Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) has decided to reschedule the ICAR National Eligibility Test 2019. Whereas initially the exam was supposed to be held from December 9, 2019 to December 15, 2019, it will now be held from January 6, 2020 to January 10, 2020.
Although no other aspect of the exam will change as a result of this rescheduling, the date of issuance of admit card, and results will also be affected.
Last time the ICAR NET exam, the NET II was held from December 27 to 31, and admit card was released on December 11, that is 16 days prior to the first exam date. By that logic, the admit card for ICAR NET 2019 should be released around December 21, 2019.
Admit card will be available for download from asrb.org.in, icar.org.in. The exam conducting body has also stated that candidates should regularly check their emails, the ones provided in application form, for updates and communication regarding the exam from the board. Specifically, messages from email id net2019@asrb.org.in should be checked, and it should be ensured that emails from this id are not going to one’s spam inbox.
ASRB had published notification for ICAR NET 2019 in October, and accepted online application forms from October 15, 2019 to November 4, 2019. Candidates with a masters degree in concerned discipline, and those who had attained the age of 21 years as on 01.07.2019 were invited to apply. There is neither any upper age limit, nor any limit on the number of attempts.
Candidates may expect questions from the NET syllabus, provided at asrb.org.in. As per past year NET aspirants, questions are of CSIR NET, UGC NET, and state level SET level. They are concept as well as application based. Now that the exam date has been postponed, candidates have a longer time to prepare, which should be utilized in strengthening the basics, practising from sample papers, and taking mock tests.
Previous NET qualifiers recommend taking notes, sticking to a routine, sleeping properly and eating healthy, and ensuring to complete syllabus on time. With the exam being online, attempting mock tests also boosts confidence.
The exam will be held at 32 centres in India in a “staggered slot-wie examination format”. National Eligibility Test is a qualifying exam for the purpose of determining eligibility for the position of lecturer or assistant professor in state agricultural universities (SAUs) and other agricultural universities (AUs) in India. Only those who qualify the ICAR NET, and are issued certificate by ASRB, will be allowed to apply for teaching positions in SAUs / AUs.
ICAR NET exam will be online, a single paper with 150 questions of 150 marks. 2 hours will be given to solve it. Whereas for correct answers one will get 1 mark, ⅓ mark will be deducted against negative marking for incorrect answers. The minimum qualifying marks for unreserved candidates will be 50%, that is 75, 45% that is 67.5 for OBC, and 40% that is 60 marks will be the qualifying marks requirement for SC, ST, Divyang.