New Delhi: The Central government has announced key changes to the NEET Postgraduate (NEET PG) examination pattern from this year, including conducting the test in a single shift and reducing the number of questions.
NEET is the common entrance exam for admission to medical courses across the country, with separate tests for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. This year’s NEET PG exam is scheduled for August 30, and about 2.73 lakh candidates have applied—around 12.5% more than last year.
The exam will be held across 340 cities at about 1,300 centres. In an official notification, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) said the move to a single shift is aimed at ensuring all candidates write the same question paper under uniform conditions.
The notification also said that, unlike earlier practice where early applicants were more likely to get centres in their home cities, all candidates will now be allotted exam centres in their city of residence. The total number of questions has been reduced from 200 to 180, while the exam duration remains unchanged at three-and-a-half hours.
To prevent malpractice, Aadhaar-based verification has been made mandatory at the time of application and on the exam day. If fingerprint authentication fails, iris-based biometric verification will be used. More than 60,000 personnel will be deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination.
