ICMR-NIN
Dietary Guidelines for Indians (2024, 2nd edition)
India's official diet, RDA and My Plate guidance.
Exam resources
AIIMS Common Recruitment Examination: Dietician and Assistant Dietician 2027
AIIMS New Delhi's Common Recruitment Examination fills Dietician, Assistant Dietician and Junior Dietician posts at several AIIMS and central institutes through a 100-question computer-based test: 20 questions of general knowledge, aptitude and computers and 80 on food and nutrition and diets. The posts need an M.Sc. in food and nutrition or a related field and hospital experience.
AIIMS New Delhi runs a Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) for Group B and C posts at AIIMS institutes and other central bodies. Its first post group covers Assistant Dietician, Dietician and Junior Dietician (and a Warden post). CRE-5, notified on 13 June 2026, had Assistant Dietician posts at AIIMS Bathinda, Mangalagiri and New Delhi, Dietician posts at AIIMS Bathinda, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna and Raipur, and a Junior Dietician post at CNCI Kolkata. Selection is a 100-question computer-based test followed by document verification. The posts need an M.Sc. in food and nutrition or a related field and two to three years of hospital experience, so a B.Tech in Food Technology alone does not qualify.
- Conducted by
- Examination Section, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for AIIMS institutes and other central government institutes
Who can apply
In CRE-5 an Assistant Dietician needed an M.Sc. (Food and Nutrition) and two years' experience, preferably in a large teaching hospital; a Dietician or Junior Dietician needed an M.Sc. in food and nutrition, clinical nutrition and dietetics, food science and nutrition or a related field and three years' experience, preferably in a 200-bed hospital. The upper age limit was 35 years.
- Assistant Dietician (Pay Level 6; AIIMS Bathinda, Mangalagiri, New Delhi): M.Sc. (Food and Nutrition) and two years' experience in the line, preferably in a large teaching hospital; age not exceeding 35 (AIIMS New Delhi relaxable to 40 for AIIMS employees)
- Dietician (Pay Level 7; AIIMS Bathinda, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur): M.Sc. (Home Science Food and Nutrition), M.Sc. (Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics), M.Sc. (Food Science and Nutrition), M.Sc. (Food and Nutrition Dietetics) or M.Sc. (Food Service Management and Dietetics), and three years' experience, preferably in a 200-bed hospital; age 21 to 35 (18 to 35 at Bathinda)
- Junior Dietician (Pay Level 6; CNCI Kolkata): the same M.Sc. list and three years' experience; age not exceeding 35
- Ages were reckoned with the usual relaxations; check each institute's row in Annexure I
- A B.Tech or M.Tech in Food Technology is not in the qualification list; an M.Sc. Food Science and Nutrition is
A summary. Confirm the details in the current notice.
Source: AIIMS CRE-5 Detailed Recruitment Advertisement, Annexure I ↗. Checked 2026-10-30.
Based on past papers, not an official scheme. Confirm in the current notice.
Every section is compulsory, with no choice between them, and the paper is timed at 90 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge, Aptitude and Computers | 20 | 80 | Compulsory |
| Human Nutrition | 20 | 80 | Compulsory |
| Clinical Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets | 20 | 80 | Compulsory |
| Community Nutrition and Public Health | 20 | 80 | Compulsory |
| Food Science and Food Service | 20 | 80 | Compulsory |
| Paper total | — | 400 |
Mock tests follow AIIMS's CRE computer-based test: 100 questions of 4 marks each in 90 minutes, run as five sections of 20 questions with 18 minutes each; a section closes when its time ends and cannot be reopened. 20 questions are general knowledge, aptitude and computers and 80 are the domain (Food and Nutrition, Diets). AIIMS does not split the 80 domain questions by topic; the four domain sections in these mocks are our grouping.
Marking scheme
4 marks for a correct answer. AIIMS states "a negative marking of 1/4 marks for each wrong answer"; these mocks deduct one quarter of the question's marks (1 mark). Unanswered questions carry no penalty. Qualifying marks are 40% for UR/EWS, 35% for OBC, 30% for SC/ST and PwBD. An unanswered question scores zero. Our mocks for this exam are scored the same way.
Source: AIIMS CRE-5 Detailed Recruitment Advertisement, Notice No. 93/2026, Section IX ↗
Free PDFs and recommended books for AIIMS Dietician (CRE). How we choose
Free PDFs
12 free PDFsNutrition
FAO/WHO
Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition
Expert consultation on lipid requirements.
FAO
Human Nutrition in the Developing World (Latham)
A classic free textbook on macro- and micronutrients and deficiency diseases.
NCERT
Class 12 Human Ecology & Family Sciences — Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics
A simple introduction to clinical nutrition and dietetics.
Processing & preservation
FSSAI
Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Cereal and Cereal Products (2022)
Official analytical methods for cereals and flours.
FSSAI · FoSTaC
FoSTaC Manual — Special (Level 2), Bakery
Bakery process hygiene and hazards as FSSAI sets them out.
NCERT
Class 12 Human Ecology & Family Sciences — Food Processing and Technology
A plain-language overview of preservation and processing.
NIOS
Home Science (321), Lesson 9 — Food Preservation
Household and basic industrial preservation principles.
Food safety & law
FSSAI
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (full text)
The core food law behind every CFSO, TO and Food Analyst law paper.
FSSAI
Manual for Food Safety Officers — A Ready Reckoner
FSSAI's own handbook of a Food Safety Officer's hygiene and enforcement duties.
FSSAI
Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Spices and Condiments
Official methods for spice quality and adulterant detection.
FSSAI
Compendium — Food Additives Regulations (December 2022)
Consolidated legal limits for additives by food category.
Official and open resources
2 resourcesOfficial resource
Nutritive Value of Indian Foods / Indian Food Composition Tables (ICMR-NIN)
Indian food composition values that dietetics questions rely on.
Official resource
ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians and Nutrient Requirements for Indians (RDA/EAR)
Requirements, recommended dietary allowances.
Core food science
5 resourcesDietetics
Dietetics by B. Srilakshmi
The standard Indian text on therapeutic diets, diet planning and hospital diets.
Reading suggestion
Nutrition
Nutrition Science by B. Srilakshmi
Macronutrients, micronutrients, metabolism and deficiency disorders.
Reading suggestion
Clinical nutrition
Krause and Mahan's Food and the Nutrition Care Process
Medical nutrition therapy and the nutrition care process in depth.
Reading suggestion
Community nutrition
Textbook of Human Nutrition by Bamji, Krishnaswamy and Brahmam
Indian human and public-health nutrition, programmes and assessment.
Reading suggestion
Core food science
Food Science by B. Srilakshmi
Food groups, cookery, food preservation.
Reading suggestion
Aptitude and general studies
1 resourceGeneral studies
Lucent General Knowledge
Static general knowledge for the 20-question general section.
Reading suggestion
Full topic list and section weightage AIIMS Dietician (CRE) syllabus and exam pattern
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