20.8 lakh across 548 cities sit for NEET-UG exam

NEW DELHI: Over 20.8 lakh candidates across 548 cities in India and 14 cities abroad appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) held on Sunday. The exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency to determine admission to undergraduate medical programmes, was held successfully, according to government sources. This number falls short by 2.5 lakh compared to last year, when NEET was inundated with complaints of irregularities, including a paper leak.

NEET-UG was held at 5,453 centres in India, including 103 in Delhi.

A section of students spoken to in the national capital by this newspaper felt the exam was tough, particularly the Physics section. Some said they ran short of time to complete the 180 questions and left many unanswered to avoid negative marking. They felt that this year’s cut-off, for the exam assessed out of 720 marks, would be below 600.

The district administrations across all States and UTs reviewed the security arrangements periodically, which included enhanced security measures, safe transportation of question papers, logistical support, and deployment of local police personnel at the exam centres, the source said.