The National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination is also known as “NEET”. It is a common entrance examination for the medical aspirants. NEET is conducted to determine the qualification or the eligibility of the students to get admission for MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses in approved/recognized medical colleges in India and abroad.
With the enforcement of the National Medical Council Act, 2019, from 2020 onwards, the NEET exam has become a mandatory entrance examination to get MBBS admissions to all the medical institutions. This includes the admissions to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.
NEET examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). NTA is an independent organization established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI). NTA takes care of all the NEET exam requirements, from student’s registrations to conducting the examination, then the Result declaration.
NEET exam is important because it is the only medical entrance exam conducted in India. This includes the admission to MBBS course in all government medical institutes and also the admissions to AIIMS and JIPMER. As entrance examinations to AIIMS and JIPMER have been replaced by NEET.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination is the only medical entrance examination in India to fill all the medical seats in India which includes the admissions to AIIMS and JIPMER, and also to the admissions of medical courses abroad. To be qualified for the NEET examination, a student must be at least 17 years of age. Besides, the students must also score a total of at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
The eligibility criteria of different category are mentioned below:
| Category | Minimum percentage required |
| General | 50% |
| PwD | 45% |
| OBC-NCL (Non-Creamy Layer)/ SC/ ST | 40% |
NEET exam is conducted by NTA. The question paper for the exam covers topics from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Furthermore, Biology is divided into two sections which include Botany and Zoology.
The number of questions set for the NEET exam will be 180 questions which carry four marks each. In case of the wrong answer, one mark will be deducted. If the candidate does not attempt any question, no marks will be allotted/deducted. Candidates have a maximum of three hours to answer every question.
| Question/ Answer Type | Score |
| Right answer | 4 marks |
| Wrong answer | (-)1 mark |
| Unattempt question | 0 mark |
The benefit of being the only medical entrance examination in India is quite intriguing. Here are some of the reasons:
Common Entrance Test
With NEET being the only medical entrance examination in India, it prevents the private medical colleges from conducting any entrance examination of its own. NEET also prevents private universities from admitting students who do not qualify to pursue Medical.
The NEET entrance exam helps the medical aspirants to pursue medical courses or MBBS from Abroad
Equal Opportunity
Students who qualify NEET will get the opportunity to secure a seat at any Medical colleges in any State.
Qualifying NEET with high scores and secure a good rank in the All India Merit List enables the students to get a seat into the most prestigious medical college in the country.
More time to attempt the exam
Students who will appear for the NEET exam will have to attempt only 180 questions for 3 hours as compared to the previous years. This gives the students more time to think and concentrate on their papers and a chance to score more in the exam.
Saves time and money
The introduction of the NEET exam changes a lot in the medical entrance examination. It saves the students’ time from appearing multiple exams for the admissions to the medical colleges. Having one exam to attempt saves the student’s money as well since there will only be one-time registration.
Uniform Admission
NEET exam is introduced to bring about the uniform admission process to the medical colleges in India. The admissions to the medical universities are only accepted through NEET qualification. It also proves the transparency in the medical admission process where the admissions to the Private/Government/Deemed medical colleges in India are held fairly to the deserved medical aspirants.
NEET exam reduces the unnecessary stress for the medical aspirants as they only have to appear for one exam to get the admission to any medical college.
These are some of the reasons why the NEET exam is important for admissions to medical colleges in India and also abroad. Some of the medical universities abroad offer MBBS seats to the medical aspirants after they qualify the NEET exam.
