Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
NEET-PG 2026 candidates will no longer have to scramble for far-off examination centres or make last-minute travel plans. In a major overhaul of the postgraduate medical entrance examination, the Centre has announced a series of candidate-friendly reforms, including exam centres closer to home, earlier intimation of test cities, more time per question, and tighter security measures aimed at ensuring a fair and transparent examination.
advertisement
The changes, announced by the Union Health Ministry ahead of the August 30 examination, are designed to reduce stress for candidates while strengthening the integrity of the examination process.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reviewed the preparedness for NEET-PG 2026 on Saturday and directed all agencies to ensure the examination is conducted in a smooth, secure, transparent and technology-enabled manner.
He reviewed the preparedness of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), technology partners and other stakeholders, stressing that every effort must be made to ensure a fair and candidate-friendly examination.
A total of 2,73,183 candidates have registered for NEET-PG 2026, marking an increase of over 12.5 per cent compared to last year.
EXAM CENTRES CLOSER TO HOME
One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a new centre allocation system. Instead of the earlier first-come, first-served model, candidates will now choose three preferred states for their examination centre, with their correspondence state being the mandatory first preference.
The ministry said this will help ensure candidates are allotted centres closer to their place of residence.
Previously, candidates who registered later often found nearby centres fully booked and were forced to travel to distant states to appear for the examination.
Candidates will also receive information about their allotted test city nearly three weeks before the August 30 examination, giving them sufficient time to arrange travel and accommodation.
Until now, candidates frequently received city and venue details only days before the examination, leading to logistical challenges and additional expenses.
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has revised the examination pattern to 180 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 210 minutes.
Earlier, the examination consisted of 200 questions carrying a maximum of 800 marks. While the overall duration remains unchanged, the revised format provides candidates with more time to answer each question.
SINGLE-SHIFT EXAM RETURNS
After recent editions saw the examination conducted in two shifts due to unforeseen circumstances and postponements, NEET-PG 2026 will be held in a single shift.
According to the ministry, conducting the examination in one shift will ensure greater uniformity in question difficulty and a fairer assessment of candidates.
AADHAAR AUTHENTICATION, BIOMETRICS, ENCRYPTION
The Centre has also strengthened security protocols for the examination.
Aadhaar-based authentication has been introduced during both the application process and on the examination day. Where fingerprint verification fails, iris-based biometric authentication will be used.
The ministry said the end-to-end question paper preparation and delivery process has been further reinforced with multiple layers of encryption, secure offline preparation, time-bound finalisation of question papers shortly before the examination, and controlled digital decryption only at the scheduled start of the test.
NBEMS has also operationalised a dedicated email address for reporting impersonation, touting and other unfair practices, while regularly issuing advisories to candidates to improve awareness and vigilance.
The examination will be conducted in a single shift across around 340 cities and more than 1,300 examination centres.
More than 60,000 examination functionaries will be deployed, while security arrangements include advance sealing and verification of examination centres, CCTV surveillance, biometric authentication, candidate frisking, signal jammers, dynamic computer allocation, live monitoring through central and regional command centres, and real-time supervision by independent observers and appraisers.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
