The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has conveyed to the Supreme Court that it will not be able to conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduates (NEET-PG) 2025 in a single shift before August 3. This submission comes in response to the Supreme Court’s directive to conduct the high-stakes examination in a unified session, moving away from the previous two-shift format to ensure fairness and transparency.
The NEET-PG 2025 examination was initially scheduled for June 15, but was postponed following the Supreme Court’s order on May 30. The apex court had deemed the dual-shift format “arbitrary,” reasoning that question papers across different shifts could never have an “identical level of difficulty or ease,” thereby creating an uneven playing field for candidates. The court had given NBEMS two weeks to identify and arrange the necessary infrastructure for a single-shift examination.
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, NBEMS, in consultation with its technology partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), detailed the immense logistical challenges involved in shifting to a single-session format. To accommodate the approximately 2.4 lakh candidates who appear for the examination, NBEMS will need to engage over 1,000 test centres across more than 250 cities. This is a significant increase from the 448 centres across 195 cities originally planned for the two-shift model.
Furthermore, the board highlighted the substantial human resource requirement, estimating that over 60,000 personnel will need to be deployed. This extensive workforce includes venue commanding officers, system operators, invigilators, security staff, lab and registration managers, and electricians, all of whom require training and coordination. The affidavit stressed that NEET-PG, being a highly critical examination, demands stringent security protocols to prevent malpractices, necessitating robust support from law enforcement agencies.
The NBEMS also informed the court that its technology partner, TCS, has identified August 3 as the earliest feasible date to conduct the examination in a single shift. This timeframe is crucial for arranging additional centres, installing and configuring over 2,000 local exam servers, and mobilizing and training the required manpower. The board emphasized that given the scale and sensitive nature of the examination, rushing these preparations could compromise the integrity and safety of the process.
The move to a single shift was largely welcomed by medical aspirants and organizations like the United Doctors Front, who had consistently raised concerns about the fairness of the normalisation process applied to compensate for varying difficulty levels across multiple shifts. They argued that even minor differences in paper difficulty could drastically impact a candidate’s rank in a highly competitive examination like NEET-PG.
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing NBEMS’s affidavit and is expected to make a final decision on the proposed August 3 date. In the interim, candidates have been advised to closely monitor the official NBEMS website for further announcements regarding the revised examination schedule, city intimation slips, and admit cards. The situation underscores the complex interplay between ensuring examination fairness and managing the intricate logistical demands of conducting nationwide high-stakes tests. Sources