India, July 26 -- 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.

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...