Year-Ender 2024: Key Changes in Exam Dates, Paper Leaks for Sarkari Jobs and Government Exams, Here’s Complete List

As 2024 draws to a close, the year has witnessed notable transformations in Indian government exams. While thousands of vacancies were announced for aspirants, it also faced numerous challenges and controversies. Major exams like UGC NET and UP Police Constable experienced setbacks due to paper leaks, raising serious concerns about the safety and security of examination processes. Similarly, the BPSC exam came under scrutiny following allegations of leaked papers, further exposing systemic vulnerabilities. On the other hand, JEE Main underwent a syllabus reduction in 2024. Read on to discover the key announcements, format changes, controversies, and their implications for candidates.

Biggest Exam Announcements in India 2024

As 2024 is going to end soon, government exams in India made headlines with major announcements and controversies. While thousands of vacancies offered hope and opportunities to the students, issues like paper leaks in UGC NET, UP Constable, and BPSC raised security concerns. Key changes such as the reduction in the JEE Main syllabus also shaped the year for students. Here is the list of some of the major exams shared below for the reference of the candidates. 

UGC NET

University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) is a national-level exam conducted to ascertain the eligibility of aspirants for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) posts in Indian universities and colleges. Earlier, the UGC NET June 2024 exam was conducted on June 18th in a traditional pen-and-paper format but was cancelled due to a paper leak incident. 

Subsequently, the examination was rescheduled from August 21st to September 5th, 2024 across all subject areas. A significant change for this UGC NET exam cycle was the shift to a computer-based test (CBT) mode. Additionally, the authority has added 'Ayurveda Biology' to the list of UGC NET subjects, effective from December 2024 onwards.

UP Police Constable

The UP Police Constable Recruitment 2024 was announced to fill a total of  60244 vacancies and over 48 lakh students applied for this recruitment drive. Earlier the exam was conducted in four shifts from February 17 to 18, 2024. However, it was cancelled due to the question paper leak and was rescheduled by the board in two shifts on August 23, 24, 25, 30, and 31, 2024.

Check: UP Police Constable Syllabus here

BPSC

BPSC 70th Notification was released to fill 2035 vacancies for various posts such as Sub-Division Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Senior Deputy Collector, etc. During the 70th Combined Preliminary Examination held on December 13, 2024, at Patna's Bapu Exam Centre, candidates alleged a question paper leak which led to protests at the venue. Subsequently, BPSC cancelled the prelims exam held at the Bapu Centre and a re-examination is scheduled for January 4, 2025. However, test-takers from other centres remain unaffected by this incident.

JEE Mains

JEE Main or Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is the national-level exam conducted for students seeking admission to BTech, BArch and BPlan courses at NITs, IIITs, other CFTIs, Institutions/Universities recognized by participating State Governments. Earlier, NTA announced changes in JEE Main exam pattern 2025 wherein section B will now comprise only 5 questions across each subject and students will have to answer all of them with no choice facility.

Recently, the JEE Main underwent a reduction of syllabus in 2024 with major changes in Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. In Chemistry, six units have been removed, and about 20 topics have been cut from five other units. In Physics, the Communication Systems unit is entirely removed, and various topics have been taken out from 15 other units. In Mathematics, the units on Mathematical Induction and Mathematical Reasoning are no longer included. However, there has been the addition of new topics only in Physics.

NEET

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for UG medical courses took place on May 5, 2024, with approximately 24 lakh students participating. However, there have been complaints about leaked question papers and unfair grace marks. Investigations revealed that 155 students got access to question papers in advance. Despite these claims, the Court dismissed reports of a widespread paper leak and ruled against a re-examination due to a lack of verifiable evidence.