Alerts and Updates for ICMR

The ICMR recruitment routes at a glance

The ICMR Recruitment Portal at recruitment.icmr.org.in carries current and archived advertisements and is the place to verify any of these against a primary document. Council-wide examinations for Scientist-B and the JRF are handled centrally, while institutes such as NIREH Bhopal, NITHR Jabalpur, NIHR Gorakhpur and NIRWoH Mumbai advertise their own project and consultant positions with their own deadlines.

Dates and windows

Only the ICMR-BMHRC window and the institute-level deadlines are still actionable as of 22 September 2026. The JRF, Scientist-B non-medical and Scientist-B medical rounds for this cycle have all closed, so treat those rows as calendar history that tells you roughly when the next cycle is likely to appear.

What this means for your preparation

Candidates lose most of their ICMR attempts before they write anything, by applying to the wrong route. "ICMR exam" is used loosely to mean the fellowship test, the Scientist-B recruitment examination and the clerical and technical recruitment examinations, and these have different qualifications, different papers and different calendars. Identify the advertisement number you are answering, then prepare to that document.

The JRF is an aptitude paper with a domain tail

Aglasem describes the ICMR Junior Research Fellowship test as 150 multiple-choice questions over three hours, split into three sections of 50 questions each: aptitude and analytical skills, general biomedical knowledge, and domain-specific subjects. Scoring is plus one for a correct answer and minus 0.25 for a wrong one. Two thirds of the paper is therefore not your specialist subject. Postgraduates who prepare only their own discipline routinely find the aptitude and general biomedical sections decide their rank, because those are the sections where the field is least evenly prepared. Eligibility is an M.Sc. or equivalent in a life sciences field with 55 per cent marks, relaxed to 50 per cent for SC, ST and PwBD candidates, and a maximum age of 28 years for the general category.

The BMHRC window is short and the CBT date is not fixed

The ICMR-BMHRC application window opened on 17 September 2026 and closes on 16 October 2026 at 5:00 pm, which is four weeks including document gathering, photograph and signature specifications and fee payment. The fee reported is Rs 590 plus transaction charges for general, OBC and EWS candidates, with SC, ST, PwBD, women and ex-servicemen candidates exempted. The computer-based test date has not been announced and is expected to be conveyed through the admit card. That means the interval between admit card and examination may be short, so treat preparation as starting at application rather than at admit card.

Age ceilings are the quiet disqualifier

For the ICMR-BMHRC recruitment the reported age ceilings are 30 years for Group B posts and 27 years for Group C posts, reckoned as at the application deadline, with relaxations for reserved categories. The Group C ceiling of 27 is tight and catches candidates who assume the usual 30-year central government norm. Prepp separately reports an age limit of 30 years for the Assistant, Personal Assistant and Upper Division Clerk recruitment examinations and 28 years for the JRF. Because the cut-off is the closing date rather than a January reference date, applying in the last week of a window can move you across a birthday and out of eligibility.

Group B and Group C are not one competition

The 66 BMHRC posts are 31 Group B and 35 Group C, and within those the concentrations matter. Group B is led by Nursing Officer with 14 posts, then Tutor at the nursing college with 5 and Medical Social Worker with 3, with most other roles at one or two posts. Group C is led by Technician (Medical) with 16 and Personal Assistant with 7, then Attendant (Medical) with 6. A single-post category such as Engineer (Civil), Warden, Perfusionist Grade II, Dietician or Pharmacist is effectively a rank-one contest, and the reservation roster on a single post can close it to most applicants. Read the post-wise roster before committing the fee.

Verify everything against the recruitment portal

ICMR runs two separate web surfaces that matter here: the employment opportunities listing on icmr.gov.in, which carries headquarters and institute advertisements with their own last dates, and the ICMR Recruitment Portal at recruitment.icmr.org.in, which hosts advertisement PDFs and an archive of closed notices. The Scientist-B (Non-Medical) recruitment examination notification also appears on the AIIMS examinations portal, because AIIMS handles the test delivery for that examination. If a coaching page and a portal document disagree on a date, fee or vacancy count, the portal document is the one to act on, and the archive page is useful for checking what a previous cycle's timetable actually looked like.

Common questions

Which exam does "ICMR exam" refer to?

It depends on the post. Prepp uses the term for the Indian Council of Medical Research recruitment examination covering Junior Research Fellow, Assistant, Personal Assistant and Upper Division Clerk posts, each with its own paper. Separately, ICMR runs a recruitment examination for Scientist-B (Non-Medical) under Notice No. 377/2025, and fills Scientist-B (Medical) posts by interview. The ICMR Junior Research Fellowship test is the best known nationally. Check the advertisement number on the notice you are answering rather than relying on the generic label.

What is currently open at ICMR?

As of 22 September 2026 the main open national recruitment is at the ICMR Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, for 66 Group B and Group C posts, with applications running from 17 September 2026 to 16 October 2026 at 5:00 pm. ICMR's own employment page also lists institute-level positions with near-term deadlines, including Project Technical Support-I at ICMR-NITHR Jabalpur closing 28 September 2026, project positions at ICMR-NIHR Gorakhpur closing 25 September 2026, and an Assistant post on deputation at ICMR-NIREH Bhopal closing 17 October 2026.

What is the ICMR JRF exam pattern?

Aglasem reports a computer-based test of 150 multiple-choice questions over three hours, carrying 150 marks, in three sections of 50 questions each: aptitude and analytical skills, general biomedical knowledge, and domain-specific subjects. Marking is plus one for a correct answer and minus 0.25 for an incorrect one. Prepp separately describes a JRF paper of 150 questions in two hours with a maximum of 250 marks, so the two accounts differ. Neither figure is confirmed here against an ICMR document; check the current information bulletin before planning attempt strategy.

How much is the ICMR application fee?

It varies by recruitment. For ICMR-BMHRC, Karmasandhan reports Rs 590 plus transaction and platform charges for general, OBC and EWS candidates, with SC, ST, PwBD, women and ex-servicemen candidates exempted. For the JRF, Prepp reports Rs 1,500 for general, OBC and EWS candidates and Rs 1,200 for SC and ST candidates, and a range of Rs 300 to Rs 1,500 depending on category for the Assistant, Personal Assistant and Upper Division Clerk recruitment. Both are secondary sources and should be checked against the notification.

When is the ICMR-BMHRC computer-based test?

Not announced. Karmasandhan reports that the CBT date has not been declared and that details will be provided in the admit card. The selection sequence it describes runs computer-based test, then a skill test for Personal Assistant candidates only, then document verification, merit list, medical fitness and final appointment. Because the gap between admit card release and the test itself can be short, candidates should begin subject preparation during the application window rather than waiting for a date.

Does ICMR recruit Scientists through a written exam?

Only on the non-medical side. ICMR notified a recruitment examination for the post of Scientist-B (Non-Medical) at its headquarters, institutes and centres under Notice No. 377/2025 dated 02 February 2026, with the last date extended to 12 March 2026, and the corresponding notification also appears on the AIIMS examinations portal. Scientist-B (Medical) posts followed a different route: ICMR issued a notice for interviews against 28 vacancies, reference ICMR/Rectt/Sc-B/01/2025-RPCell, conducted from 1 to 5 June 2026.