Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-2018 on May 06, 2018. It is a single window test which also assesses the eligibility of candidates for admission in Medical, Dental, and AYUSH courses. The purpose to introduce NEET was to make medical admission much simpler and organized.

The examination is conducted in pen and paper mode. Candidates will be able to assess their performance in the exam on the basis of NEET 2018 Answer Key. With the answer key, the OMR response sheet shall also be released. Candidates can submit objections against it by remitting Rs. 1000.

Overall, 60,000 MBBS and BDS seats will be filled through the examination. The result of NEET 2018 shall be announced within a month of the exam, on June 05, 2018. For the purpose of admission, the rank obtained only on basis of performance in the exam will be considered. To get a rank, a student is required to be placed above the 50th percentile in case of general category, and above the 40th percentile for SC / ST / OBC candidates.

After the announcement of the result, 15% seats will be filled through MCC counseling on the basis of All India Rank in NEET. Whereas, remaining 85% seats are filled through individual state counseling, according to the state merit lists of the exam.

All over India, 13.36 lakh candidates have registered for NEET. The figure is 17 percent higher than last year when only 11.38 lakh students applied. Out of the total, only 11.09 lakh appeared for the exam last year and it is expected that the ratio of candidates appearing this year will remain the same.

The sudden rise in the number of applicants can be attributed to a number of factors. With time, all states have accepted the idea of NEET as a single entrance exam and dropped CET for admissions.

Medical aspirants are also aware of the higher possibility of admission through NEET. Other than NEET, only AIIMS and JIPMER have the authority to conduct MBBS entrance test. AIIMS entrance exam offers 807 seats in AIIMS New Delhi, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Jodhpur, Rishikesh, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Guntur, and Nagpur. While JIPMER only offers 200 seats in Puducherry and Karaikal campus.

Class 12th results have also improved gradually, leading to more students passing the exam and applying for NEET. The performance of the candidates in Boards have always affected the applicants applying for entrance examinations.

Shifting of AYUSH admission under NEET umbrella is definitely a major reason for the spike. Until last year, the AYUSH admission was done by the states individually.

Next year onwards, CBSE will be relieved from the responsibility of organizing NEET. MHRD has decided that National Testing Agency (NTA) will take over all the entrance examination which are conducted by CBSE. The guidelines for NEET by NTA are due to be released.