ICMR JRF 2021: Exam date out; check fellowship details, eligibility at pgimer.edu.in, cmr.nic.in

Every year, the exam is conducted in July. However, in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, the exam has been postponed.

ICMR JRF exam 2021: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has rolled out its schedule for ICMR Junior Research Fellowship (ICMR JRF) Test that will take place this year. The application process for ICMR JRF is expected to begin on July 1 and the tentative last date to fill out forms is July 31. The council will be holding the exam on September 12 in collaboration with the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. The test will be computer-based and will be conducted in a single shift from 3 pm to 4:30 pm. Interested candidates can visit the official websites (pgimer.edu.in and icmr.nic.in) for application and further information.

According to the notification issued by ICMR, the test for Junior Research Fellowship will be held across various cities in India. It is to note that the ICMR JRF exam is required to get admission into PhD, research programme in a medical college or a hospital, national laboratory, university, or an institution of higher learning and research. The exam is conducted once every year at 12 examination centres across the country. Depending on the merit of the examination, the fellowship is awarded to candidates. Every year, the exam is conducted in July. However, in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, the exam has been postponed.

As of now, ICMR has made the announcement of the schedule. It will also release a notification regarding the online application forms by the end of this month. “Notification for filling of online application forms will be issued in the last week of June, 2021 on the websites of ICMR, New Delhi & PGIMER, Chandigarh. Tentative dates for filling of online application form will be from 01.07.2021 to 31.07.2021,” read the ICMR notification.

It is to note that the council is expected to award a total of 150 candidates with fellowships after they clear this exam. Among this, the field of Biomedical Sciences with emphasis on Life Sciences will have 120 fellowships where the selected candidates can conduct their research on topics related to physiology, microbiology, genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, human biology, biophysics, bioinformatics, pharmacology, immunology, zoology, botany, nursing, and environmental sciences and veterinary Medicine. The remaining 30 fellowships will be in areas related to Social Sciences. This includes sociology, psychology, statistics anthropology, home science, public health/health economics and social work.

Are you eligible?

During last year’s exam, ICMR had kept the eligibility criteria for candidates having an MSc/ MA or an equivalent degree with minimum 55 per cent marks. All candidates who have these qualifications were eligible to apply. For those belonging to SC, ST, and PwBD categories, the candidates needed a minimum of 50 per cent marks.

For candidates, the upper age limit has been capped at 28 years. This can further be relaxed by 5 years for candidates belonging to SC, ST, PwBD categories. Females too have this relaxation. For OBC candidates, relaxations for 3 years were given last year.