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A total of 15,93,452 lakh candidates have applied for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2020.
It the continuation of trend from last year when over 15 lakh candidates registered for the exam, a steep rise of 14.52 per cent from NEET 2018.
This hike was cited to the new rule mandating NEET for Indian students aspiring to study medicine abroad, The India Express reported.
This year, the number was expected to rise further as the medical entrance exam — NEET has been made mandatory for admission to AIIMS and JIPMER, it said.
According to the report, the maximum applications have been received from Maharashtra with 2.28 lakh candidates — a huge leap from Uttar Pradesh which came second with 1.54 lakh candidates. Other states with most registrations were Karnataka with 1.19 lakh applications followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala with 1.17 and 1.16 lakh candidates, respectively.
Among the North East States, Assam lead the registration with 30,165, followed by Manipur – 6673, Tripura – 4055, Arunachal Pradesh – 3520, Meghalaya- 2980, Nagaland – 2439, Mizoram – 1707, and Sikkim -833.
The least number of applications this year, following NEET 2019 trend was from Lakshadweep with 183 registrations followed by Daman and Diu and Andaman and Nicobar islands with 707 and 800 applications, respectively, the report said.
The reason behind these sections is because of low population density in these states, it added.
Due to offline application mode available to the students belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir region, a total of 33,357 candidates applied for NEET 2020, a hike from 26,595 last year.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) as an independent autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation established by the the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)’s will be conducting the NEET 2020 for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses and other undergraduate medical courses in approved/recognized Medical/Dental & other Colleges/ Institutes in India.
The NEET (UG) - 2020 will be conducted on Sunday, May 3, 2020 .
“The responsibility of the NTA is limited to the conduct of the entrance examination, declaration of result and for providing an “All India Rank Merit List” to the Directorate General Health Service, Government of India for the conduct of counselling for 15% All India Quota Seats and for providing the result to States/other Counselling Authorities,” according to a MHRD statement.
(MExN)
