48.5% increase in qualifiers in NEET UG 2023

48.5% increase in qualifiers in NEET UG 2023


NEW DELHI: Two candidates scored a perfect 720 and declared joint toppers in this year’s National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) for admission to undergraduate medical courses. The highlight of this year’s test is that the number of candidates who appeared increased by 15.5% from 2022 and the number of qualifiers increased by 48.5%. According to the results, announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday night, Prabanjan J from Tamil Nadu and Bora Varun Chakravarthi from Andhra Pradesh were declared joint all-India toppers, both securing 720 marks. Kaustav Bauri from Tamil Nadu with 716 marks is all India rank 3, while Punjab girl Pranjal Aggarwal with 715 marks and through the tie-breaker method was declared all-India rank 4 and also the female topper.
According to a senior NTA official, candidates who scored identical marks are accorded ranks as per the tie-breaker rule where the candidate with higher marks in biology is ranked above the rest. In case of identical marks in biology, the same rule is applied for chemistry followed by physics. Even after this the scores remain identical, the elder candidate gets the higher rank.
Interestingly, four candidates in top 10 are from Tamil Nadu, the State which has been opposing the centralised medical entrance test. State-wise in the top 50, eight candidates are from Delhi, followed by seven from Rajasthan and six from Tamil Nadu.
In all there are 16 candidates who scored 715 marks out of 720 and were granted all-India ranks four to 19 using the tie-breaker method. All-India joint topper Bora Varun Chakravarthi is also OBC topper, while all-India third Kaustav is the SC category topper. In all there are 11 candidates from the OBC category, two from SC and one from the EWS in the top 50.
In all, 11,45,976 (56,2%) of the 20,38,596 candidates who appeared for the test qualified. In continuation of the trend in the past, over 1.6 lakh more female candidates than male qualified. Last year 1.3 lakh more female candidates than male qualified
State-wise once again Uttar Pradesh (1.4 lakh) has the highest number of qualifiers, followed by Maharashtra (1.3 lakh) and Rajasthan (1 lakh). Kerala and Karnataka are the two other States in top five with over 75,000 candidates each qualifying the exam.
NEET-UG 2021 was conducted on May 7, 2022 and it recorded the highest attendance, as 97.7% of 20.87 lakh aspirants took the test. Last year, the medical entrance recorded 94.2%, while in 2018 it recorded 97%. Seven cases of unfair practices have been detected.
With the aspirants scoring high, the range of qualifying marks this year increased significantly as compared to 2022. While the range of qualifying marks for General and EWS category had been set at 720-137 as against 715-117 in 2022, the cut-off for OBC, SC and ST increased to 136-107 from 116-93 in 2022. Similarly, the qualifying marks range for General/ EWS PwD candidates is 136-121, up from 116-105 in 2022. This year’s qualifying marks range for disabled among OBC and SC candidates is 120-108, up from 104-93.
For the 15% all-India quota seats, NTA in a statement said: “The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of India will conduct the Counselling for 15% All India Quota Seats, Deemed Universities, Central Universities, Seats of ESIC and AFMC, BHU and AMU. Candidates may visit the website www.mcc.nic.in for further information. Candidates will apply for 15% All India Quota seats as per the directions of DGHS and Counselling will be stopped once the seats are exhausted. The details and schedule of counselling would be available on the websites of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Directorates of States.”