CBSE NEET 2018 sees 1.3 mn aspirants; SC reserves order on anti-quota plea

CBSE has released admit cards for NEET Exam 2018. Scheduled to take place on May 6, NEET 2018 has seen 1.33 mn registrations, making competition tougher. Stay tuned for latest updates on NEET 2018

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a bunch of petitions challenging the Medical Council of India’s (MCI’s) regulations dealing with the reservation for in-service candidates in admission to post-graduate medical courses in respect of 50 per cent seats allocated to states, according to a PTI report.

Regulation 9(IV) of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations states that reservation of seats in medical colleges for respective categories in PG courses shall be according to the applicable laws of states and UTs and an all-India and state-wise merit list of the eligible candidates shall be prepared on the basis of marks obtained by them in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). It further provides that doctors in government service might be given weightage as an incentive of up to 10 per cent of the marks obtained for each year of service in "remote and/or difficult areas or rural areas, up to a maximum of 30 per cent" of the marks obtained in NEET, according to a PTI report.
 

The process for admission to undergraduate dental and medical courses across the country is likely to get more challenging. According to the statistics revealed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the number of total registrations for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) this year stands at 1.33 million (13.36 lakh), up from 1.15 million (11.5 lakh) who had applied in 2017. There has been an increase of almost 200,000 in a year. With a limited number of seats available for aspiring students, the competition keeps getting tougher, reported the Hindustan Times.
 

Around the nation, there are 60,000 seats available at MBBS and BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) institutes for medical and dental programmes.
 

According to the experts, this phenomenal surge in the number of registrations can be attributed to a number of reasons, including more and more people opting for NEET scores or national-level examinations instead of state-conducted Common Entrance Tests (CETs) for health science courses. Also, the number of scholarships and policies provided by the central and state governments have helped a higher number of scholars in clearing secondary and higher secondary education across the country, said an HT report.
 

NEET is a medical entrance test conducted at the national level under the supervision of the CBSE Board. 
 

On April 18, The CBSE board released the admit cards or hall tickets on its official website after a delay from the original schedule of release. The hall tickets are available on the official website http://cbse.nic.in. The applicants are required to download the admit cards from the official website and follow the given instructions there.

According to a Times of India report, when a candidate downloads the CBSE NEET exam admit card, a copy of the same in the PDF format is emailed to the candidate on his or her email ID registered at the time of filling the NEET 2018 form.
 

The NEET admit card comprises a candidate's name, roll number, father's name, category, photograph, signature, date of birth, and the language of question paper, along with the name and address of the examination centre.
 

The students who want to pursue MBBS or BDS courses at medical colleges in India take the NEET test. CBSE will conduct the NEET exam for admission to MBBS/BDS courses for the year 2018-19 on Sunday (May 6, 2018) from 10 am to 1 pm.

After downloading NEET UG admit card, students are required to affix a passport size photograph on it and fill the document mentioned in NEET 2018 admit card, reported Indian Express.

On finding any discrepancy in the admit card, the student should report it immediately to CBSE as the information printed on the card will be verified at the time of admission.
 

If the information is found incorrect, the applicant's admit card may be cancelled.
 

Also, the CBSE has implemented a dress code in order to ensure the fair and impartial conduct of the NEET examination.

Dress code
 

All candidates appearing for the exam must wear light clothes with half sleeves, without big buttons, brooch/ badge, flower, among other such things, along with salwar or trouser.
 

Candidates have to wear slippers, sandals with low heels, and not shoes. Girls should not wear any closed-toed footwear.
 

Candidates who would be wearing customary clothes like a burqa are required to report at the centre at least an hour earlier before the reporting time so that they can be frisked properly, according to NDTV.
 

Under the new rules, the CBSE has not only implemented guidelines for the dress code but also issued strict instructions which prohibit students from carrying certain things inside the examination hall.
 

Banned objects: Items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap, watch/wristwatch, bracelet, camera or metallic item are not allowed in the examination hall. No candidate should be wearing ornaments like a ring, earrings, nose-pin, chain/necklace, pendants, badge and brooch etc. Also, the students cannot wear shoes inside the examination hall. Only slippers and sandals with low heels (for girls) are not allowed. The only items which the applicants are allowed to carry inside the examination hall is the admit card with a passport size photograph affixed on it. One passport sized photograph will also be required to be affixed on the attendance sheet, reported the Indian Express.
 

Here's how to download NEET admit cards from the direct link:
 

Step 1: Go to the website https://cbseneet.nic.in/cbseneet/online/AdmitCardAuth.aspx link
 

Step 2: Fill in the required details in the given field with your registration number, date of birth, enter security pin number
 

Step 3: Click on submit
 

Step 4: Your admit card will be displayed on the screen
 

Step 5: Download the admit card and take a printout for future reference

Photo credit: CBSE website

Changes in NEET 2018

NEET is traditionally conducted in English and Hindi. For the first time in 2018, the NEET will be conducted in six additional languages — Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Telugu and Tamil.
 

Date of Examination: May 6 (Sunday)
 

CBSE NEET exam time: 10 am to 1 pm
 

CBSE NEET result date: June 5, 2018
 

Display of OMR sheet to be intimated on the website
 

Display of answer key to be intimated on the website

According to the Hindustan Times, close to 1.3 million aspirants have registered for the CBSE NEET 2018. This means, 0.2 million more candidates have registered for NEET 2018 than those last year. Over 60,000 medical seats are available in the country for MBBS and BDS courses. With such a growing popularity, medical aspirants are set to face a tough competition.