The NEET (UG) – 2024 was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 5:20 PM (IST) at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, for over 24 lakh candidates. In response to recent queries from candidates, the clarifications are provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA) via press release.
The cut-off scores are determined annually based on candidates’ overall performance. This year, the higher cut-off reflects the increased competitiveness and higher performance standards, the release mentioned.
Several candidates filed Writ Petitions before the High Courts of Punjab & Haryana, Delhi, and Chhattisgarh, citing loss of exam time at certain centers on May 5, 2024. These petitions and representations required careful review. Consequently, a Grievance Redressal Committee, consisting of experts from examination and academia, was established to address these concerns.
The committee reviewed grievances using factual reports and CCTV footage from the affected centers. The loss of examination time was verified, and candidates were compensated with marks based on their answering efficiency and time lost, following the mechanism/formula established by the Supreme Court in its judgment dated June 13, 2018, in W.P. 551 of 2018. A total of 1,563 candidates were compensated, with revised marks ranging from -20 to 720. Notably, two candidates received compensatory scores of 718 and 719. The examination’s integrity at these centers was confirmed.
The number of candidates increased from 20,38,596 in 2023 to 23,33,297 in 2024, leading to more high scorers. NTA received 13,373 challenges to the provisional answer key for one Physics question. Due to differences in NCERT textbook editions, two options were accepted as correct. Out of 67 candidates who scored 720/720, 44 benefited from the revised answer key, and 6 from compensatory marks for lost time. The toppers are from across the country, as noted in the Press Release dated June 4, 2024.
NTA declared the results on June 4, 2024, following the necessary result processing checks after the Answer Key challenge period, managing to do so within 30 days for about 23 lakh candidates. This reflects NTA’s established transparency procedures, including advance city intimation, admit cards, examination advisories, display of scanned OMRs and responses, objections to provisional answer keys, final answer keys publication, and sending scanned OMR answer sheets and scorecards via email. Relevant statistics are regularly shared with candidates and the public through briefings and press releases.
Actions taken in Unfair Means (UFM) cases adhere to existing rules, including the cancellation of candidature and debarment from future NTA examinations. Cases against impersonators have been registered, with NTA supporting state police investigations. NTA has denied any paper leaks, as stated in a detailed Press Release on May 6, 2024, and maintains that the examination’s integrity was not compromised.