NBEMS Prepares NEET PG Answer Key Release As Supreme Court Dismisses Re-Exam Plea

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is preparing to release the answer keys and candidate response sheets for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate examination. According to the official schedule, final results are slated for announcement by September 30, with preliminary answer materials expected via the official portal at natboard.edu.in or nbe.edu.in.

The upcoming release follows a nationwide testing cycle that saw 2,65,980 candidates appear out of 2,73,096 registered applicants across 1,111 centres in 339 cities. The board successfully completed the primary test session for approximately 2,63,535 candidates on August 30. A supplementary retest was subsequently administered on September 5 for 2,445 candidates affected by technical disruptions at the iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura facility in Jaipur.

The Supreme Court on September 3 dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking a complete re-conduct of the postgraduate medical entrance examination. A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe rejected the plea, which alleged violations of a prior May 2025 judicial mandate requiring the examination to be conducted in a single shift.

During the proceedings, the bench imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner and indicated it would request the Bar Council of India to initiate disciplinary action against the petitioner's advocate over misuse of judicial processes. Court records show the counsel acknowledged that the petitioners themselves did not intend to sit for the examination. The petition had highlighted technical failures affecting approximately 2,500 candidates in Jaipur, an issue that the testing board addressed by arranging the September 5 re-examination.

Administrative authorities deployed extensive security and surveillance measures across all testing venues for the 2026 examination cycle. Live closed-circuit television monitoring was established across examination centres, feeding directly into a dedicated command centre at the NBEMS headquarters in Dwarka. Operations were supported by a joint team of 190 personnel drawn from the board and Tata Consultancy Services.

To safeguard examination integrity, authorities utilized Aadhaar-based candidate authentication at all venues. The board also deployed 2,527 independent faculty members as appraisers alongside more than 700 senior academic leaders, including deans, directors, and medical superintendents, serving as flying squad members. In a related administrative clarification, the board acknowledged an inadvertent error in email notifications sent to August 30 examinees where the examination date was misstated as September 5, confirming that the accompanying Aadhaar authentication timestamps remained correct.

Following the release of answer keys and response sheets, candidates will have an opportunity to file objections through an online window by submitting supporting documentation and prescribed fees. The board will then publish the final merit list alongside individual scorecards indicating national merit positions.

Qualifying thresholds for participating in subsequent postgraduate counselling are set at the 50th percentile for General and EWS categories, the 45th percentile for UR PwBD candidates, and the 40th percentile for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. The entrance scores govern admissions for 50 percent All India Quota seats, state quota slots across all states and union territories, private medical colleges, deemed universities, Armed Forces Medical Services institutions, and post-MBBS Diplomate of National Board courses.