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The Centre has announced a major overhaul of the NEET PG 2026 examination, allowing students to choose three preferred test cities and introducing fewer questions while keeping the exam duration unchanged. The Supreme Court had directed that NEET PG 2025 be conducted in a single shift and the same format will continue this year. The examination will be held across 340 cities for 2.73 lakh candidates. To ensure a secure examination process, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said the final question paper will be selected shortly before the commencement of the examination through a time-bound process.
NEET PG 2026 Sees Major Changes
The NEET PG 2026 examination has undergone significant revisions this year. Under the new format, candidates will get more time to answer fewer questions compared to previous years. Additionally, the exam city intimation slip will now be issued three weeks before the examination.
More Test City Preferences: Candidates can now choose three preferred exam cities, replacing the earlier first-come, first-served allotment system. Applicants must compulsorily select their home state or correspondence state as their first preference.
City Intimation Slip Three Weeks Before Exam: The test city intimation slip will now be released three weeks before the examination, giving candidates more time to plan their travel and accommodation.
Revised Exam Pattern: The number of questions has been reduced from 200 to 180, carrying a total of 720 marks. Each correct answer will fetch four marks, while one mark will be deducted for every incorrect response. The exam duration will remain 210 minutes, giving candidates more time per question.
Single-Shift Examination: On May 30, 2025, the Supreme Court directed that NEET PG be conducted in a single shift, replacing the two-shift format introduced in 2024. The decision came after medical aspirants challenged the normalisation process and changes to the tie-breaking criteria, arguing that they affected fairness in the examination.
Aadhaar-Based Authentication: Aadhaar authentication will be mandatory during both the application process and on the examination day. The Centre has also introduced iris-based authentication as a backup in cases where fingerprint verification fails.
NEET PG 2026 is scheduled to be held on August 30. A total of 2,73,183 candidates have registered for the examination, which will be conducted across 340 cities and more than 1,300 examination centres. According to the Centre, registrations have increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous year.
