Computer-based, 2 hours, 120 multiple-choice questions, +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one (2026 bulletin). One paper per major subject group.
Sections
Group 16 Dairy Science: 16.1 Dairy Microbiology, 16.2 Dairy Chemistry. Food constituents and additives; composition and physico-chemical properties of milk and colostrum; quality tests and adulterant detection; heat stability; microbes of milk by growth temperature; spoilage; antimicrobial systems; grading of raw milk; mastitic milk; food poisoning; chemistry of cream, butter, ghee, ice cream, cheese, condensed and dried milks, infant food; lactose crystallisation; bacteriology of thermisation, pasteurisation, sterilisation, UHT, bactofugation and membrane filtration; pathogens, toxins and residues; starters and LAB; fermented milks and probiotics; plant hygiene; PFA, BIS, Codex and ISO standards
Group 17 Dairy Technology: 17.1 Dairy Technology, 17.2 Dairy Engineering. Unit I: food preservation, fluid milk processing, automatic process control, HACCP in fluid milk, centrifugal separation and bactofugation, manufacture and defects of dairy products, sensory evaluation and judging, packaging and labelling, membrane processing. Unit II: sanitary equipment, homogeniser, pasteuriser, steriliser, evaporation and drying, plant layout and design, computers. Unit III: fluid mechanics and pumps, refrigeration, heat transfer and thermodynamics, mechanical separation (Rittinger and Kick), mechanics, strength of materials, materials, electrical engineering
Over the years
Format from the AIEEA-PG 2026 information bulletin (read 3 Oct 2026); syllabus from ICAR's AIEEA-PG syllabus PDF (read 3 Oct 2026). Eligible bachelor's degrees listed in the bulletin include B.Sc Dairying, B.Sc Dairying (DT), B.Tech Dairy Technology, and for some sub-subjects B.Tech/B.Sc Food Technology, B.V.Sc & AH, B.Tech Agricultural Engineering and B.Sc (Hons) Microbiology or Chemistry. ICAR-NDRI admits to MSc/MTech in all four dairy disciplines through this exam. Question papers are not published, so no topic counts are possible. The Unit II reference to dBASE III, Lotus 1-2-3 and Fortran shows parts of the syllabus text are old; expect general computer-applications questions instead.
Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. Which species produces the largest share of the world's milk?
Cattle, at about four-fifths of world output
Sheep, because of the large Mediterranean cheese industry
Water buffalo, at roughly half of world output
Goats, because they are kept in more countries than any other dairy species
Answer and working
A. Cattle, at about four-fifths of world output
FAO statistics put cattle at roughly four-fifths of world milk. Buffalo come second with around a seventh, concentrated in South Asia; goats and sheep each give only a few per cent despite being widespread.
Dairy Industry & Milk Production Systems · World milk production by region and species: cow, buffalo, goat, sheep, camel, yak
2. For matrices A (3 by 2) and B (2 by 4), which statement is correct?
Both AB and BA exist, and both are 3 by 4 matrices
AB exists and is 3 by 4, while BA does not exist
AB does not exist because A has fewer columns than rows
BA exists and is 2 by 2, while AB does not exist
Answer and working
B. AB exists and is 3 by 4, while BA does not exist
A product needs columns of the first equal to rows of the second: A has 2 columns and B has 2 rows, so AB is 3 by 4. For BA, B has 4 columns but A has 3 rows, so BA is undefined.
Mathematics & Statistics for Dairy Science · Matrices and linear equations
3. An acetate buffer contains 0.10 mol/L acetic acid (pKa 4.76) and 0.20 mol/L sodium acetate. What is its pH?
5.06
4.46
4.76
9.52
Answer and working
A. 5.06
Henderson–Hasselbalch: pH = 4.76 + log(0.20/0.10) = 4.76 + 0.30 = 5.06. Inverting the ratio gives 4.46.
Biochemistry for Dairy Science · Water, pH and buffers
4. Koch's postulates require that the suspected organism be:
Seen under the microscope in at least half of all the cases of the disease studied
Isolated in pure culture and shown to reproduce the disease in a healthy host
Able to grow on gelatin at body temperature without liquefying it
Killed by pasteurisation at 63 °C for 30 minutes in every case
Answer and working
B. Isolated in pure culture and shown to reproduce the disease in a healthy host
The postulates: present in every case, isolated in pure culture, reproduces the disease in a healthy host, and re-isolated from it.
General Microbiology · History and scope of microbiology
5. In first-angle orthographic projection, where is the plan (top view) placed relative to the front elevation?
Above it
To its left
Superimposed on it
Below it
Answer and working
D. Below it
First-angle projection puts the plan below the elevation; third-angle, used mainly in North America, puts it above.
Engineering Fundamentals for Dairy Technologists · Engineering drawing and reading plant drawings
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