NEET PG 2026 to be held in single shift with revised exam pattern and city choices

The Union Health Ministry has introduced several changes to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2026, including revised exam city preferences, a new question pattern, and enhanced biometric verification, ahead of the examination scheduled for Aug 30.

The reforms were announced after Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reviewed the examination preparations with the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which conducts the entrance test.

According to the ministry, NEET PG 2026 will be held in a single shift across more than 1,300 examination centers in nearly 340 cities nationwide.

In a key change, candidates will now be allowed to select up to three preferred test states along with their corresponding examination cities while submitting their applications, giving them greater flexibility in choosing exam locations.

To help candidates make travel arrangements in advance, the ministry said the test city intimation slip will be made available on the official website about three weeks before the examination.

The examination pattern has also been modified. The number of questions has been reduced from 200 to 180, while the overall duration will remain unchanged at three hours and 30 minutes, or 210 minutes. As a result, candidates will have more time to attempt each question.

The ministry has also strengthened identity verification measures by introducing Aadhaar-based authentication during the application process and on the day of the examination. If fingerprint verification fails at the test center, iris-based biometric authentication will be used as an alternative.

Data released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) showed that 273,183 candidates have registered for NEET PG 2026, marking an increase of more than 12.5% compared with the previous year.