Report by Tanya Singh:
The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has today; i.e. February 23 released the information brochure for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post-graduate (NEET-PG). The information brochure has been released on the official website of the board; i.e nbe.edu.in. The NEET PG 2021 official bulletin includes some major changes that include the number of the NEET PG 2021 exam centres, hike in NEET PG 2021 application form, change in exam schedule amongst others.
The application form of NEET PG 2021 will be available from today, February 23 at 3 PM. Eligible candidates can fill and submit the application form till March 15, 2021, up to 11:55 PM. NEET PG 2021 will be held on April 18 for admission to 10,821 Master of Surgery (MS) seats, 19,953 Doctor of Medicine (MD) seats, and 1,979 PG Diploma seats offered by 6,102 government, private, deemed and central universities. As per the NEET PG information bulletin, there are five major changes brought in the entrance exam with respect to its exam centers, the NEET PG question paper pattern, exam schedule and tie-breaking criteria. • Hike in NEET PG application fee The NEET PG application fee has been increased from Rs. 3,750 to Rs 5,015 (including GST) for non-reserved candidates and for the SC/ST and PwD candidates from Rs 2,750 to Rs 3,835. • Increase in NEET PG exam centers The examination centers for the NEET PG have been increased from 165 to 255. This has been done to maintain adequate social distancing inside the exam halls and avoid overcrowding outside the exam centers. The NBE has ensured that the exam centers do not fall into any containment zone made due to virus cases.
• Change in NEET PG question paper pattern The total number of questions in the NEET PG exam have been reduced to 200 as compared to 300 questions in the NEET PG 2020 paper. Therefore, the maximum number of marks to be obtained in the exam has also been reduced from 1200 to 800. • Change in NEET PG exam timings The NEET PG entrance exam will be conducted from 2 pm to 5 pm. It was earlier scheduled between 3 pm to 7 pm. • NEET PG tie-breaking criteria The number of criteria impacting the NEET PG tie-breaking rule has been reduced from eight to four. In a situation where two or more candidates secure the same marks, the authorities will now only consider factors such as more number of correct responses, less number of negative responses, older candidates and higher aggregate marks (in percentage).
