All Post
SHARE THIS POST
Publish 29th December, 2023
By Publisher Raisoni
Agriculture and its allied sector in India are booming like never before. The use of modern equipment and the adoption of new technology made agriculture a productive and profitable venture. More and more people are getting drawn towards this sector for sustainable livelihood. As a result, students seeking admission to agriculture and its allied courses have increased significantly in the last few decades. Students from both rural and urban backgrounds are keen to take admission in BSc Agriculture courses and make a career in agriculture and its allied sectors.
There are three ways to get admission to BSc agriculture courses in colleges/universities of India.
These are:
Students desirous of getting admission in best agriculture university located across the country for UG level courses can appear for the national level ICAR AIEEA (UG) entrance exam. This Pan-India entrance exam is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for admission to 15% of seats in all participating top agricultural universities and institutions across the country. The remaining seats are filled under the state quota as per the admission rules of that particular state.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research All India Entrance Examination for Admission (ICAR AIEEA) is a Computer Based Test (CBT) conducted by the National Testing Agency of India in online mode using an internet and computer-aided facility. The question paper of the exam consists of 150 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). Four marks are awarded for each correct answer and 1 mark is deducted for each incorrect response. The total duration of the exam is 2 ½ hours and the question paper is available in both English and Hindi language.
If you are not applying through ICAR AIEEA (UG) exam, you can get admission for UG level courses in various state agricultural universities/colleges by appearing for the entrance exam conducted by that state. Here you will have to note one thing that through a state-specific entrance exam you will be eligible to take admission only in that particular state.
Some of the popular state-level agricultural entrance exams are as follows:
Some colleges offer direct admission to BSc in agriculture courses without taking into consideration ICAR AIEEA entrance exam marks. These colleges give admission to students on the basis of their marks in the 12th standard. However, the candidate seeking admission through direct mode must have studied biology as one of the subjects in the 12th standard. Some of the best agriculture college in India that offers walk-in admission to students on the basis of marks scored at HSC are G.H. Raisoni University, Saikheda, Vanavarayar Institute of Agriculture, Coimbatore, Chandigarh University, Jagannath University, Jaipur and Centurion University of Technology and Management, Bhubaneshwar.
BSc agriculture in India is 4 years (8 semesters) undergraduate bachelor's degree program that can be pursued by any Indian student after successfully completing his (10+2) exam in the science stream. During the tenure of the course, the students get acquainted with modern scientific methods of increasing agricultural productivity in a sustainable way. It also provides students with an opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty of farming and its allied activities while working alongside trained farmers and skilled professionals. This four years UG level course equips students with enough knowledge to take up employment in the government or private sector or to start their own business and become an Agriculture-entrepreneur.
Some of the Top BSc Agriculture colleges in India from where you can pursue this course are Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Indian Institute of Technology, Lucknow, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, College of Agriculture, Nagpur and G.H. Raisoni University, Saikheda.
In order to get admission to the BSc agriculture course in India the applicant must fulfil the following conditions:
BSc agriculture course syllabus is designed as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The whole course is divided into 8 semesters so that the students can take an exam after every six months and complete the course in a series of stages. In the first year or during first two semesters, students will study the fundamental of plants, agricultural economics and humanities. In the second and third year i.e. during the third, fourth, fifth and sixth semesters they will get acquainted with topics like basic agricultural engineering, entomology and microbiology. In the final year or during the seventh and eighth semesters they will get practical experience in agronomy and agricultural statistics through study tours and field trips. Though the syllabus may vary from university to university, the basic structure will remain the same.
India is primarily an agricultural country there is ample scope in career for agricultural graduates coming out of government as well as private institutions. BSc agriculture students after completing their graduation can go for higher studies such as MSc in agricultural Science , Master in Science or MBA in agriculture and management or take up employment in the public or private sector or they can even embark on an entrepreneurial journey by setting up their agri-business.
Besides this, they can join the banking sector by appearing for IBPS exams. In all public sector banks, BSc agricultural graduates are recruited under the “specialist category”. They work in the domain of agriculture-related financing and deal with issues related to crop loans, farm equipment financing, promoting rural financing among farmers and co-ordinating with NABARD.
BSc agriculture pass-outs can also take up the union public service exam popularly known as the UPSC exam and become an IAS, IFS or IPS officer. They can also get placed in public and private companies such as Food Corporation of India (FCI), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), TATA Agrico, Reliance Foundation, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd, JK Agri Genetics Limited (JKAGL) etc., through campus recruitment drive.
Every year some of the top recruiters both public as well as private pays visit to some of the best agriculture colleges in India and select students on the basis of their academic performance, written test, group discussion and personal interview. The average salary offered by these recruiters varies from 6 LPA to 8 LPA.