conducted by NTA. M.Sc and M.Tech aspirants need a competitive rank in ICAR AIEEA (PG); PhD aspirants need a qualifying rank in ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF. The table below maps each exam to its programme and gives the confirmed 2026 exam date. Because IARI is the No. 1 ranked agriculture institute (NIRF 2025), the qualifying ranks that secure an IARI seat are typically much sharper than the overall qualifying threshold, so treat the recorded closing ranks in the cutoff section as your real target.

The main point is that both IARI entrance exams fall on the same day, 4 July 2026, so a candidate eyeing both M.Sc and PhD routes must plan around a single exam date. Selection is purely rank-driven: you qualify the CBT, then your All India Rank decides whether IARI is within reach during choice-filling. Since IARI sits at the top of the agriculture rankings, aim for the strongest rank you can rather than just clearing the qualifying mark. Download your admit card as soon as it releases (expected 27 June 2026) and verify your exam city and shift.

Cutoff Analysis (2024-2026)

Cutoffs at IARI are expressed as closing ranks in the relevant ICAR/CUET counselling, and they are sharp because the institute is the most sought-after agricultural research school in the country. The table below lists the closing ranks on record in our database for the 2023 cycle by programme and category, which is the most reliable historical signal an applicant has. Use these as a benchmark: they show how low (competitive) a rank you realistically need. Figures for 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not yet published by the conducting body, so they are shown as "to be announced" rather than estimated - a wrong cutoff is worse than an honest blank.

The clear trend from the 2023 data is how tight the postgraduate cutoffs are: General-category M.Sc seats closed at ranks as sharp as 10 and 71, and an OBC M.Sc (Agriculture) seat closed at rank 37 - single- and double-digit territory that confirms how selective IARI is. The B.Sc EWS closing rank of 9691 is more relaxed because the applicant pool and seat structure differ at the undergraduate level. Because 2024-2026 closing ranks have not been officially released, do not assume these numbers will hold - they tend to move year to year with the applicant pool. Treat the 2023 ranks as a target floor and aim well inside them for safety.

Counselling Process

For the 2026 session, counselling for IARI is conducted centrally by ICAR through NTA after results are declared, and seat allotment across ICAR deemed universities (including IARI) and State Agricultural Universities is expected to begin from September 2026. The step-by-step flow is:

1. Result and rank declaration: Qualify ICAR AIEEA (PG) or ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF and obtain your All India Rank (result expected July-August 2026).
2. Counselling registration: Register on the ICAR/NTA counselling portal when it opens (expected from September 2026).
3. Choice filling: Fill and lock your programme and institute preferences - to be considered for IARI, select IARI and your chosen discipline as a high preference.
4. Seat allotment: Seats are allotted on the basis of merit rank, category and your locked choices (expected from September 2026).
5. Document verification: Report (online or in person, as notified) for verification of your mark sheets, rank card, category certificate and ID proof.
6. Fee payment and admission confirmation: Pay the IARI admission/programme fee to confirm your seat; admission is final only after document verification and fee payment.

Exact registration, choice-filling and reporting dates will be published in the official ICAR counselling notification - track it closely, as missing a counselling deadline forfeits your seat even with a qualifying rank.

Important Dates (2026)

This master schedule consolidates every key milestone for the 2026 IARI admission cycle through the ICAR AIEEA (PG) and AICE-JRF/SRF exams, so you can see at a glance what is done and what is still pending. The application and correction stages are already closed; the live focus now is the admit card and exam. Each event below is listed with its date and current status; where the conducting body has not yet released an exact date, the row honestly reads "to be announced" or "expected" rather than inventing a figure. Use this as your countdown checklist.

The two dates to circle right now are 27 June 2026 (admit card) and 4 July 2026 (exam) - everything after that depends on your performance in the CBT. Counselling from September 2026 is the next major checkpoint, so keep your documents ready in advance. Because answer-key, result and verification dates are still to be announced by NTA/ICAR, check the official portal regularly rather than relying on unofficial calendars.