Agricultural Research Service (ICAR, India)
| Service Overview | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbreviation | A.R.S. | ||||||||||
| Formed | 1 November 1973 | ||||||||||
| Country |  India | ||||||||||
| Training Ground | National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad | ||||||||||
| Controlling Authority | Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare (India), Department of Agriculture Research and Education | ||||||||||
| Legal personality | Indian Council of Agricultural Research, ICAR | ||||||||||
| General nature | Research Project Formulation Research Management Extension and Training Education | ||||||||||
| Cadre Size | |||||||||||
| Head of the Agricultural Research Services | |||||||||||
| Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture (India) and Director General, ICAR Current: Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra | |||||||||||
Agriculture Research Services (Hindi: कृषि अनुसंधान सेवा) abbreviated as ARS is the research services of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), organization under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
The Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) conducts all India competitive examination for ARS examination, to recruit entry level posts in the Agricultural Research Services of ICAR. The ASRB in pursuation of the Gajendragadkar Report on ICAR, 1972 was established on 1 November 1973.
The basic purpose of the service is to set a cutting edge model of education, perform research for its application in agriculture, agro forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, home science and allied sciences. The agricultural research services has been playing a major role in make the country self-reliant as far as production of food grains, horticultural crops, milk, meat, fish and eggs are concerned and the role of the services goes further scathing and challenging owing to widening demand of the country growing at a decadal growth rate of 17.2 percent.
Agriculture Research Service Examination
The ARS examination conducted by the ASRB consists of three stages viz., Prelims, Mains and Interview. The prelims stage is the qualifying examination and all those candidates who desire to appear for the ARS examination have to appear for both prelims and mains examination. The ARS examination is the initial port of entry into the services of ICAR and the new entrants are imparted foundation training called as FOCARS (Foundation Course for Agricultural Research Services) at the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM).
Foundation Course for Agricultural Research Service
The FOCARS is designed for the newly recruited entry level scientists to the Agricultural Research Service of the ICAR. The course aims at providing exposure to the trainees on the concepts and principles of project management with special emphasis on project formulation and implementation. It also includes capsules in related areas on human resources development, and information and communication management.
Career Progression
The recruits through the ARS Examination are designated as ′ARS′ or 'Scientist'. The post of entry level ARS or Scientist is same with Jr. Class I cadre of Central government. The initial pay is fixed after granting advance increments for higher qualification, with PhDs getting highest salary.Initially, they are kept on 'tenure track' or 'probation' for 2 years and upon satisfactory completion of this period they are given 'tenure'and confirmed in the ARS. On completing service for designated years and meeting a set performance criteria, they are progressively promoted to the next higher grades in a Flexible Complementation system known as Career Advancement Scheme (CAS). The incumbents without a PhD degree are given paid study leave to acquire PhD qualification, which is necessary for career progression. Through CAS, Scientists can rise up to Principal Scientist grade, which is equivalent to the scale of Joint Secretary to the Government of India. The ARS encourages fresh infusion of talent at all senior levels through lateral entry in which incumbent scientists can also participate in the open competition and move their career ahead in much shorter time than CAS. All the Research Management Positions are filled through open competition only. The Director General of ICAR is the highest-ranked member of the ARS, who is ex officio Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture.