Agriculture universities to accept agri as Class 12 subject for BSc admissions under ICAR quota

NEW DELHI: Agricultural universities have agreed to enrol students for a BSc Agriculture course with Agriculture as one of the intermediate subjects, under the ICAR quota of 3,121 seats. The ICAR quota comprises 20 per cent of the seats in 50 agricultural universities and is filled through an All India Competitive Examination conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

There was a long-standing grievance of students, who had cleared the all-India entrance exam with agriculture as one of the intermediate subjects, that they were not admitted because most universities enrolled only students having three-subject combinations comprising physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology.

Agriculture was not kept as one of the eligible criteria because the subject is not offered at the intermediate level in most states, except Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. In a statement, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the long-pending grievance has been addressed now.

"This has now made admission opportunities accessible and uniform for students across the country. This streamlined system will eliminate all complexities related to admission to BSc Agriculture from the 2025-26 academic year, directly benefiting approximately 3,000 students," Chouhan said.

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Few states offer agriculture as subject

Speaking to PTI separately, ICAR Director General M L Jat said very few states offer agriculture as a subject at the intermediate level and they should not be deprived of admission for the BSc Agriculture course after clearing the All India entrance exam. Most of the 50 ICAR agricultural universities have agreed to include agriculture as a subject in the admission eligibility criteria for Class XII for filling up ICAR quota seats, he said.

Of the 50 ICAR agricultural universities offering BSc (Agriculture) seats, 42 have accepted the ABC (agriculture, biology, chemistry) subject combination as an eligibility criterion.

Three universities have also accepted the PCA (physics, chemistry, agriculture) combination. The remaining five universities, which require approval from their boards of management, have assured that they will include agriculture as a subject in the admission eligibility criteria for Class XII from the 2026-27 academic session. Discussions with these vice-chancellors are ongoing, with efforts underway to implement the changes from the current session itself, he added.