New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): In a major move aimed at making the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2026 more candidate-friendly and secure, the Union Health Ministry and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) have announced a series of structural and logistical overhauls for the upcoming examination scheduled for August 30.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday chaired a comprehensive review meeting with the NBEMS, technology partners, and stakeholders to assess preparedness and ensure a smooth, transparent, and technology-driven process. With 2,73,183 candidates registered this year—a 12.5% increase over previous figures—the exam will be conducted nationwide in a single shift across approximately 340 cities and over 1,300 test centres.
Key student-centric and administrative reforms introduced for NEET-PG 2026 include:
- Centres Closer to Residence: Under the revised allocation system, candidates must select their state of correspondence as their mandatory first preference among three state options, moving away from the previous first-come, first-served model.
- Advance City Intimation: To prevent last-minute travel disruption, candidates will be notified of their allotted test city nearly three weeks ahead of the August 30 test date, allowing ample time to arrange transportation and lodging.
- Rationalised Exam Pattern: The number of questions has been reduced from 200 to 180 while maintaining the overall test duration of 210 minutes, giving aspirants more time per question.
- Single Shift Conduct: Moving away from a multi-shift format, the 2026 edition will be held entirely in a single shift to ensure uniform difficulty levels and fair evaluation across all candidates.
- Multi-Layered Security & Authentication: Advanced verification measures include identity validation during both application and exam day. Iris-based biometric scans will serve as a backup if fingerprint verification fails. Further operational security includes time-bound digital decryption of question papers, CCTV surveillance, signal jammers, dynamic computer allocation, and deployment of over 60,000 examination personnel.
The Union Health Minister cautioned candidates against falling prey to paper leak rumours or fraudulent claims, reiterating that end-to-end question paper encryption ensures complete confidentiality until the exact moment the examination commences.
