Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET)

December 1, 2025

Job Overview

  • Date Posted
    December 1, 2025
  • Location
  • Expiration date
    December 31, 2025

Job Description

Section I: Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET) — Overview


The Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET) is conducted to determine the eligibility of
Indian nationals for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) under the DHR. Award of the
fellowship to qualified candidates is contingent upon securing placement in a recognised Medical
College/Hospital/University/National Laboratory/Institution of National Importance/ICMR
Institute/Centre, under one of the following categories:
i. UGC/INI : Pursuit of a doctoral degree at UGC-recognized universities/research institutions
or Institutes of National Importance in India.
ii. ICMR–AcSIR : Pursuit of a doctoral degree at any of the 27 ICMR Institutes/Centres with
Ph.D. registration under the AcSIR-ICMR Faculty of Medical Research.
Fellowships: A tentative total of 250 candidates shall be selected, subject to the availability of
budgetary provisions and in accordance with the guidelines of DHR.
Merit List: Merit will be determined solely on performance in DHR-BRET and declared as per the
notified criteria.
Discipline: Selected candidates may enrol for Ph.D. programmes only in subjects related to
biomedical/health research.
Reservation: SC/ST/OBC/PwBD and EWS candidates will receive reservation/relaxations as per
Government of India policy.
Section II: Administration of DHR-BRET
The DHR Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET-2025) will be conducted by the Examination
Section, AIIMS New Delhi, which is solely responsible for examination-related activities including online
application, conduct of the Computer Based Test, and declaration of results of eligible candidates.
The award of Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs), along with all related administrative processes such as
placement, fellowship disbursal, tenure, and compliance with Government of India reservation policies,
shall be under the purview of DHR.
AIIMS New Delhi has no role in the award of fellowships and assumes no financial liability under this
programme.
Section III: Eligibility for appearing in DHR-BRET
The eligibility criteria mentioned under this section are limited to application and
examination component of DHR-BRET-2025.
(i) M.Sc or equivalent post-graduate (PG) degree (M. Tech/M. Pharma), In life sciences, zoology,
botany, biomedical sciences, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology, biophysics,
bioinformatics, forensic sciences, environmental sciences, food and nutrition, molecular biology,
biological sciences, ecology, immunology, neurosciences, veterinary sciences, nursing,
biostatistics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, public health, social work, with minimum
55% marks in PG test for General/EWS/OBC candidates and 50% for the SC/ST and PwBD
candidates.
DHR- Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET-2025)
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(ii) A candidate who is appearing/has appeared in the final year (IV/VI Semester whichever is
applicable, and final year where semester system is not there) of M.Sc. or equivalent post
graduate test during the session 2025 can also apply for the test as RA (Result Awaited).
(iii) Such candidates will have to submit the attestation format (given in Appendix E duly certified by
the Head of the Department/Institute over his/her signature and official seal/stamp (with
address and name) where he/she is appearing in the final year PG test.
(iv) However, such candidates shall be admitted to the Test provisionally and shall be considered
eligible for JRF only after they submit the proof of having passed the Master’s Degree test with
requisite percentage.
Section IV: Age Limit
The age limit for admission to the eligibility test is 35 years determined based on the last date of
the application form as mentioned the important date and time.
Age relaxation: –
Age relaxation is permissible to various applicants is as under (subject to foot note): –
Sr. No. Category Age Limit Relaxation (In Years)

  1. SC/ST 05 years
  2. PwBD 05 years
  3. Female Candidates 05 years
  4. OBC 03 years
    Note:-
    If a candidate qualifies for more than one type of age relaxation under different criteria
    such as being a person with a disability, or belonging to a specific gender, they will not
    be allowed to combine all the relaxations. Instead, they will receive only one additional
    age relaxation benefit, on top of the relaxation already granted based on their primary
    category (such as SC/ST, OBC, etc.).
    Section V: Scheme and Pattern of Examination
  5. Mode of Examination: Computer Based Test (CBT)
  6. Medium: English only
  7. Duration: 180 minutes (3 hours)
  8. Total Questions: 150 MCQs
  9. Scoring:
    a) +1 mark for each correct response
    b) –0.25 mark for each incorrect response
    c) 0 mark for unanswered questions
    d) Any questions marked as flagged or marked for review in CBT delivery system shall
    not be evaluated and will be treated as not answered irrespective of answer.
  10. Pattern:
    a) The examination will consist of 150 objective-type multiple-choice questions
    consisting of components as described in Syllabus & Structure in this document.
    b) The question paper will be structured section-wise, in accordance with Sections A, B
    and C of the prescribed syllabus.
    DHR- Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (DHR-BRET-2025)
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    c) The total duration of the examination shall be three (03) hours, during which
    candidate will be permitted to navigate freely across all sections.
    d) In each part, the candidate will be presented with 50 questions, in accordance with
    Sections A, B and C:
    i. Aptitude and General Analytical Ability (Section-A)
    ii. Fundamentals of Biomedical and Life Sciences (Section-B)
    iii. Discipline/Subject-specific domains (Microbiology, Biochemistry,
    Biostatistics, Veterinary Science/Medicine, Public Health, Nursing,
    Biotechnology, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Nutrition, Pharmacology,
    Biological Sciences). (Section-C)

https://dhr.gov.in/whatsnew/biomedical-research-eligibility-test-dhr-bret