NEET 2021: NEET UG postponed to September 12, registration begins today at nta.ac.in

New Delhi, July 12: Medical entrance exam NEET, which was earlier scheduled for August 1, will now be conducted on September 12, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced Monday.

"The NEET-UG 2021, will be held on 12th September across the country following COVID-19 protocols. The application process will begin from 5 pm tomorrow through the NTA website," Pradhan said in a series of tweets.

"To ensure adherence to COVID-19 protocols, face mask will be provided to all candidates at the centre. Staggered time slots during entry and exit, contactless registration, proper sanitisation, seating with social distancing etc. will also be ensured," he said.

The Education Minister further said that in order to ensure social distancing norms, the number of cities where examination will be conducted has been increased from 155 to 198. The number of examination centres will also be increased from 3,862 used in the previous exams.

Last year, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted on September 13 amid strict precautions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 13.66 lakh candidates had appeared in the exam of whom 7,71,500 qualified.

From the last year, the admissions to MBBS course in 13 All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, are also being made through NEET following the amendment in National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

The test will be offered in 11 languages -- English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

NEET 2021 UG application begins today

Candidates can check the National Testing Agency (NTA) website -- neet.nta.nic.in for details on NEET UG application.

Meanwhile, students who want to study BSc Nursing and Health Sciences should also apply for NEET 2021. This will be the first time the exam will be used for admission to these courses.

Eligibility criteria:

Candidates must have passed Class 12 exams from a recognised board with at least 50 percent with Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and English as compulsory subjects.

Various boards, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), have cancelled this year's Class 12 examinations due to the COVID-19 crisis across the country. Hence, it is expected that NTA might make a few changes in the eligibility criteria