ICMR Notification 2026 will be released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on its official website to recruit candidates for Assistant, Personal Assistant (PA), Upper Division Clerk (UDC), and Junior Research Fellow (JRF) posts. After the notification is issued, the online application process will start. Eligibility criteria will include educational qualification, age limit, and nationality, which vary with the post. The selection process involves a computer-based test or written exam, followed by skill tests (where applicable) and document verification.
ICMR is the exam that holds the national level value for the candidates to determine their eligibility and those who qualify for the exam will get the reward of the Junior Fellowship Program (JRF) through the Indian Council of Medical Research.
There will be one paper which will be divided into two sections. In one section, there will be three sections comprising a total of 50 marks, and in the second part, there will be two sections of a total of 100 marks.
The ICMR exam dates 2026 are mentioned in the table below
| Events | Dates |
|---|---|
| ICMR Notification 2026 Release Date | to be notified |
| ICMR Application 2026 Start | to be notified |
| Last Date to Apply for ICMR 2026 | to be notified |
| ICMS 2026 Admit Card | to be notified |
| ICMR 2026 Exam Date | to be notified |
| ICMR 2026 Result | to be notified |
The key points regarding the Indian Council of Medical Research for various highlights are mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Name | Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant, PA, and UDC |
| Name of the Organization | Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) |
| Frequency | Once In a year |
| Mode of Application | Online |
| Exam Mode | Online (Computer-Based) |
| Language | English |
| Official website | https://www.icmr.gov.in/ |
ICMR 2026 Recruitment Exam official notification will be released on the official website soon. However, the official dates regarding various events such as Exam Date, Result, Admit Card, and so on will be the first released on the official website and the candidates must be aware of filling the application form for the particular exam and visit the official website of ICMR regularly.
The information about the number of vacancies for various posts initiated by the Indian Council of Medical Research will be available on the official website and are mentioned as follows:
| Posts | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| Assistant | To be notified |
| PA and UDC | To be notified |
| JRF | To be notified |
The exam pattern is very important for the candidates to have an overview of the exam. The exam pattern for the various posts such as – Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant, PA, and UDC are mentioned below.
The ICMR Recruitment 2026 Junior Research Fellowship Exam pattern is mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of exam | Online (Computer-Based) |
| Number of sections | Two |
| Number of questions | 150 |
| Duration of exam | 2 hours |
| Maximum marks | 250 |
| Types of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Marking scheme | 0.25 marks were deducted for the wrong answer |
| Language | English |
The ICMR Recruitment 2026 Assistant Exam pattern is mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of exam | Online (Computer-Based) |
| Number of sections | One |
| Number of questions | 80 |
| Duration of exam | 80 minutes |
| Maximum marks | 80 |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Marking scheme | 0.25 marks were deducted for the wrong answer |
| Language | English |
The ICMR Recruitment 2026 PA and UDC Exam pattern is mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of exam | Online (Computer-Based) |
| Number of questions | 200 |
| Duration of exam | 2 hours |
| Maximum marks | 200 |
| Marking scheme | 0.25 marks were deducted for the wrong answer |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Language | English |
There are various concepts and subjects included in the syllabus of the ICMR Exams. Some subjects are common in various exams whereas many are not common in the syllabus. The ICMR syllabus is mentioned below:
The Syllabus for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Junior Research Fellowship programs subject-wise is mentioned in the table below:
| Subjects | Topics |
|---|---|
| Scientific Phenomenon in everyday life |
|
| General Knowledge |
|
| Statistics |
|
| Social Sciences |
|
| Social Sciences |
|
The Syllabus for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Assistant program subject-wise is mentioned in the table below:
| Subjects | Syllabus |
|---|---|
| General Intelligence |
|
| General Awareness |
|
| Quantitative Aptitude |
|
| English Language |
|
The Syllabus for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) PA and UDC program subject-wise is mentioned in the table below:
| Subjects | Topics |
|---|---|
| General Syllabus |
|
| Reasoning |
|
| Verbal Reasoning |
|
| Non-Verbal Reasoning |
|
| Numerical Ability |
|
| English Language |
|
| Quantitative Aptitude |
|
| General Knowledge |
|
The most preferred source of preparation for the exams is books and the candidates who want to ace the exam must be aware of the books. Furthermore, the ICMR Recruitment exam preparation books are mentioned in the table below:
| Books | Authors |
|---|---|
| Verbal and the Non-verbal Reasoning | S. Chand |
| General Knowledge 2021 | Manohar Pandey |
| General English | Lucent |
| Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive exams | R S Aggarwal |
| A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning | Kiran Prakashan |
| Analytical Reasoning | M.K. Pandey |
| A new approach to Numerical Ability | Navratan Singh |
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) exam is for the candidates to start their careers in the medical field. Subsequently, the exam will be conducted online in a computer-based format. Moreover, the questions will be in a multiple-choice question format and hence, the candidates have to be so sure for the correct answer to be marked. This will be possible by preparing thoroughly by making notes for the exam. Check the ICMR Previous Years’ Question Papers here.
The eligibility criteria are a very important aspect that must be fulfilled by the candidates if they want to be the ICMR Recruitment exam aspirant. Three attributes of the eligibility criteria must be fulfilled by the candidates for the ICMR Recruitment exam that is – Nationality, Age, and Educational Qualification.
The detailed Eligibility criteria for different posts for all the attributes are mentioned below.
The detailed eligibility criteria for the ICMR Junior Research Fellowship program in all the attributes are mentioned below.
The candidates who want to be eligible for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Junior Research Fellowship must possess the following educational qualifications:
The candidates who want to be eligible for the Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Junior Research Fellowship must have their ages in the following:
The candidate must be an Indian Citizen.
The detailed eligibility criteria for the ICMR Assistant in all the attributes are mentioned below.
The candidates who want to be eligible for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Assistant post must possess the following educational qualifications –
Age limit to appear for the exam or age relaxation based on reserved categories is mentioned in the table below:
| Categories | Age Relaxation Permissible Beyond the Upper Age Limit |
|---|---|
| SC/ST | 5 Years |
| OBC | 3 Years |
| PWD | 10 years |
| General | Must not exceed the age of more than 30 years |
The candidate must be an Indian Citizen.
The detailed eligibility criteria for the ICMR PA and UDC in all the attributes are mentioned below.
The candidates who want to be eligible for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for PA and UDC posts must possess the following educational qualifications:
Age limit to appear for the exam or age relaxation based on reserved categories is mentioned in the table below:
| Categories | Age Relaxation Permissible Beyond the Upper Age Limit |
|---|---|
| SC/ST | 5 Years |
| OBC | 3 Years |
| PWD | 10 years |
| General | Must not exceed the age of more than 30 years |
The candidate must be an Indian Citizen.
The candidates who are interested in applying for the post of ICMR Recruitment should look through the eligibility criteria. Those who are eligible can visit the official website to apply for the post. The steps to apply are given below:
This is the first process for the candidates for getting themselves registered by following the steps given below:
The application form is most important to be filled out correctly by the candidates and hence, the candidates have to follow the steps mentioned below to fill the application form.
The Application fees for various ICMR Posts are mentioned in the table below:
| Post Name | Application fees for Un Reserved Categories | Application fees for Reserved Categories |
|---|---|---|
| ICMR JRF |
|
|
| ICMR Assistant |
|
|
| ICMR PA and UDC |
|
|
The admit card will be released on the official website one month before the exam. The candidates can download the ICMR recruitment Admit Card 2026 by following the following steps:
The details mentioned on the ICMR Recruitment 2026 Admit Card are mentioned below:
The ICMR Answer key is released after a month after the exam is being conducted. The candidates can match their answers with the answer key and analyze their results. Moreover, the most important part of the answer key is that the candidates can raise objections if their answer is correct and the question is wrong.
The result is the outcome of the exam in which the candidates can see if they’re promoted or demoted to the next round of the selection process. The result will be announced after some days after the release of the answer key. The ICMR Recruitment 2026 result for all the posts will be released on the ICMR Official website.
The cut-off for the exam is announced along with the results of the ICMR. One needs to clear the minimum qualifying marks in the computer-based test to be called out for the next round. The cutoff marks for the previous year for all the posts of ICMR are mentioned below.
The 2020 Cutoff marks for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Junior Research Fellowship are mentioned in the table below:
| Categories | Cut-Off |
|---|---|
| Unreserved Categories | 80 – 90 marks |
| OBC | 78 – 85 marks |
| SC/ST | 73 – 80 marks |
| Others | 70 – 80 marks |
The 2020 Cutoff marks for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Assistant posts are mentioned in the table below:
| Categories | Cut-Off in % |
|---|---|
| General | 50% |
| OBC | 50% |
| EWS | 50% |
| SC/ST | 40% |
| PWD | 40% |
The 2020 Cutoff marks for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Assistant posts are mentioned in the table below:
| Categories | Cut-Off in % |
|---|---|
| General | 55% |
| OBC | 55% |
| SC | 50% |
| ST | 50% |
| PWD | 50% |
Various factors affect the Indian Council of Medical Research Recruitment exam cutoff of whom some of them are mentioned below:
The Salary of the ICMR Posts ranges from INR 16,000 – INR 1,29,643 along with various allowances such as Dearness Allowances, House Rent Allowances, and so on. The detailed breakage of the ICMR Salary post-wise is mentioned below.
| Post | Salary |
|---|---|
| JRF | INR 31, 000 (First Three Years) INR 35, 000 (As SRF after promotion) |
| Assistant | INR 35,40 – INR 1,12,400 |
| PA and UDC | INR 3,60,000 – INR 4,70,000 Per Annum |
The Indian Council of Medical Research posts is very good career options for the candidates because the pay grade and pay scale are good in the posts and the candidates will get different salary growth and various allowances such as House Rent Allowances, Dearness Allowances, Pay Allowance, Bonuses, and most importantly the growth in their career according to the provided service.
Ques: What is the counseling process after the ICMR Recruitment exam 2026 is conducted?
Ans: The counseling process starts after the month of the exam is conducted. The candidates who qualify for the exam will be considered in the counseling, according to their in the examination. After the counseling process and selection process, the candidates will get a call from the committee for the interview, and the candidates who qualify for the interview will be recruited.
Ques: What is the selection procedure for ICMR Assistant Recruitment 2026?
Ans: The candidates are selected for the ICMR Assistant post based on a computer-based test, skill test, document verification, and medical examination. The candidates will have to score the minimum cut-off in the computer-based test to move to the further rounds.
Ques: What is the Job Profile that is granted to the candidates for ICMR Junior Research Fellowship 2026?
Ans: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Junior Research Fellowship Assistant candidates will have to conclude the research work which will be done with the expertise department. The Assistant has to submit the annual year reports of the research which are done by the candidate after 10 months from the date of the start in the Junior Research Fellowship as per the standard performance.
Ques: I belong to the ST category, so will I be given any relaxation on the eligibility for ICMR Recruitment 2026?
Ans: Yes, there is age relaxation available for reserved categories. The maximum age for appearing for this exam is 30 years, but the ST candidates get a relaxation of 5 years, so they can appear for the exam up to the age of 35 years.
Ques: How can I Apply for ICMR Recruitment 2026?
Ans: Eligible Indian candidates can apply online for ICMR Recruitment through the online portal https://main.icmr.nic.in after the release of the application form. Eligible candidates must apply before the last date for the Recruitment of ICMR.
Ques: How many attempts are there in the ICMR Exam 2026?
Ans: No, there are no limits on the number of attempts in the ICMR Exam. The candidates can apply any number of times under the upper age limit by fulfilling all the eligibility criteria.
Ques: What are the criteria for ICMR JRF Recruitment 2026?
Ans: To be eligible to apply for the ICMR JRF, candidates must have an M.Sc./M.A. degree with a minimum of 55% from an accredited university. The maximum age for the general category is 28 years old.
Download the PREPP App and attempt FREE ICMR Recruitment Mock Tests and get complete study material!
Comments