New Delhi: Sixty-seven candidates have bagged the top rank in medical entrance exam NEET-UG, a majority of them from Rajasthan, the National Testing Agency announced Tuesday.
The top rankers in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) also include 14 girls, the agency said.
It said that 56.4 per cent of the candidates have qualified the exam, which was conducted May 5 at centres across the country and also abroad.
“Sixty-seven candidates scored the same 99.997129 percentile score, therefore, they shared the all-India rank one. The merit list will be prepared using a tie-breaking formula with those getting higher marks or percentile scores in Biology will be given preference followed by Chemistry and Physics,” a senior NTA official said.
“Subsequently, candidates with less proportion of the number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in all the subjects in the test, or Biology, followed by Chemistry and Physics, will be given preference,” the official added.
Of these 67 candidates, maximum 11 are from Rajasthan, followed by eight from Tamil Nadu and seven from Maharashtra.
A record 24.06 lakh candidates had registered for NEET this year. The passing percentage is almost the same as last year at 56.2 per cent.
Among those who have qualified the country’s biggest entrance exam for admission to MBBS and BDS courses at the undergraduate level, 5,47,036 are male, 7,69,222 are female and 10 are transgender persons, the NTA said.
The examination was conducted in 13 languages — Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
NEET-UG is the qualifying entrance exam for admission to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS), Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), and Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and BSc (H) Nursing courses.
There are more than 80,000 MBBS seats in over 540 medical colleges in the country. Of the 13,16,268 qualified candidates, 3,33,932 were from the unreserved category, 6,18,890 from the OBC category, 1,78,738 from SC, 68,479 from ST, and 1,16,229 from the EWS category. Besides, 4,120 candidates from the Persons with Disabilities category have also qualified the exam.
The exam witnessed an increase in qualifying marks this year. For instance, the qualifying marks range for the unreserved category last year was 720-137, which has increased to 720-164 this year. Similarly, for OBC SC, and ST categories, it has increased from 136-107 last year to 163-129 this year.
“The Result of NEET (UG) – 2024 has been declared based on the qualifying criteria prescribed by the National Medical Commission and Dental Council of India and also based on the information submitted by the candidates in their online application forms,” the NTA said.
In terms of state-wise performance, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of qualified candidates (1165047) followed by Maharashtra (142665), Rajasthan (121240), and Tamil Nadu (89426).
Meanwhile, the NTA has also conducted post-exam data analysis, to detect cases of Unfair Means (UFM).
“Action on UFM cases is taken as per extant rules, which include cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations,” the agency said.
“The qualified candidates may please note that they have to further complete the formalities with the respective Counseling Authorities viz DGHS, Medical Education Directorates of States, etc. for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses,” the NTA said.
PTI
