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NEET 2020: Maharashtra Leads With Maximum Registrations
NEET 2020: While registrations have risen by 4.8%, the number of seats for MBBS has also increased by 13.7%. The competition for each medical seat will have 20 contenders.
National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2020 is expected to be the biggest medical examination in the recent years owing to a substantial increase in the number of registrations. The National Testing Agency had opened the registrations for NEET UG 2020 on December 2nd, 2019, for admissions to all undergraduate medical and dental courses (MBBS/BDS) in India. NEET qualification is also mandatory for students willing to pursue MBBS from abroad. The examination has been set for May 3rd, 2020, the application process for which is currently underway.
In an unexpected turn of events, the National Testing Agency has this year allowed two date extensions to allow the students the required time for registrations and completing the application process. The registration deadline was extended from December 31st, 2019 to January 6th, 2020, while the application forms window has been reopened on February 3rd, 2020, to allow students extended time till 11:50 PM on February 9th, 2020, to be able to complete the application forms, submit scanned images, and pay the concerned fees for the same.
While the number of registrations for NEET UG 2020 has substantially increased from last year, it still hasn’t managed to meet the expected numbers of increment. This year, the total number of registrations has been recorded at 1,593,452 (15.93 lakh), which are 74,083 (4.87 per cent) more than 2019 registrations. However, in comparison with the 2018-2019 jump which was recorded at 14.52 per cent, this hike has been unsatisfactory.
Why Were NEET Registrations Expected to Rise?
In the year 2019, the government had approved the National Medical Commission Act (NMC Act) which mandated that NEET be made the single point of entry to medical and dental courses in India. It specified that the individual examinations and counseling sessions conducted for the close to 1500 seats in institutes of national importance like AIIMS and JIPMER be merged with NEET. As a result, the number of registrations for NEET 2020 was expected to rise.
The 2019 vs. 2020 scenario
For NEET 2019, the total number of registrations had been around 15 lakh, while those for AIIMS and JIPMER were recorded around 5 lakh. Keeping these numbers in mind, the expected registrations for NEET 2020 following the inclusion of AIIMS and JIPMER was expected to be close to 20 lakh. However, the total number of registrations received between December 2nd, 2019 and January 6th, 2020, despite a 6-day extension has only risen by 74,083 to 1,593,452 (15.93 lakh).
This year, the NEET qualification will allow admission to the following seats
- 76,928 MBBS seats
- 2,699 BDS seats
- 52,720 AYUSH seats
- 525 BVSc (Bachelor of Veterinary Science) seats
- 1,205 AIIMS seats
- 200 JIPMER seats
Similar to last year, the number of registrations from the state of Maharashtra has been the highest at 228,829 candidates, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka with 154,705 and 119,626 registrations respectively. The lowest number of applications were received from Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, and Andaman and Nicobar islands with 183, 707, and 800 registrations respectively.
Jammu & Kashmir: A Surprising Turnout
The state of Jammu & Kashmir witnessed an internet blackout which posed several obstacles for the students wanting to apply for NEET 2020 as the application process this year was kept exclusively online. No offline applications were being accepted for the examination as per rules. However, due to the hardships faced by the students in J&K, the National Testing Agency as an exception for the state began accepting the registrations in offline mode through various nodal centers set up in the state.
Despite the difficult conditions, the state of Jammu and Kashmir came out as a shining example due to an impressive increase in the number of registrations as compared to last year. For NEET 2019, J&K had received a total of 26,595 registrations which increased by 6,762 to reach a total of 33,357 registrations for NEET 2020.
