The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) has improved its record for the ninth year with 24 lakhs applications for 2024-25 academic year. The application is for the medical/dental and allied health programs.
The addition of around 6000 more seats in government colleges has made the competition a bit easier with 42.2 aspirants per seat. From 2023-24, the entrance saw an additional 3 lakh registrations this year, which is the highest jump in the last seven years.
From 2017, when it crossed the 10 lakhs mark, the increment till present has been 12.4 lakhs.
NEET UG 2024 test is planned for May 5 (Sunday) and is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm and close by 5:20 pm in offline mode. The NTA will hold NEET UG 2024 test nationwide and in 14 cities worldwide.
NEET-UG 2024-25 Applications surge: Insights
NEET UG is the biggest medical entrance exam in India as it left behind the CUET UG in 2024 by five lakhs. In 2017, the first huge jump of the NEET was 11.3 lakhs followed by eight lakhs in 2016.
Thereafter, apart from the two covid years i.e. 2020-21, the increase in the applications has been over 11 per cent every year.
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Till 2023, the expansion in number of seats in govt schools has not been corresponding to the increase in number of candidates. Between 2021 and 2022, the quantity of candidates rose by 16% points as against a 3% point increase in seats. In 2023, the seats were hiked by 11% points, just below the surge in the number of applicants (11.5%).
After 10 years, in 2024 the increment level of seats (17) has been higher than that of applicants (14.1), consequently making it the best year for the candidates who will see a seat-to-applicant ratio (1:42.2), best in nine years (excepting the 2021 Coronavirus year).
The number of seats in govt colleges in 2024 is 56,385 across 706 colleges (up from 322 of every 2023, the greatest expansion over the recent 15 years), in 2023, up from 48,212 and 43,435 in 2022. The greatest expansion in seats was in 2021 when 8,329 seats were added to the 2020 count of 33,893.
For more than 10 years at this point, females have outnumbered males in this medical entrance exam. This year is the same with the most noteworthy ever (57.2%) female participation. In 2023, it was 56.7% and 53.5% in 2022 and 51% in 2019.
NEET-UG: Overview
NEET stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and is a single level national exam for medical applicants enabling them to search for admissions to medical courses across different medical institutions from one side of the country to the other.
The government of India introduced NEET as an arrangement to hold one test replacing various tests that were being held as a part of the 'One Nation One Examination' policy. NEET is an offline test done in a pen-paper mode, as the main