ICAR AIEEA PG 2026 round 1 counselling registration and choice filling open until October 2

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Agricultural Education Division, New Delhi, commenced the registration, choice filling, fee payment, and document upload for Round 1 of ICAR AIEEA PG 2026 counselling on September 29, 2026, at 5:00 P.M. The process is being conducted online via the official portal, icarcounseling.com.

This counselling aims to support admissions to 3,964 M.Sc. programme seats across 81 sub-subjects in 76 universities for the 2026-27 academic session. Eligible candidates are those who possess a four-, five-, or six-year bachelor’s degree in agriculture or an allied subject and secured a non-zero score in the AIEEA (PG) 2026 exam, which was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on July 4, 2026.

Counselling Schedule and Fees

The deadline for choice filling and document upload for Round 1 is October 2, 2026, at 11:50 P.M. Seat allotment for this round is scheduled for October 5, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. onwards. The counselling process includes four online rounds, followed by one mop-up round. A processing deduction of Rs. 1,000 is applied if a candidate cancels or withdraws their allotted seat up to the fourth round.

The registration fee for counselling is Rs. 500, which is non-refundable. Following document verification, a seat acceptance fee of Rs. 10,000 is required for all categories, payable centrally on the ICAR portal. Documents must be uploaded as JPEG files. The counselling brochure, titled ‘AIEEA (31st) Online Counselling Brochure-2026’, is 96 pages long and serves as the official rulebook for seat allotment.

Changes in Counselling Process and Seat Distribution

For the 2026-27 academic session, two new features have been introduced in the counselling process. Universities will now verify documents online, eliminating the need for physical reporting during the initial rounds. Also, the Rs. 10,000 seat acceptance fee is to be paid centrally on the ICAR portal. Candidates are advised to download and print portal-generated documents, such as the rank card, allotment letter, and provisional admission letter, as they may not be accessible after the portal closes.

The counselling process covers 30% of seats at State Agricultural Universities and 100% of seats at ICAR-Deemed Universities (ICAR-DUs), Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University (RLBCAU) Jhansi, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (Dr. RPCAU) Pusa. The total number of PG seats available is 3,964 across 81 sub-subjects in 76 universities, excluding veterinary sciences.

Scholarship Opportunities

The ICAR AIEEA PG counselling also offers various scholarships to eligible candidates. The ICAR PG scholarship provides Rs. 12,640 per month for two years, along with a contingent grant of Rs. 6,000 per year. The total value of this scholarship over two years, including the contingent grant, is Rs. 3,15,360. Up to 50% of the contingent grant may be spent on books.

Another scholarship, the National Talent Scholarship (NTS), offers Rs. 5,000 per month for two years, amounting to a total of Rs. 1,20,000, specifically for candidates admitted to a university outside their domicile state. Annexure-III of the counselling brochure lists 497 PG scholarships available, with a split of 385 for UR/OBC-NCL/EWS/UPS categories, 75 for SC, and 37 for ST. A 5% horizontal reservation for PwBD candidates is drawn from these categories. Notably, sub-subjects like Water Science and Technology and Computer Application do not carry any scholarships. For instance, Agronomy offers 94 scholarships against 305 seats, representing 30.8% of seats.

Further reading

• ICAR AIEEA PG 2026 counselling for AIQ seats begins September 29
• ICAR AIEEA (PG) and AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) 2026 counselling dates soon on official portal
• MAT PBT 2026: Register by December 14; exam on December 20
• CAT 2026 application correction window opens October 5: edit photo, signature, test city
• CMAT application form: eligibility, dates and how to apply
• ICAR AIEEA: complete exam guide

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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