- This year, the NEET-UG witnessed a notable surge in participation, drawin over 20.38 lakh candidates, a significant upswing from the 2019 figure of 14.10 lakh
In the realm of medical education, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate studies has seen a diverse array of applicants, with certain trends emerging from different regions. This year, the NEET-UG witnessed a notable surge in participation, drawing over 20.38 lakh candidates, a significant upswing from the 2019 figure of 14.10 lakh.
When it comes to the source of applicants from state boards over the past five years, Maharashtra has stood out prominently. This state clinched the top spot, demonstrating the highest influx of applications, closely followed by the Karnataka state board. Not far behind were the Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh state boards, each contributing a substantial number of applicants.
A glimpse into the data reveals that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has consistently commanded a significant presence among candidates vying for NEET-UG from 2019 to 2023, with more than 5.51 lakh students from this board applying for this year’s exam.
Among the state boards, Maharashtra emerges as the frontrunner in terms of NEET-UG applications. This year alone, a staggering 2.57 lakh candidates from the Maharashtra state board sought to undertake the medical examination. The Karnataka state board followed closely with over 1.22 lakh applicants, while the Tamil Nadu state board accounted for more than 1.13 lakh candidates.
The examination landscape also witnessed participation from the Uttar Pradesh state board, with over 1.11 lakh students applying for NEET-UG this year. Meanwhile, other state boards like Kerala and Bihar made their presence felt with more than 1.07 lakh and 71,000 applicants, respectively.
Contrastingly, a handful of state boards, such as Tripura, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, reported remarkably lower applicant numbers, with just 1,683, 1,844, and 2,300 applicants respectively. A similar trend extended to states like Nagaland, Goa, and Uttarakhand, each tallying fewer than 5,000 NEET-UG applicants.
This consistent trend spanning the past five years illustrates the steady distribution of applicants from different state boards.
Notably, NEET-UG serves as the pivotal gateway for admission into esteemed courses like MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BSMS, BUMS, BHMS, and BSc (H) Nursing. Over 80,000 MBBS seats are scattered across more than 540 medical colleges nationwide. The responsibility of conducting NEET-UG transitioned from the CBSE to the National Testing Agency (NTA) in May 2019.
This year saw a considerable growth in qualified candidates, with 11.45 lakh candidates succeeding in the examination, marking a 48 percent increase from the previous year. Among these qualified candidates, Uttar Pradesh led the way with 1.39 lakh qualifiers, closely followed by Maharashtra with 1.31 lakh and Rajasthan with over a lakh qualifiers. This distribution is notably influenced by the high population figures of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
The participation trend is also evident in the top states, with Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu boasting over 75,000 successful candidates each.
Surprisingly, despite Tamil Nadu’s resistance to the centralized medical entrance test, it emerged with the highest number of candidates among the top 10. Within the top 50, Delhi, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu secured notable representation with eight, seven, and six candidates respectively.
The NEET-UG examination unfolded at an impressive 4,097 centers across 499 cities in India and abroad, with May 7 as the test date. Beyond Indian borders, the examination was held in 14 cities, including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Colombo, Doha, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Manama, Muscat, Riyadh, Sharjah, Singapore, Dubai and Kuwait City.
