ICAR Exam

PREPARATION FOR THE ICAR EXAMINATION

The exam being conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for Admissions to various disciplines for MVSC takes place every year in the month of June. The ranking in this examination would give the candidate a choice to choose which field he would like to pursue for his MVSC programme and therefore getting a good rank is mandatory. Moreover allotment of the Junior Research Fellowship (Rs. 8000/month) also depends on the ranking. This would stress the need for a good ranking in the exam, which by all means is only the reflection of the effort that goes into preparation for the exam. 

THE EXAM MAKE UP:

The ICAR exams for veterinary students are divided into 3 segments.

1. Veterinary science.
2. Animal science.
3. Animal biotechnology.

A candidate is allowed to write only one of the above papers, so making the correct choice is the first step in the ladder to success.

VETERINARY SCIENCE:

In this paper the following subjects are included. The subjects being

1. Veterinary Anatomy.
2. Veterinary Parasitology.
3. Veterinary Pathology.
4. Veterinary Public health.
5. Veterinary Pharmacology & Toxicology.
6. Veterinary Microbiology.
7. Veterinary Surgery.
8. Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
9. Veterinary Clinical Medicine.
10. Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

Those students who are interested in pursuing their master’s degree in any of these fields has to read all these disciplines to stand a chance in the exam.

ANIMAL SCIENCE

The subjects included in this paper are:

1. Animal Genetics and Breeding.
2. Animal Nutrition.
3. Animal Physiology.
4. Avian Production and Management.
5. Livestock Extension Education.
6. Livestock Production and Management.
7. Livestock Products Technology.

Students interested in any of these fields should read material from all of these subjects to score a good rank.

ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

There are only two subjects under this paper, they are:

1. Animal Biochemistry
2. Animal Biotechnology

A good knowledge of Immunology and cell biology is also required.

THE PREPARATION

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”
-Napolean Hill

1. Choose your subject of interest early:
• Start early, keep up the pace and never lose hope.
• By the end of 3rd year, you would have been exposed to most of the subjects and you will be able to decide them. In later phase of your career if you like any of the clinical subjects, don’t worry you still have ample time
• A strong foundation in the basic courses is very much essential.
2. Start early:
• An early start to the preparation is a must.
• The Secret to success is an early start.
• If you have chosen Biochemistry/Biotechnology continuous revision from the end of first year would be required, otherwise you stand a chance to lose touch with the subject. It will be difficult to start all over again.
• A Start in the second year itself is very good. But it might be too early to make a good choice of subject. However a start here is important for students who would like to take on the Bio chemistry/Bio technology paper.
• Ideally you should start by the third year. This would give you ample time to set your time schedule and lay out plans for your preparation.
• A start later than this is okay if you are willing to work hard enough to make up for the lost time.
3. The Protocol:

Here we are posting a successful formula to crack the ICAR examination.

• Pay attention in all classes.
• Spend atleast an hour a day to go through the class notes taken in that day.
• Go through relevant topics in the library or in any textbook.
• Reading material other than from what is given in the class notes is a must.
• Keep an extra note or two and note down points in each subject separately.
• Revise these materials regularly.
• If you start your preparation early, there will be enough time to revise the entire chapters from textbooks several times over.
• If it is not possible to do this daily, atleast do it during the weekends. But this is the very important step and should be taken seriously.
• Keep up the pace always and do this regularly.
• Never miss an opportunity to learn a valuable point. It may not help you then, but in future it might be your saviour.
• The schedule may seem tiring, boring, impossible and out of reach for an average student. But remember this is your future; your life and hard work cannot distinguish between a mediocre and a good student.
• The simple point is “If you take the effort and sow the seeds you will reap the harvest”.

REMEMBER

Preparing for the ICAR exam and studying the daily class notes are different. Both of these should go hand in hand, but should never mix. You may study the subject of your choice to get admission into masters programme, but you have to study all the subjects at undergraduate level, giving equal importance to each in order to be a complete veterinarian.

BOOKS TO BE REFERRED

This should become very obvious once your start reading the course. The course instructors themselves would refer you to some good books. Going through these books thoroughly, but there is no harm in reading any relevant book you come across. This may be in the library or in any other place. Kindly go through the list of books enlisted in our website.

A thirst for knowledge is the need of the hour and your survival depend upon it.

Marie Dennis Marcus Leo & R. Sadeesh Kumar (1999 Batch)