State relaxes eligibility criteria for admission to 4 agri universities

In a key policy shift aimed at making professional agriculture education more inclusive, the state government has relaxed the eligibility criteria for undergraduate admissions to agriculture and allied degree programmes across the state’s four agricultural universities.

Pune: In a key policy shift aimed at making professional agriculture education more inclusive, the state government has relaxed the eligibility criteria for undergraduate admissions to agriculture and allied degree programmes across the state’s four agricultural universities. The decision was formally announced through a Government Resolution (GR) issued on July 24.

In a key policy shift aimed at making professional agriculture education more inclusive, the state government has relaxed the eligibility criteria for undergraduate admissions to agriculture and allied degree programmes. (Representive photo)

According to the revised guidelines, the minimum qualifying marks for candidates from the open category, who have completed their Class 12 in the science stream, have been lowered from the earlier requirement of 50 percent to 45 percent. For candidates from reserved categories, including SC, ST, VJ, NT, OBC, EWS, persons with disabilities, orphans, and others, the eligibility is not less than 40%.

The revision in criteria will be applicable to a range of undergraduate degree programmes in agriculture and allied disciplines. These include traditional courses in agriculture, horticulture and forestry, as well as emerging fields like agricultural engineering, food technology, community science, biotechnology, and agricultural business management. These programmes are offered through the four agricultural universities in Maharashtra.

In addition to the change in minimum marks, the government has also introduced a new provision that provides a 10-point weightage in the admission process for candidates who have passed Class 12 in science with vocational or agriculture-related subjects under the 10+2 pattern from recognised higher secondary schools. The same benefit will also be extended to students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), who have studied agriculture as a subject specifically under subject code 808 during their Class 12 curriculum.

The admission process for these courses, being conducted through a centralised admission system overseen by the Maharashtra CET Cell, began on July 4 and the last date to submit online applications has now been extended to July 27. Eligible and interested candidates must submit their forms through the official website: https://cetcell.mahacet.org/cap-2025-26.