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Aayushi
23 September, 2023
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CSIR NET (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Eligibility Test) is a national-level examination conducted in India. This exam is supervised by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers the joint CSIR – UGC NET examination. The examination is aimed towards determining the eligibility of candidates for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Programme and Lectureship (LS) positions.
Candidates who are selected for the CSIR NET JRF position get the opportunity to carry out their research under the guidance of expert faculty/scientists in top national universities or national laboratories. As per government regulations, the CSIR NET JRF recipients receive a stipend of Rs. 31,000 per month for the first two years of their fellowship. After the initial two years, if the CSIR NET JRF award registers for further Ph.D., his/her fellowship shall be upgraded to Senior Research Fellow (SRF) with a higher stipend of Rs 35,000 per month.
| Name of the Exam | CSIR NET |
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Twice a year (June and December) |
| Duration | 180 minutes (3 Hours) |
| Mode of Exam | Computer Based Test (CBT) |
| Date of the Exam | December 2023 (tentative) |
| Application Start Date | October (tentative) |
| Number of Parts | – Part A – Part B – Part C |
| Number of Questions | Chemical Science – 120 Earth Science – 150 Life Sciences – 145 Mathematical Science – 120 Physical Science – 75 |
| Total Marks | 1000 |
| Negative Marking | Varies as per part & subject |
| Type of Questions | MCQs |
| Medium of Exam | Bilingual (Hindi/English) |
| Number of Attempts | No count until the upper age limit |
| Official Website | https://csirnet.nta.nic.in/ |
Note: To get information in regard to the exact marking scheme, candidates should refer to the official notification uploaded by the NTA on their website.
To apply, you must fulfill the following educational qualification and age criteria for the CSIR NET JRF:-
– A candidate with an MSc or equivalent degree or graduate of integrated BS-MS/BS – 4 years/ BE/BTech/ BPharma/ MBBS with a minimum of at least 55% marks for General UR, General EWS, and OBC categories. For SC/ST, third gender, and PwD candidates, the minimum marks requirement is 50%.
– A candidate must be below the age of 28 years before applying for the exam. For SC/ST/third gender/PwD and female applicants, the upper age relaxation is up to 5 years. Whereas, it is 3 years for the OBC candidates (non-creamy layer).
Note: For further details of the educational qualifications, please refer to the official notification by NTA.
| Category | Fee (INR) |
| General | 1100/- |
| General EWS/ OBC (NCL) | 550/- |
| SC/ST | 275/- |
| Third Gender | 275/- |
| PwD | NIL/- |
Each subject of the CSIR NET exam – comprises of three parts in which a candidate has to attend only a certain number of questions as prescribed by NTA.
Part A: This section is common in all the sections and is designed to assess cognitive abilities and quantitative analysis. Questions are based on topics such as logical reasoning, graphical analysis, analytical and numerical ability, quantitative comparisons, series formation and puzzles among others. The candidates are required to attempt 15 questions of two marks each.
Part B: In this section, topics from your chosen subject are covered and you have to attempt around 20-35 questions from this section.
Part C: This part has a higher difficulty level where scientific concepts and their applications are covered.
The admit card or hall ticket is generally released 7-15 days prior to the examination. From exam date, venue, time to shift and exam day guidelines everything is available on the admit card. Please note that there will be the same admit card for both JRF and LS candidates.
To be on the merit list, a candidate should at least secure minimum qualifying marks.
| Category | Minimum qualifying marks (%) |
| General/EWS/OBS | 33 |
| SC/ST/PWD | 25 |
To get selected for a Junior Research Fellowship, the candidate has to undergo certain steps. After the release of the scorecard, a merit list will be released based on which a candidate will be called for an interview round.
Those candidates who will be able to join a PhD in a research lab or institute within two years of the final declaration will be eligible for the JRF award.
If you have qualified for CSIR NET, there will be many career options available, such as:
It is very common that the candidates get confused between JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) and LS (Lectureship/Assistant Professor) positions in the CSIR NET JRF exam. Even though there is no separate exam for both these positions, here are the key distinction between the two:
| Category | Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) | Lectureship (LS) |
| Educational Qualification | Candidates with MSc or equivalent degree / or 4 year BS-MS/ BE/ BTech/ B Pharma/ MBBS/ master’s students whose results are still awaited are eligible. | Candidates with MSc or equivalent degree or integrated 4 years programmes are eligible. No one with only a bachelor’s degree is eligible. |
| Age Limit | 28 Years (excluding the category relaxation) | No upper age limit |
| Certificate Validity | 2 Years | Lifetime |
The primary difference is that UGC NET is conducted for candidates in the field of Arts, Commerce, and Humanities whereas, CSIR NET is for Science, Engineering and Technology candidates.
CSIR NET is conducted twice a year i.e. in the months of June and December for JRF.
There is no limit for the number of attempts until the candidate fits the maximum age criteria.
It is a Computer Based Test (CBT) in online mode.
The upper age limit for JRF is 28 years in CSIR NET.
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