Starting 2020, there would be just one entrance test to get admission into all medical colleges in the country including All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in various parts of the country as well as Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry (JIPMER).

At present, admissions to medical colleges in the country, except AIIMS and JIPMER are carried out through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The two premier set of institutions-AIIMS and JIPMER directly under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare-however were allowed to carry out their separate entrance tests. These two admission tests were regarded as tougher than NEET, conducted by the National Testing Agency.

As the National Medical Commission-the new medical education regulator to replace the Medical Council of India-has now started taking shape after the NMC Act was promulgated recently, the Union health ministry has decided to scrap the other two entrance tests. "NEET score will be valid for admission into all medical colleges in India starting next academic session," said a senior official in the medical education section of the ministry.

There are about 15 AIIMS in the country now which offer undergraduate course-14 of them developed on the line of AIIMS, New Delhi which is regarded as the best medical college in India. In all, there are about 1,500 MBBS seats at AIIMS as of now but the government is hoping to get academic activities started at least three more by 2020.

"As there are nearly 85,000 MBBS seats available for admission through NEET now, we are hoping to take this number by past 90,000 next year when NMC comes into function," another official said. Officials also said that with just one entrance test for all medical colleges, it will be easy to rank the institutions-particularly second generation AIIMS in various cities-based on student perception and choice of college.

NEET 2020: From next academic year onwards, JIPMER MBBS entrance test willcease to exist 

This year, the online application process for NEET will begin on December 2, 2019 and conclude on December 31, 2019. The National Testing Agency or NTA, the government examination conducting body came to form in 2017, will be conducting the NEET test.

The downloading of admit cards for NEET 2020 will begin on March 27, 2020. The NEET exam is scheduled on May 3, 2020. The result for NEET UG will be released on June 4 next year.

The National Medical Commission Act, 2019 provides for common national entrance test - NEET - along with common counseling for MBBS, and a common final year MBBS exam which will be applicable to all institutes including those of national importance like AIIMS.

According to the NMC Act, the NEXT results would be the base for admission to PG courses and to obtain license to practice. It would also act as a screening test for foreign medical graduates.