NEET to be held in 150 cities this year: Javadekar

“Forty-three new centres granted for #NEET2018 exam. For the first time NEET exam would be conducted in 150 cities. In 2017, NEET exam was conducted in 107 cities,” he tweeted. “All the cities from where 4,000 and more candidates have applied and which were not the centres in 2017 have been added as centre cities for #NEET2018 exam,” the minister said. 

New centres have been set up in Andhra Pradesh (5), Assam (2), Gujarat (3), Maharashtra (6), Odisha (4), Tamil Nadu (2), Kerala (5), Telangana (2), West Bengal (3), Uttar Pradesh (3) and one centre each in Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka and Uttarakhand. This year, NEET will be held on May 6. 

The CBSE has clarified that it has no role in deciding eligibility criteria for NEET and grievances, if any, should be submitted to the Medical Council of India (MCI). The clarification came following complaints about barring open school candidates and those with biology as an additional subject in Class 12 from appearing for the NEET. 

“The responsibility of CBSE is limited to holding the NEET (UG) examination, based on the eligibility criteria provided by MCI. CBSE has no role to play in deciding the eligibility conditions,” the board said in an advisory. 

Students who have pursued schooling through National Institute of Open Learning/ State Open School or those who studied biology or biotechnology as an additional subject in Class 12 are ineligible for NEET.