CBSE to conduct NEET in 23 more cities; app to locate centres

With over 40 per cent increase in the number of students registering for National Entrance-cum- Eligibility Test (NEET) this year, the CBSE has decided to conduct the exam in 23 more cities taking the number to 103.
A mobile application has also been developed to help the nearly 12 lakh students, who are expected to take the exam, in locating the nearest test centre.
According to the CBSE, a record 11,35,104 candidates have registered for the exam, which is 41.42 per cent more than the previous year's number.
In 2016, 8,02,594 aspirants had registered for the NEET.
With the increase, the NEET and the JEE (Main) exams now have an equivalent number of cities as centres.

The single common entrance exam for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in Medical Council of India-/Dental Council of India- approved medical/dental colleges, will be held on May 7.

It will be held in 10 languages- Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia and Kannada.
"The NEET examination got a better response. Therefore, we have increased number of city centres," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters outside the Parliament.
"Earlier it was conducted in 80 cities. Now we have increased to 103 cities with thousands of centres and the new choice to the students for selection of nearby cities have been given. The exams are being conducted under the Health Ministry guidelines," he said.

The 23 new centres include Guntur and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh; Anand, Bhavnagar and Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat; Mysore, Davangiri, Hubli and Udupi in Karnataaka; Kannur and Thrissur in Kerala; Ahmednagar, Amravati, Kolhapur and Satara in Maharashtra; Amritsar, Jodhpur, Namakkal and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu; Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Howarh in West Bengal.
"To accommodate 11,35,104 candidates in 103 cities, more than 2200 institutions will be made centres based on their credibility, reliability and infrastructure," the CBSE said.
Students can register on CBSE website and select new centre from the centres available in 23 new cities.
The candidates who wish to revise their examination centres can do it between March 24-27.

Health Minister JP Nadda said, "We have also included regional languages in the test. CBSE has agreed for this and accordingly the number of examination centres have also been increased.