NEW DELHI: The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to reschedule the NEET PG 2025 exam to August 3, citing logistical challenges in conducting the exam earlier.
Originally, the exam was set for June 15, but the Supreme Court had, on June 2, ordered that it must be held in a single shift, rather than two. Following the order, the NBE postponed the exam and has now submitted that holding the test before August 3 is not possible due to operational constraints.
Sources in the Supreme Court registry said the matter is likely to be heard within the next couple of days. “This is a sensitive issue involving students’ futures. The hearing will be scheduled soon,” an official said.
In its application, the NBE explained that TCS, its technology partner for conducting the exam, has said the earliest possible date to organise the exam in a single shift is August 3. TCS cited the need for additional exam centres across more cities, supply chain arrangements for technical hardware, and deployment of trained staff as reasons for the delay.
"Each test centre needs to have trained technical staff, invigilators, administrative workers, and independent observers. Training and deploying such manpower at hundreds of new locations in just two weeks is not possible, especially during ongoing national and academic activities," the NBE said.
The board also highlighted that safety checks like mock drills, load tests, and system audits must be completed in advance to ensure there are no technical failures on exam day. These cannot be completed without adequate preparation time.
NBE further stated that more than 1,000 test centres need to be booked to accommodate over 2.42 lakh candidates (with buffer), and infrastructure for at least 2.70 lakh candidates must be arranged across the country.
Additionally, the board said some of the earlier exam-related steps would now have to be redone due to the shift from a two-shift to a single-shift format.
The Supreme Court is expected to consider the matter shortly and decide on the new schedule.