The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, is a nationwide entrance examination for admission to undergraduate medical programs in India, including MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses. It is the sole mandatory entrance test for all medical institutions.
NEET-UG was first introduced in 2013 by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Its creation was intended to solve the problem of non-uniform standards by replacing multiple entrance examinations, such as the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and various state-level tests, with a single, standardized evaluation system. Although initially struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, it was reintroduced in 2016.
The examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which was mandated to do so in 2018. The mechanism involves a single-stage, pen-and-paper test with 180 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to be attempted out of 200 total questions, covering Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology. The maximum score is 720, with a negative marking of -1 for every incorrect answer.
The legal framework for NEET-UG is primarily derived from the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019. Section 14 of the NMC Act, 2019 mandates the common and uniform entrance test for all undergraduate medical courses. The NMC Act, which came into force on September 25, 2020, replaced the nearly 64-year-old Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. A significant change was that NEET-UG became the sole gateway for admission to institutions like AIIMS and JIPMER, which previously held separate entrance exams. The syllabus, based on the NCERT curriculum for Class 11 and 12, was rationalized and prescribed by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in 2024. For the NEET (UG)-2026 examination, this NMC-rationalized syllabus remains unchanged.