The Supreme Court has granted permission to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to reschedule the NEET-PG 2025 examination to 3 August, allowing it to be held in a single shift between 9 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.
The apex court’s direction follows concerns raised over “arbitrariness” and lack of parity in difficulty levels between question papers when the examination is conducted in multiple shifts.
Originally slated for 15 June, the examination—an essential qualifying test for postgraduate medical education in India—was re-evaluated after the Supreme Court, on 30 May, asked the board to ensure fairness and uniformity.
Responding to the Court’s directive, the NBEMS approached the bench through its counsel seeking a fresh date. The plea cited the logistical constraints involved in conducting a single-shift examination for more than 2.42 lakh candidates nationwide on the earlier date.
Also read: NBE seeks SC nod to conduct NEET PG exam on Aug 3
In its submission, the board stated that it had promptly reached out to its technology partner, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on 30 May to assess the feasibility of holding the test in a single session on 15 June.
TCS responded on the same day, indicating that the time available was inadequate to implement the necessary infrastructural adjustments to host the examination uniformly across the country.
Further communication on 2 June confirmed that holding the NEET-PG on 15 June in one shift was not operationally viable. Consequently, TCS proposed 3 August as the earliest possible alternative.
The revised timeline would, the board maintained, allow sufficient time to secure over 1,000 examination centres across approximately 250 cities, thereby accommodating over 2.70 lakh candidates—including a buffer—to ensure smooth conduct.
The Court agreed to the rescheduling, noting the importance of a standardised examination process for such a large number of aspirants.
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