Maharashtra leads NEET-UG applicants; NE states have fewest candidates

Maharashtra leads NEET-UG applicants: According to the National Testing Agency (NTA), Maharashtra had the most NEET-UG medical exam applications over the past five years. In terms of the number of registrants, the state boards of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively. Over 20.38 lakh candidates took the NEET this year, a significant increase from the 14.10 lakh candidates who took the exam in 2019.

According to data obtained by PTI, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had the maximum number of applicants for the most competitive entrance exam in the country from 2019 through 2023. This year, there were over 5.51 million applicants from the national board that administers Class 12 examinations.

However, among state boards, Maharashtra has the highest number of NEET-UG or National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) applications.

This year, over 2.57 million candidates from the Maharashtra state board registered for the examination. According to NTA data, more than 2.31 million candidates registered for NEET-UG in 2013.

This year, more than 1.22 lakh candidates from the Karnataka state board applied for NEET-UG, compared to 1.14 lakh last year.

NEET UG 2nd round seat allotment results today on mcc.nic.in; Check details here

State-Wise Statics: Maharashtra leads NEET-UG applicants

The Tamil Nadu state board ranked third, with over 1.13 million students applying for the medical exam this year. More than 1.11 million candidates from the Uttar Pradesh state board applied for NEET-UG, the data showed.

The number of candidates from the Kerala state board exceeded 1.07 million, while the number of applicants from the Bihar state board exceeded 71,000.

The data revealed that the lowest number of applicants came from the Tripura state board (1,683), Mizoram state board (1,844), and Meghalaya state board (2,300). Nagaland (2,422), Goa (3,834), and Uttarakhand (4,000) are other state boards with fewer than 5,000 NEET-UG applicants.

The trend has remained unchanged over the past five years, according to the agency’s data.

Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS), Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS), and BSc (H) Nursing are all disciplines that require NEET-UG as a prerequisite. In more than 540 medical colleges, there are more than 80,000 MBBS seats.

Since May 2019, the NTA has administered the NEET-UG on behalf of the health and family welfare ministry. Previously, NEET-UG was administered by the CBSE.

Increase in Qualifying Candidates

This year, 11.45 million out of 20.38 million candidates passed the examination, a 48 percent increase from last year.

According to the NTA, Uttar Pradesh had the most qualified candidates (1.39 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (1.31 lakh) and Rajasthan (more than a lakh).

The agency noted that Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are the two most populous states in India, with Rajasthan also ranking among the top ten.

The data revealed that Kerala and Karnataka were also in the top five, with over 75,000 candidates qualifying from each state.

The most candidates in the top ten were from Tamil Nadu, a state that has opposed the centralised medical entrance exam. Eight candidates from Delhi, seven from Rajasthan, and six from Tamil Nadu were among the top 50.

On May 7, the NTA administered the exam at 4,097 locations in 499 cities in India and abroad. It took place in 14 cities outside of India, including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Colombo, Doha, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Manama, Muscat, Riyadh, Sharjah, Singapore, Dubai, and Kuwait City.

Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu were the languages utilised for the examination.