JEE Main, NEET To Be Held Twice A Year

NEW DELHI:  JEE Main and NEET will be held twice a year. With the approval of National Testing Agency (NTA) the examinations will be conducted twice a year to give adequate time and opportunity to candidates. Ten months after it was proposed, the Union Cabinet approved the formation of National Testing Agency on November 10, 2017. On February 1, 2017 Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18 proposed the National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions.

After the approval, it was decided to grant Rs. 25 crore to the NTA to start its operation in first, thereafter it will be financially independent.

On March 12, 2018 Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh in his reply to a question in the Lok Sabha elaborated about the exam. ‘The NTA would initially conduct those entrance examinations which are currently being conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The examinations will be conducted in online mode twice a year,’ he said. ‘In order to serve the requirements of the rural students, NTA would locate the centres at sub-district/district level and as far as possible would provide hands-on training to the students,’ he further added.

On March 30, 2018 Senior Bureaucrat Vineet Joshi was appointed as the Director General of the NTA. The establishment of the NTA will benefit about 40 lakh students appearing in various entrance examinations.

As of now, the JEE Main and NEET exams are being conducted once a year within April-May.

As per reports, the exams are likely to be held in December this year. However no confirmation in this regard is available.