National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate)
AcronymNEET (UG)
TypePen and paper based
Developer / administratorNational Testing Agency
Knowledge / skills testedZoology, Botany, Chemistry and Physics
PurposeAdmission to undergraduate Medical courses in government and private colleges. Qualification mandatory for pursuing the same abroad.
Year started
  •  2013 (2013-except 2014 and 2015) (except 2014 & 2015, when AIPMT was conducted instead.)
  • Preceded by AIPMT
Duration3 hours 20 minutes
Score / grade range-180 to +720
OfferedOnce a year
Countries / regionsIndia
LanguagesAssamese
Bengali
English
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Marathi
Oriya
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Malayalam
Annual number of test takersIncrease 2,038,596 (2023)
Fee₹1,700 for General candidates
₹1,600 for General-EWS/OBC-NCL (Central List) candidates
₹1,000 for SC/ST/PwD/Third Gender candidates
Qualification rate56.21% (2023)
Websiteexams.nta.ac.in/NEET
As per 2024 information bulletin[1]

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG), formerly the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is an all India pre-medical entrance test for students who wish to pursue undergraduate medical (MBBS), dental (BDS) and AYUSH (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, etc.) courses in government and private institutions in India and also, for those intending to pursue primary medical qualification abroad.[2]

The exam is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), which provides the results to the Directorate General of Health Services under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and State Counselling Authorities for seat allocation.[3]

NEET-UG replaced the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) and many other pre-medical exams conducted by states and various medical colleges. However, due to lawsuits being filed against the exam, it could not be held in 2014 and 2015.

NEET-UG is a single entrance test for admissions to MBBS and BDS colleges across India.[4] NEET-UG is one of the largest exams in India in terms of registered applicants.[5]

After the enactment of NMC Act 2019 in September 2019, NEET-UG became the sole entrance test for admissions to medical colleges in India including the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) which until then conducted separate exams.[6]

History

Before NEET (UG) was implemented nationwide, states conducted their own entrance tests and some prestigious medical colleges like AIIMS, JIPMER, IMS-BHU, KMC Manipal & Mangalore and CMC Vellore conducted their own entrance exams.

NEET was initially proposed to take place from 2012 onwards.[7] However, for several reasons, the CBSE and Medical Council of India deferred NEET by a year.[8] The test was announced by the Government of India and was held for the first time on 5 May 2013 across India for students seeking admission for both undergraduate and postgraduate medicine.[9] On 18 July 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of 115 petitions and cancelled the NEET exam and announced that the MCI could not interfere with the admission process done by colleges.

Following the announcement from the Medical Council of India that it would introduce the NEET-UG exam in 2012, several states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu strongly opposed the change, stating that there was a huge variation in the syllabus proposed by the MCI and their state syllabi.[10] Even though NEET 2016 is conducted in English and Hindi, it was announced that students can write exams in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati languages from 2017 onwards.[11] Kannada and Odia languages are added to the list so that students can write the exams in nine Indian languages and English.[12] The Supreme Court of India quashed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions into all medical and dental colleges on 18 July 2013. The apex court ruled that the Medical Council of India cannot conduct a unified examination.[13]

According to a 2013 announcement by CBSE,[14] CBSE planned to conduct AIPMT on 4 May 2014.[15] The final decision on NEET UG was planned to be taken after the verdict of the Supreme Court of India.

The Central Board of Secondary Education announces the results and the All India Merit List for NEET-UG. The merit list and the waiting list are prepared as per the directives of the Supreme Court of India, DGHS, MCI and DCI. The results for 2013 were announced on 5 June.[16]

NEET was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India in 2013. However, it was restored on 11 April 2016, after a five-judge Constitution bench recalled the earlier verdict and allowed the Central Government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to implement the common entrance test until the court decides afresh on its validity.

Phase One Test (2016)

The All India Pre Medical Test, also known as AIPMT, held on 1 May 2016, was considered as the first phase of the NEET. Students who registered for Phase One were given a chance to appear for the next phase of NEET held on 24 July 2016, but with a condition that candidates have to give up their NEET Phase 1 score.[17] The above dates are as per the order of the Supreme Court.[18]

Exam pattern and structure

There are a total of 180 questions asked in the exam, 45 questions each from Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. Each correct response fetches 4 marks and each incorrect response gets -1 negative marking. The exam duration is 3 hours 20 minutes (200 min). The exam is of 720 marks (maximum marks).

Since 2021, there has been a significant alteration in the format of the question paper. The latest structure includes two sections, i.e. A and B, in all four subjects, namely Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology. Section A comprises 35 mandatory questions, while Section B contains 15 questions, out of which 10 questions are to be answered, leading to a total of 200 questions, with 180 questions that can be answered.[3]

Syllabus

NEET (UG) syllabus consists of the core concepts of Physics, Chemistry and Biology taught in classes 11 and 12 as prescribed by the NCERT.[19]

Organizing body

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been made the nodal agency for conduct of all India competitive exams and conducts NEET (UG) from 2019. The Central Board of Secondary Education conducted NEET between 2013 and 2018 before the setting of NTA.[20][21]

Opposition

The introduction of NEET has received opposition from some entities, most notably the state of Tamil Nadu. The bulk of the major political parties represented in the state, including the AIADMK and the ruling DMK have expressed resistance to the test on multiple grounds.[22]

Number of applicants by year

Year Date of

Examination

No. of candidates

Registered

No. of candidates

Appeared

Reference

Report

2013 5 May 2013 717,127 658,040 [23]
2014 Exam not held (AIPMT held instead)
2015
2016 1 May 2016 (Phase I) 802,594 731,233 [24]
24 July 2021 (Phase II)
2017 7 May 2017 1,138,890 1,090,085 [25]
2018 6 May 2018 1,326,725 1,269,922 [26]
2019 5 May 2019 1,519,375 1,410,755 [27]
2020 13 September 2020* 1,597,435 1,366,945 [28]
2021 12 September 2021* 1,614,777 1,544,275 [29]
2022 17 July 2022* 1,872,343 1,764,571 [30][31]
2023 7 May 2023 2,087,462 2,038,596 [32][33]
2024 5 May 2024 2,381,833 [34]

* Postponed and delayed in 2020/21/22 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exam cutoff

Category Minimum Qualifying Percentile
As of 2019
Unreserved (UR) 50th Percentile
Unreserved PH (UR-PH) 45th Percentile
Scheduled Caste (SC) 40th Percentile
Scheduled Tribe (ST) 40th Percentile
Other Backward Classes (OBC) 40th Percentile
SC-PH 40th Percentile
ST-PH 40th Percentile
OBC-PH 40th Percentile

Colleges

As per the orders of the Supreme Court and the NMC Act 2019, a single medical entrance exam is conducted all over India for admission into medical and dental colleges. Colleges and universities will not be able to conduct their own medical entrance exam and will accept students based on the All India Rank obtained in NEET-UG. After the declaration of the results, an All India Rank (AIR) is allotted to each candidate and a merit list is released. The National Medical Commission[35] conducts counselling (allotment of seats according to merit and candidate choice) for 15% state seats, central institutes and deemed universities. The counselling for remaining 85% state quota seats and private colleges is done by the medical boards of respective states. States prepare their separate merit list on basis of NEET-UG results. The total number of seats offered under NEET as of 2024 are 188,398 (109,065 for MBBS, 28,088 for BDS, 50,720 for AYUSH and 525 for BVSc).[36]

College No. of seats offered
MBBS colleges 109,065[37]
BDS colleges 28,088[38]
AYUSH colleges 50,720
BVSc colleges 525
All colleges 188,398

See also

References

  1. ^ "Information Bulletin (English) 2024" (PDF). National Testing Agency. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Medical Council of India Notification" (PDF) (Press release). Medical Council of India. 1 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "NEET-FAQ". National Testing Agency (NTA). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. ^ "One from Tamil Nadu in top 50 in NEET". The Times of India. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. ^ "CUET now 2nd biggest entrance exam in India". The Times of India.
  6. ^ Sharma, Neetu Chandra (4 October 2019). "Common NEET under graduate exam from 2020-21 as per NMC Act: Centre". Livemint. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  7. ^ "NEET UG Likely to be Held in May 2012". careermitra.com. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  8. ^ "NEET UG 2012 Cancelled – It's Official". careermitra.com. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  9. ^ "MCI rules out vernacular language medium for NEET". The Times of India. 17 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  10. ^ "AP, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat Strongly Oppose NEET UG". careermitra.com. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Now NEET 2017 in Gujarati language too!". India Today. Ist. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  12. ^ Thacker, Teena (21 January 2017). "Odia, Kannada added to NEET list after furore". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  13. ^ "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  14. ^ "CBSE - Central Board of Secondary Education" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  15. ^ "CBSE to conduct All India Pre Medical Entrance Test (AIPMT) on 04, May 2014*". careermitra.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  16. ^ "National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - NEET UG, 2013 Results". Central Board of Secondary Education. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  17. ^ "SC opens NEET 2016 phase 2 for all; scraps state level medical entrance exams". medicine.careers360.com. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Supreme Court orders common entrance test for MBBS, BDS and PG courses through NEET - Times of India". The Times of India. 28 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Final Syllabus for NEET UG Entrance Examination for admission to MBBS" (PDF). Medical Council of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  20. ^ "National Eligibility cum-Entrance Test to roll out from 2013 - Times of India". The Times of India. 25 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  21. ^ "National Eligibility and Entrance Test-UG - Medical Council of India". mciindia.org. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  22. ^ Soniya Agrawal (19 September 2021). "Why Tamil Nadu is not the first state to oppose NEET since implementation". ThePrint.
  23. ^ "NEET(UG) 2013 Press Release" (PDF). 10 August 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  24. ^ "NEET(UG) 2016 Press Release" (PDF). 27 June 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  25. ^ "NEET(UG) 2017 Press Release" (PDF). 27 June 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  26. ^ "NEET 2018(UG) Press Release" (PDF). 5 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  27. ^ "NEET(UG) 2019 Press Release" (PDF). 19 June 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  28. ^ "NEET(UG) 2020 Press Release" (PDF). 15 February 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  29. ^ "NEET(UG) 2021 Press Release" (PDF). 2 November 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  30. ^ Manash Pratim Gohain (27 May 2022). "NEET-UG registrations up 2.6 lakh this year, cross 18 lakh | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  31. ^ "NEET(UG) 2022 Press Release" (PDF). 8 September 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  32. ^ "At 20 lakh+, NEET-UG records all-time high registration". The Times of India. 20 April 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  33. ^ "NTA Declares the Result/NTA Scores/Rank of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) – 2023" (PDF). National Testing Agency. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  34. ^ Gohain, Manash Pratim (21 March 2024). "NEET-UG journey in numbers at it hits all-time high". The Times Of India. Retrieved 21 March 2024.((cite news)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "Medical education in India: MCI dissolved, new regulator from today". mint. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  36. ^ Manash Pratim Gohain (27 May 2022). "NEET-UG registrations up 2.6 lakh this year, cross 18 lakh | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  37. ^ "List of College Teaching MBBS | NMC". Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  38. ^ "Dental Council of India". dciindia.gov.in. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
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