NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Wednesday asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) that there should not be any fixed upper age limit for appearing in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET)-Undergraduate (UG) exam.
The letter written by NMC secretary, Dr. Pulkesh Kumar, read, ”I would like to inform you that it has been decided in the 4th NMC meeting held on October 21, 2021, that there should not be any fixed upper age limit for appearing in the NEET-UG examination."
Written to Dr Devvrat, office of the senior director, NTA, which conducts entrance examinations for higher educational institutions in the country, “Therefore, the information bulletin may be modified accordingly. Further, the process for official notification to suitably amend the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 to this effect has been initiated.”
This is issued with the approval of the Chairperson, NMC, the letter added.
“I am directed to refer to your email dated March 3, 2022 seeking comments on the draft information bulletin of National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test for admission to Undergraduate Course (NEET-UG)-2022,” it said.
Dr Rakesh Bagdi, former president of, Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), welcomed the move and said it is a “big relief” for aspiring doctors.
However, Dr. Rohan Krishnan, national president of FIMA, said the government by removing the upper age limit to appear in MBBS courses for aspiring doctors is making “a desperate attempt to show that they are going to do something to increase the number of doctors” in the country.
But this won’t make any difference until and unless there is an increase in the number of medical seats in the country, he added.
“By removing the age bar criteria we are actually making the exam more competitive,” he told The New Indian Express.
The age bar for general category is at the moment 25 years, and a five-year relaxation is given to SC/ST and OBC students.
“If you remove the criteria, then it means after finishing the five-and-a-half-years course, a doctor will then do a PG. It will take at least 10-12 years for a doctor to become a senior resident. However, the bar to become a senior resident is 38 years. It will then mean that the age bar for other courses will have to be removed. It would have been better had the government increased the number of medical seats,” Krishnan said.
Every year, over 15-16 lakh students appear for the highly competitive NEET-UG exam.