Students preparing for NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance examination
The National Testing Agency has confirmed that over 24 lakh students have registered for the NEET-UG 2024 examination, which is scheduled to be held on May 5 across 499 cities in India and 14 cities abroad — making it the largest medical entrance examination in the world.
NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh said all arrangements for the examination are in place, including deployment of AI-based surveillance systems at all exam centres to prevent malpractice following controversies in previous years.
The exam will be conducted in 13 languages including Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese, Punjabi, and Odia, making it one of the most multilingual standardised tests globally.
This year, NTA has introduced biometric verification at all centres, CCTV monitoring with central command visibility, and a mobile jamming system to prevent use of electronic devices.
Medical aspirants across the country are putting in final preparations. Coaching institutes in cities like Kota, which has produced thousands of NEET toppers, report "unprecedented" enrolment this year.
Parents and students have raised concerns about the adequacy of government medical seats. India has approximately 1.08 lakh MBBS seats across government and private medical colleges, creating intense competition for the coveted spots.
