Over 17 lakh students appeared in NEET UG for 96,077 medical seats last year: Government

NEW DELHI: Over 18 lakh students registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduate (NEET UG) last year, of which, 17.64 lakh appeared, Minister of State for health and family welfare, Bharati Pravin Pavar, said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The minister was replying to a question asked by Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik on the number of students who appeared for NEET UG and number of undergraduate seats in last three years. The MP further asked whether it is a fact that complication in the admission process has led to many legal cases and “spawned a micro industry of medical education counsellors” and whether government plans to reform the admission process to make it simple and transparent, if so.

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According to the minister’s reply, the number of students who appeared in NEET UG in last three years as per the National Testing Agency are given below:

Moreover, the number of undergraduate seats available for medical education in the last 3 three years are as follows:

Talking about the admission process, Pavar said that the regulations on graduate and post graduate medical education provide for conducting common counselling through NEET scores. The common counseling for admission to All India Quota (AIQ) seats, central institutions and deemed universities is conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services at Centre level. The common counselling for all the seats of Super-Specialty courses is also conducted by the MCC, she said.

Whereas, the common counseling for admission to state quota seats, private medical colleges including those run by religious and linguistic minorities affiliated to state universities is conducted by the concerned state government or its designated authority.

“The medical seats are allotted to candidates on the basis of merit and as per the choices exercised by the candidate through an Online Counseling Software. The whole allotment process is online,” Pavar further said.