NTA declares NEET UG 2026 re-exam results, Aryan Gupta and Panshul Bansal jointly secure AIR 1

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has declared the results of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, with 11.21 lakh candidates qualifying for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other undergraduate medical and allied health programs.

The results were announced on July 16, ensuring that the counseling and admission process remains on schedule.

Candidates who appeared for the examination can check their results and download their scorecards from the official website, neet.nta.nic.in.

Alongside the results, the agency has also released the NEET UG 2026 final answer key, category-wise toppers, state and Union Territory toppers, qualifying cut-offs, language-wise participation details, and score distribution.

The re-examination was conducted on June 21 after the earlier NEET UG 2026 exam was canceled.

Nearly 20 lakh candidates appeared for the test, which was held at 5,440 examination centers across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. The examination was conducted in 13 languages.

One of the key highlights of this year's results is the performance of women candidates, who accounted for more than 58% of the total qualified candidates.

According to NTA data, 56.8% of female candidates who appeared in the examination qualified, compared with 55.1% of male candidates, reflecting the continued strong participation and performance of women in India's largest undergraduate medical entrance examination.

The agency stated that 1,121,185 candidates qualified for NEET UG 2026 across various categories and will now be eligible to participate in the counseling process for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and allied medical courses.

Top performers dominated by first-time candidates

Competition remained intense at the top of the merit list this year. A total of 138 candidates scored 690 marks or above out of 720, while 19 candidates crossed the 700-mark threshold.

The highest score of 715 out of 720 was jointly secured by Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana, who shared All India Rank (AIR) 1.

According to the NTA, 17 state toppers scored 700 marks or above, while 26 state toppers secured more than 690 marks. The 138 candidates who scored 690 or above belong to 66 cities across the country.

The agency further noted that more than 93% of candidates scoring above 690 marks were appearing for NEET UG for the first time.

Nearly 99% of these top-performing candidates belonged to the 17 to 19-year age group, highlighting the dominance of first-time aspirants among the highest scorers.

The top 17 candidates, all of whom scored more than 705 marks, belong to eight states, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Check the table below for NEET UG 2026 Toppers List:

Apart from the top scorers, 1,492 candidates secured 650 marks or above, while 10,160 candidates scored at least 600 marks. A total of 90,780 candidates crossed the 500-mark milestone, indicating strong performance across the merit list.

Candidates from all 36 states and Union Territories qualified in this year's examination.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of qualified candidates, with more than 1.7 lakh candidates clearing the examination. Lakshadweep reported the fewest successful candidates, with 43 qualifying for undergraduate medical admissions.

The NTA also announced the list of state and Union Territory toppers. These include Jigmet Yangchan Lamo from Ladakh with 530 marks, Dhruv Tripathi from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with 606 marks, and Fahmida Anees from Lakshadweep with 573 marks.

Category-wise results and qualifying statistics released

The category-wise result data released by the agency shows that OBC-NCL candidates formed the largest group among the successful candidates.

According to the official statistics, 5.12 lakh OBC-NCL candidates qualified for NEET UG 2026, followed by 2.91 lakh candidates from the General category.

A total of 1.59 lakh Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates qualified, while 95,026 candidates belonged to the General Economically Weaker Section (Gen-EWS) category.

In addition, 63,716 Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, 3,666 Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) candidates, and 303 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) candidates qualified for admission.

The qualifying cut-offs varied across categories. For the General category, the qualifying range was 715 to 213 marks.

NTA has also published category-wise toppers, qualifying cut-offs, language-wise participation details, detailed score distribution, and state-wise merit information on its official website.

Candidates can access all these details along with their scorecards through the official NEET portal.

The agency has also advised candidates to rely solely on official websites for counseling-related information and remain cautious of fraudulent calls, messages, or admission claims made by unauthorized individuals.

Final answer key released after objection process

Along with the declaration of the results, the National Testing Agency also published the NEET UG 2026 final answer key on its official website.

The final answer key was prepared after examining all valid objections submitted during the challenge window. Earlier, the provisional answer key was released on June 25, following which candidates were allowed to raise objections until June 28.

The agency subsequently uploaded scanned OMR response sheets between July 13 and July 15, allowing candidates to verify their recorded responses before the publication of the final answer key.

Since the final answer key has been used for preparing the results, NTA clarified that no further objections or challenges will be accepted.

Candidates can download the NEET UG 2026 final answer key by following these steps:

• Visit the official website: neet.nta.nic.in.
• Click on the "NEET UG 2026 Final Answer Key" link available on the homepage.
• The final answer key PDF will open on the screen.
• Verify the official answers using the PDF.
• Download and save a copy for future reference during the admission and counseling process.

With the declaration of the results, the admission process will now move to counseling.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will conduct counseling for All India Quota (AIQ) seats in MBBS and BDS programs, while the respective state authorities will oversee counseling for state quota seats.

Qualified candidates can now download their scorecards and wait for the counseling schedule for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other undergraduate medical programs.

NTA has reiterated that candidates should rely only on official counseling portals for admission updates and avoid misleading information or fraudulent communication regarding medical admissions.