The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conducts the Joint CSIR-UGC (JRF/NET) Exam.

CSIR-UGC (JRF/NET) is conducted twice a year tentatively on Sunday around 20th of June and December (twice a year).

CSIR-UGC (JRF/NET) is conducted to determine the eligibility of the Indian National candidates for the award of Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) and for determining eligibility for appointment of Lecturers/Assistant Professors (NET) in certain subject areas falling under the faculty of Science & Technology.

CSIR-UGC (JRF/NET) Exam is conducted in the following subjects:
1. Chemical Sciences
2. Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences
3. Life Sciences
4. Physical Sciences
5. Mathematical Sciences

The candidates qualifying for CSIR-JRF or UGC-JRF are granted fellowship for 5 years to pursue research work. The Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) payable to the candidate is Rs.25000/- per month for first two years. After assessing the progress at the end of two years by a committee, the fellowship is increased to Rs. 28000/- pm for next three years and designated as Senior Research Fellowship (SRF). In addition, annual contingent grant of Rs. 20,000/- will be provided to the University/Institution.

A candidate can join fellowship within two years after qualifying the CSIR-UGC (JRF/NET) Exam. For the appointment of Lecturers/Assistant Professors (NET) remains valid forever.

M.Sc. or equivalent degree/ Integrated BS-MS/BS-4 years/BE/BTech/BPharma/MBBS with at least 55% marks for General (UR) and OBC candidates and 50% for SC/ST, Persons with Disability (PwD) candidates.

Candidates enrolled for M.Sc or having completed 10+2+3 years of the above qualifying examination as on the closing date of online submission of application form, are also eligible to apply in the above subject under the Result Awaited (RA) category on the condition that they complete the qualifying degree with requisite percentage of marks within the validity period of two years to avail the fellowship from the effective date of award. Such candidates will have to submit the attestation format (Given at the reverse of the application form) duly certified by the Head of the Department/Institute from where the candidate is appearing or has appeared.

B.Sc (Hons) or equivalent degree holders or students enrolled in Integrated MS-PhD program with at least 55% marks for General (UR) and OBC candidates; 50% marks for SC/ST, Persons with disability (PwD) candidates are also eligible to apply. Candidates with bachelor’s degree will be eligible for CSIR fellowship only after getting registered/enrolled for PhD/Integrated PhD program within the validity period of two years. Candidates having Bachelor’s degree only shall not be eligible for Lectureship.

Candidates enrolled for M.Sc. or having completed 10+2+3 years of the required qualifying Exam may apply under Result Awaited (RA) category & submit attestation format as given in the application form.

For JRF (NET): Maximum age for JRF (NET) is 28 years, whereas there is no age limit for LS (NET). Upper age limit for JRF (NET) may be relaxed up to 5 years in case of SC/ST/Persons with Disability(PwD)/female applicants and 03 years in case of OBC (non creamy layer) applicants.

The Test Booklet for this test will be printed in Hindi & English Version. The candidate opting for Hindi medium in the Application Form, will be supplied bilingual Test Booklet and Candidate opting for English medium will be supplied Test Booklet printed in English Version only. The candidate will be required to answer as per option exercised in the application Form.

Online Application forms are usually available in the month of March for June Exam. and in August-Sept. for Dec. Exam. Exam is held on Sunday around 20th of June/Dec. Subject wise schedule of examination whether morning or Evening sessions.

The single paper MCQ based test is held, duration of the Exam is 3 hours and Maximum Marks are 200.
If a question for any reason found wrong, the benefit of marks will be given to only those candidates who attempt the question.

The question paper is divided into three parts, (A, B & C) as per syllabus & Scheme of Exam.
 Part ‘A’ shall be common to all subjects. Syllabus: General Aptitude with emphasis on logical reasoning, graphical analysis, analytical and numerical ability, quantitative comparison, series formation, puzzles etc.
 Part ‘B’ shall contain subject-related conventional Multiple Choice questions (MCQs), generally covering the topics given in the syllabus.
 Part ‘C’ shall contain higher value questions that may test the candidate’s knowledge of scientific concepts and/or application of the scientific concepts. The questions shall be of analytical nature where a candidate is expected to apply the scientific knowledge to arrive at the solution to the given scientific problem.

Negative marking for wrong answers shall be @ 25% for Part A, B and C of the question paper in case of Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences however in Mathematical Sciences negative marking will be applicable to Part A & B only.

The test will be held at 27 Centres spread all over India, as specified below: Bangalore, Bhavnagar, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Guntur, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Jorhat, Karaikudi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Pilani, Pune, Raipur, Roorkee, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Udaipur and Varanasi.

Category Wise Fee Details:
1. General Rs. 1000/-
2. Other Backward Classes (OBC)-Non Creamy Layer Rs. 500/-
3. SC/ST/ Persons with Disability (PwD) Rs. 250/-.

Candidate applying for this test will be required to deposit fee through Bank challan in any branch of Indian Bank and then apply using link available at CSIR, HRDG website. After successfully submitting the online application, candidates are required to take a printout on A4 size paper, affix photograph at designated space & sign across it, get it endorsed by the HOD (for RA category only) and send it along with copy of Bank challan and other requisite enclosure(s) if any, by writing at the top of the envelope his/her Subject Code, Centre Code, Medium Code and online generated application number. Candidates may also deposit their fees though RTGS and NEFT by giving the particulars of the Indian Bank. Fee submitted through any other mode viz.IPO/demand draft/money order/ CRF stamp etc is accepted.

The candidate should attach an attested copy of his/her category certificate as a proof of his/her claim. An application form (through online), claiming any concession in fee, age & educational qualification but without an attested copy of a valid SC/ST/OBC (NCL)/PwD (40% or more disability certificate from a competent authority and in prescribed format), will be summarily rejected. OBC candidates, who are not covered vide the provision of Non Creamy Layer (NCL) as per the provisions of Govt. of India shall not be eligible to get the benefit of relaxation in age, fee concession etc. Candidate must note that for availing OBC category benefit CSIR follows only Central Govt. list and not the State Govt. lists. Similarly, candidate applying under PwD category may note that Govt. of India rules will be applicable in this regard, otherwise they shall not be eligible for any concession.

PROVISIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY (INCLUDING VISUALLY CHALLENGED CANDIDATES) HAVING 40% OR MORE DISABILITY:

(i) Candidates with disabilities having 40% or more disability in upper limbs, visual impairment, low vision, cerebral palsy who have physical limitation to write with that of speed, if they request for scribe in their online application, will be provided the services of a scribe from our panel of scribes. The candidate is allowed to meet the scribe one or two days before the examination so as to verify whether the scribe is suitable or not, after getting confirmation from our respective Centre Coordinator.

(ii) Such candidate has the discretion of opting for his/her own scribe at his/her own cost. The candidate should send a written request for bringing his/her own scribe to the centre Coordinator.

(iii) PwD candidates will also be given compensatory time of 60 minutes in addition to the 3 hours duration of the Exam.

(iv) Visually challenged candidates will be provided Test Booklet in large font on request as per the medium of exam opted by the candidate in his/her online application.

Candidate should exercise due care in filling up the application form. No change in the entries made in the original application form will be allowed at later stage.

The candidates will be permitted to take their Test Booklet and also the carbonless duplicate copy of OMR sheet with them after the completion of the examination for their reference/record.

The OMR Answer Sheets shall be distributed to the candidates 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the exam while the Test Booklet shall be distributed 5 minutes before the scheduled start of the exam to enable the candidates to go through the instructions and correctly fill up the required particulars.

OBC candidates whose caste is not listed in Central List (as available on NCBC website) and are not covered under the provisions as applicable to OBC Non Creamy Layer (NCL) shall be treated as a General Category candidates for all purposes and shall not be eligible to get the benefit of relaxation in age & fee concession etc. Accordingly, OBC Candidates not belonging to OBC Non Creamy Layer shall indicate their category as ‘General’.

The candidates declared successful will be required to submit a copy of their e-Admit Card, matriculation certificate as a proof of age, required degree certificate/mark sheet, proof of enrolment in integrated MS-Ph D. program to Examination Unit, Human Resource Development Group, CSIR Complex, Opposite Institute of Hotel Management, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi 110012 for verification etc.

All communications to CSIR should invariably contain the following particulars, failing which no response is possible: (a) Name of the candidate (in full and in BLOCK LETTERS) (b) Date of Birth (c) Application Online No. (d) Subject (e) Medium of Exam (f) Centre for Examination.