The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) has seen a surge in applications for the ninth year in a row, with a record 24 lakh registrations for the 2024-25 academic year for admissions to medical/dental and allied health programmes. This marks an increase of 3 lakh registrations from the 2023-24 count, recording the highest jump in the past seven years.
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Key takeaways:
- NEET-UG registrations have been steadily increasing over the past eight years, with a total increase of 12.4 lakh candidates.
- The addition of over 6,000 seats in government colleges for the 2024-25 academic year has made competition slightly easier, with a seat-to-candidate ratio of 42.2, one of the lowest in the past eight years.
- This year also saw the highest-ever female participation in the entrance test, with 57.2% of registrations being female.
Year-wise NEET-UG registration trends:
- 2016: 8.02 lakh registrations
- 2017: 11.38 lakh registrations (first time crossing 10 lakh mark)
- 2018: 11.26 lakh registrations
- 2019: 15.19 lakh registrations
- 2020: 15.97 lakh registrations
- 2021: 16.14 lakh registrations
- 2022: 18.72 lakh registrations
- 2023: 20.87 lakh registrations
- 2024: 24 lakh registrations
Increase in seats in government colleges:
The number of seats in government colleges has also seen a rise in recent years. In 2024, there are 56,385 seats across 706 colleges, up from 48,212 in 2023 and 43,435 in 2022. This marks the biggest increase in seats in the last 15 years.
States with the most NEET-UG registrations in 2024:
- Uttar Pradesh: 3.39 lakh registrations
- Maharashtra: 2.79 lakh registrations
- Rajasthan: 1.96 lakh registrations
- Tamil Nadu: 1.55 lakh registrations
- Karnataka: 1.54 lakh registrations
- Kerala: 1.44 lakh registrations
- Bihar: 1.39 lakh registrations
- Madhya Pradesh: 1.33 lakh registrations
- West Bengal: 1.20 lakh registrations
Source: Times Nation