CSIR NET December 2026 Notification: Life Sciences Is Now LS-BT

NTA has opened applications for the Joint CSIR-UGC NET December 2026. You can apply on csirnet.nta.nic.in from 7 October to 5 November 2026 (11:50 PM). The exam will be held on 19, 22, and 27 December 2026.

The biggest change for life science students: the subject is now called Life Sciences and Bio-Technology (LS-BT), subject code 703. CSIR and DBT will award fellowships in LS-BT through this exam, and the syllabus now has 14 units, including three biotechnology units.

NTA calls these dates tentative. Your exact date and shift will be on your admit card, because NTA has not yet said which subject is on which day.

Apply before 5 November. The late window costs ₹500 more, and leaving it to the last few days risks a slow website or a failed payment.

What is new for Life Sciences: the LS-BT paper

From this cycle, the Life Sciences paper is Life Sciences and Bio-Technology (LS-BT). Here is what the official documents say:

• One paper for both. The information bulletin says CSIR and DBT "have agreed to award fellowships in Life Sciences and BioTechnology (LS-BT) subject through Joint CSIR UGC NET Exam". DBT's JRF fellowships, earlier given through a separate exam, now come through this paper. DBT manages its own fellowships.
• A new 14-unit syllabus. CSIR-HRDG has published the LS-BT syllabus. It keeps the life science units and adds three biotechnology units: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Unit 11), Biochemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology (Unit 12), and Advances in Biotechnology (Unit 13). Download it from the official syllabus PDF.
• The same exam pattern. Parts A, B and C, the marks and the negative marking have not changed (table below).

In the past 19 CSIR NET papers, the topics now in Units 11, 12 and 13 gave less than 5% of Part C. The first LS-BT paper may ask more from them. We don't know yet how much. If you come from a life science background, keep a small, separate plan for these units. If you come from biotechnology, they may become your strength. Our unit-wise weightage analysis shows how the other units compare.

CSIR NET LS-BT exam pattern

The exam is a 3-hour computer-based test, in Hindi and English. If you answer more questions than allowed in a part, only your first 15, 35 or 25 answers are counted.

CSIR NET December 2026 eligibility

Educational qualification

• Master's degree or equivalent with at least 55% for General and General-EWS candidates, and 50% for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and Third gender candidates. The marks are not rounded off: 54.9% does not count as 55%.
• Final-year students and result-awaited candidates can apply. Your eligibility is provisional, and you must complete the degree with the required marks within the time NTA allows (two years for JRF).
• Four-year bachelor's degree with at least 75% in aggregate (5% relaxation for some categories). On this basis, you can qualify for JRF and PhD admission, but not for Assistant Professor.

Age limit

The JRF age limit is relaxed by up to 5 years for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD, Third gender and women candidates. The total relaxation cannot be more than 5 years.

CSIR NET December 2026 application fee

Bank charges are extra. The fee is not refunded if you don't take the exam.

What can you qualify for?

Your result places you in one of three categories:

1. JRF + Assistant Professor + PhD admission
2. Assistant Professor + PhD admission
3. PhD admission only

The JRF fellowship is ₹37,000 a month for the first two years, plus ₹20,000 a year for research costs. After two years, it can be upgraded to SRF at ₹42,000 a month, after an assessment.

How to apply

1. Go to csirnet.nta.nic.in and open "Online Application for Joint CSIR UGC-NET December 2026".
2. Register, then fill in the form. Choose Life Sciences and Bio-Technology (703) as your subject.
3. Choose four exam cities in your permanent or present state, in order of preference.
4. Upload your photo (JPG, 10–200 KB), signature (JPG, 10–50 KB) and, if needed, your category, PwD or result-awaited certificate (PDF, 50–300 KB).
5. Pay the fee online and download the confirmation page.

Mistakes to avoid

• Filling out more than one form. NTA allows one application per candidate. Multiple forms can lead to cancellation.
• Choosing the wrong subject. You must take the paper you applied for.
• Using a different photo later. Keep two copies of the exact photo you uploaded. You'll need them on exam day.
• Waiting for the correction window. It's only for small fixes, and you can use it once.

Your next step

The exam is scheduled to start on 19 December 2026. The new syllabus groups everything into 14 units, so start by seeing which units give the most questions.

All dates, fees, and rules are from the NTA information bulletin and notice for Joint CSIR-UGC NET December 2026, checked on 8 October 2026. NTA can change them, so check csirnet.nta.nic.in before you apply.