National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate)

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG), formerly the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is an Indian nationwide entrance examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission in undergraduate medical programs. Being a mandatory exam for admission in medical programs, it is the biggest exam in India in terms of number of applicants.

Until 2012, the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). In 2013, NEET-UG was introduced, conducted by CBSE, replacing AIPMT. However, due to legal challenges, NEET was temporarily replaced by AIPMT in both 2014 and 2015. In 2016, NEET was reintroduced and conducted by CBSE. From 2019 onward, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has been responsible for conducting the NEET exam.

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.

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. However, for several reasons, the CBSE and Medical Council of India deferred NEET by a year. 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. 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.

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. Kannada and Odia languages are added to the list so that students can write the exams in nine Indian languages and English. 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.

According to a 2013 announcement by CBSE, CBSE planned to conduct AIPMT on 4 May 2014. 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.

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. The above dates are as per the order of the Supreme Court.

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.

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.

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.

Opposition and Criticisms
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. Notably many of these states had regional State Boards which taught slightly different materials in the 11th and 12th grade posing a significant disadvantage for aspirants.

Albert P'Rayan writing for The Hindu criticized NEET for introducing a Unified Standard Testing Examination that has encouraged the emergence of various coaching institutions in India which end up favoring the rich, urban and of those part of the historical Indian upper caste. A 2023 report that interviewed 38 of the top 50 in NEET-2023, revealed that all but one had undergone some level of coaching. Among the 50, 29 belonged to the general category and 37 of the 50 also studied in urban area schools and reported investing significant amounts of money in coaching.

NEET-UG has also been criticized for not setting up a minimum qualifying percentage for each individual subject. A 2017 report that analyzed the results of 1,990 students who got admitted to MBBS with 0, single digit and negative marks in individual subjects through heavy donations.

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 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).

Paper leak
The exam paper for the 2024 NEET-UG exam was allegedly leaked a day before the exam in Patna, Bihar. On 5 May 2024, the day of the exam, an FIR was filed at the Shastri Nagar police station in Patna. According to police officials, the paper leak gang allegedly charged ₹30 to ₹50 lakh from several candidates, providing them with the question papers, claimed to be those of NEET-UG, a day prior for memorization. The police have arrested several suspects in connection with the paper leak.

On 22 June, the NTA chief, Subodh Kumar Singh, was removed from his position. The Ministry of Education handed over the case related to the leak to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI, on 18th July has carried out various arrests including four MBBS students from AIIMS Patna and a civil Engineering student from NIT Jamshedpur (Pankaj Kumar) in connection to the paper leak and solving of the leaked paper. On July 19th, a first year MBBS student (Surabhi Kumari) from RIMS Ranchi who was allegedly involved in solving the paper.

The CBI so far has arrested 16 persons in relation to the NEET Paper leak case.

Discrepancies in result
The results of the examination were declared on 4 June 2024, ten days earlier than the previously scheduled date. A total of 67 students achieved a perfect score, a significantly higher number than in previous examinations, which raised controversy. The National Testing Agency (NTA), the examination organizer, clarified that the higher number of top scorers was due to 44 of the 67 students answering a physics question incorrectly but still being awarded marks because of a mistake in the NCERT book.

Several examinees received scores of 718 or 719, which students argued was mathematically impossible under the exam marking scheme. The NTA later clarified that 1,563 examinees, including six toppers from the same center, were awarded compensatory marks for lost time. Examinees at some centers in Haryana, Delhi, and Chhattisgarh complained that they were given less than the allotted time to complete their examination and filed writ petitions before the High Courts of Punjab & Haryana, Delhi, and Chhattisgarh. However, after the intervention of the Supreme Court, the NTA decided to withdraw the grace marks and hold the examination again for those 1,563 candidates on 23 June 2024. Out of these, 813 students took the retest.

Petitions filed in the Supreme Court
Several petitions were filed in the High Courts of different states and the Supreme Court of India, including one by Alakh Pandey, co-founder of the ed-tech company Physics Wallah. On 13 June 2024, the Supreme Court of India allowed the cancellation of the scorecards of the 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks and ordered a re-test for those candidates. On July 8th, the CJI led bench of the Supreme court ordered the CBI Investigation officer to file an Investigation report and scheduled the next hearing for July 11th which was later postponed to July 18th.