The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has opened the choice filling window for admissions to undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and PhD programmes for the academic session 2025. Eligible candidates can access the choice filling facility on the official website, icarcounseling.com, from October 14 to October 17.
Alongside the counselling process, ICAR has also uploaded the revised brochure for PG and PhD admissions, outlining updated eligibility criteria, seat matrix, and counselling guidelines.
Candidates who qualified the All India Entrance Examination for Admission (AIEEA) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and meet the ICAR eligibility norms are permitted to register and submit their preferences. The admission process is open for approximately 5,000 UG seats, 3,489 PG seats, and 2,130 PhD seats across participating agricultural universities.
According to data from NTA, 27,384 candidates registered for PG programmes, of which 25,338 appeared for the exam. For the AICE JRF/SRF (PhD) entrance, 11,116 aspirants applied, with 9,940 candidates appearing for the test.
ICAR will allot candidates to universities through its centralized counselling process, while individual colleges within those universities will handle specific seat allocations. As per ICAR's seat allocation policy, no more than 40% of ICAR seats for a specific degree programme in a university will be filled by candidates from a single state under a particular category.
The council has clarified that candidates scoring zero or negative marks in the entrance exam will be ineligible for the counselling process. Additionally, those who fail to fill in their choices by October 17 will not be considered in the current round but may still participate in the mop-up or final round of counselling.
The counselling process marks a critical stage in admissions to prestigious agricultural universities across India, ensuring fair allocation of seats based on merit, preference, and regional representation.