ICAR JRF official syllabus guide

ICAR JRF syllabus 2026

The site's ICAR mock follows the Ph.D.-level AICE-JRF/SRF paper, which NTA runs for ICAR. It is one computer-based paper in three parts: a common general-awareness section, a core-group section shared by dairy and food subjects, and a specialisation section; for a food technologist the specialisation is Food Processing Technology, whose ICAR syllabus has eight units.

Exam pattern and marking

• Part A — 20 MCQs common to all subjects: general knowledge and reasoning in agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and allied sciences, including current events
• Part B — 50 MCQs from core group 09 (Dairy Science, Dairy Technology and Food Technology)
• Part C — 50 MCQs from the chosen specialised subject (Food Processing Technology)
• 120 questions, 480 marks (80 + 200 + 200), 2 hours, computer-based, English only
• +4 for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong one, 0 for unattempted

Food Processing Technology syllabus

Part A — General awareness (common to all subjects)

• General knowledge in agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and allied sciences
• Current events and matters of everyday observation (ICAR prescribes no separate topic list for this part)

Part B — Core group 09 subjects

• Questions drawn from the five subjects in the group: Dairy Chemistry, Food Processing Technology, Dairy Microbiology, Dairy Technology and Dairy Engineering
• Each subject's syllabus is in the same ICAR document; ICAR does not publish a separate core-group syllabus

Unit 1: Introductory Food Technology

• Food attributes (colour, texture, flavour, nutritive value) and consumer preference; food processing industries and institutions in India
• Causes and detection of spoilage, sources of microbial contamination, foodborne illness, water activity and spoilage
• Preservation principles and methods — heat processing, pasteurisation, canning, dehydration, freezing, freeze drying, fermentation, irradiation, chemical additives, fortification
• Refrigerated and modified-atmosphere storage, aseptic preservation, hurdle technology
• Non-thermal (PEF, HPP, microfiltration, bacteriofugation, thermosonication), alternate-thermal (ohmic, dielectric, infrared, induction) and biological (bacteriocins, antibacterial enzymes) technologies; role of additives and processing aids

Unit 2: Technology of Foods of Plant Origin

• Fruit and vegetable post-harvest handling, minimal processing, cold chain, ZECC and CCSR storage
• Canning and process-time evaluation, dehydration and solar drying, intermediate moisture foods, juices and beverages, membrane technology
• Pectin chemistry and gel products; preserves, pickles, chutneys, sauces and tomato products; IQF and frozen produce; by-product utilisation
• Tea, coffee and cocoa processing; spices, oleoresins and essential oils; medicinal and aromatic plants
• Cereal grains and millets — structure, milling, flour rheology, gluten, bakery, pasta, extruded and breakfast foods; rice milling and parboiling; barley malting; oat and corn (wet/dry) milling
• Pulses and oilseeds — milling and processing, protein concentrates and isolates, oil extraction and refining, vanaspati, modified starches and proteins, plant-based dairy analogues

Unit 3: Technology of Foods of Animal Origin

• Dairy plant operations — reception, separation, clarification, pasteurisation, standardisation, homogenisation, sterilisation; UHT, toned, fortified and flavoured milks
• Milk products — cream, butter, ghee, cheese, condensed and evaporated milk, milk powders, ice cream, khoa, chhana, paneer; enzyme-modified cheese; dairy sanitation and CIP
• Meat and poultry — muscle structure, ante- and post-mortem inspection, slaughter, rigor mortis, cuts, curing, smoking, sausage making, tenderisation
• Fish handling, canning, smoking and freezing; egg structure, quality, preservation and egg products; by-product utilisation

Unit 4: Food Quality Management

• Quality control objectives, control charts, acceptance sampling, audits, recall and liability
• Food plant sanitation, hygiene regulations, environment and waste management
• TQM, HACCP, Codex; national and international food law — FSSAI, US-FDA, ISO 9000, EFSA
• Adulteration; sensory evaluation and panel selection; instrumental and non-destructive quality evaluation; biosensors

Unit 5: Food Engineering, Packaging and Labelling

• Unit operations — grading, sorting, peeling, size reduction; energy balance
• Packaging materials, properties and testing; packaging of fresh and processed foods; shelf-life studies
• Aseptic, modified-atmosphere, vacuum and gas packaging; active, intelligent, antimicrobial, edible and biodegradable packaging; metal cans and corrosion
• Labelling requirements and principles of package design

Unit 6: Food Microbiology and Biotechnology

• Fermentation technology and fermented foods; microbial spoilage; bacterial growth curve; hurdle technology
• Biotechnology for improved nutrition and quality in plants, livestock and microbes
• Biotechnological production of additives and enzymes; biomass from industrial waste; single-cell protein
• Food contaminants such as aflatoxins; food intoxication and infection; biotechnology and food safety

Unit 7: Flavour Chemistry and Technology

• Flavour composition of foods and beverages, precursors and staling reactions
• Flavour changes with maturation, microbial activity and processing; odour-active compound analysis
• Microbial and plant-cell flavour synthesis; lipid-derived flavours; flavour stability
• Flavour emulsions and composites, essential oils and oleoresins

Unit 8: Consumer Sciences, Product Development and Health Foods

• Socio-cultural, psychological and economic factors in food choice; domestic and export marketing; consumer trends
• New product development — ideation, screening, development, test marketing, commercialisation
• Food in human nutrition, nutritional disorders, natural contaminants and diet therapy
• Therapeutic, engineered, organic, nutraceutical and functional foods; FSSAI rules on fortification, nutraceuticals and organic food

Source: ICAR syllabus, AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) — subject 35.a ↗. Source: ICAR syllabus page (AIEEA-PG and AICE-JRF/SRF) ↗. Source: NTA ICAR examinations portal ↗. Checked 2026-09-26. The examining authority's current document remains definitive and should be verified before planning examination preparation.

Section weight by year

Section marks are calculated from each available ICAR JRF paper. The table records how marks were distributed in each year represented on this site.

Counted from the question banks on this server. Where our reproduction of a paper is short of the official total — figure-dependent questions we cannot carry — the exam page says so against that paper.

Changes in examination pattern

These changes are derived from comparisons of consecutive papers for the same post and do not represent an official announcement.

See every ICAR JRF mock test on the site — full papers, sectional tests, cut-offs and eligibility.