Among state exam boards, highest number of NEET-UG applicants from Maharashtra

Maharashtra received the most applications from state boards in the last five years for the medical test NEET-UG. In terms of applicants, the Karnataka state board is in second place, followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA). 

This year, more than 20.38 lakh candidates had appeared for NEET. It was 14.10 lakh in 2019. The highest number of candidates appearing for the biggest entrance exam in the country from 2019-2023 were from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), according to data accessed by PTI. This year, more than 5.51 lakh applicants were from the board that conducts Class 12 exams at the national level.

However, among state boards, Maharashtra tops the chart in terms of applications for NEET-UG or the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Under-Graduate). This year, more than 2.57 lakh candidates from the Maharashtra state board applied for the exam. Last year, more than 2.31 lakh candidates had applied for NEET-UG, according to the NTA data.

From the Karnataka state board, more than 1.22 lakh candidates applied for NEET-UG this year while last year, the number was 1.14 lakh. In the third spot was the Tamil Nadu state board with more than 1.13 lakh students applying for the medical test this year. From the Uttar Pradesh state board, more than 1.11 lakh candidates applied for NEET-UG, the data showed.

The lowest number of applicants were from the Tripura state board (1,683), the Mizoram state board (1,844) and the Meghalaya state board (2,300), the data showed. Other state boards with less than 5,000 NEET-UG applicants are — Nagaland (2,422), Goa (3,834) and Uttarakhand (4,423).