The January 2025 session of the Indian National Interest-cum-Eligibility Test (INICET Jan 2025) took place yesterday, November 10, 2024, to a variety of reactions on social media.
Candidates were split on the ease of the exam, with some claiming it to be easier than the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Exam for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) admissions, and some claiming it to be on par or even more difficult than NEET-PG.
The level of difficulty was not the only point of comparison made by the aspirants between INICET and NEET- PG — they even compared the exams on how smoothly they are conducted.
One user, Dr Bhavesh Varandani took to X to point out how the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has been more successful in conducting two exams every year for the past 1.5 years than the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has been in conducting NEET PG once a year.
To recall, INICET is conducted by AIIMS as a gateway for admissions to postgraduate medical courses in prestigious institutions like AIIMS, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) biannually — one session in January and one in July.
Speaking to EdexLive, Dr Bhavesh says, “Every year, AIIMS conducts two sessions of INICET, counselling and admissions at the announced dates. They are very particular to not disrupt the admissions cycle.”
However, few experts argue that it is futile to compare the functioning of AIIMS and NBE in conducting their respective exams.
“What one needs to understand is that INICET is of a different level when compared to NEET-PG. INICET functions as an entrance exam specifically for the top medical colleges in India, so its standards are different,” says Gaurav Tyagi, NEET counsellor and Founder of Career Xpert.
He further adds that NEET-PG, which acts as an entrance exam for all other medical colleges in India, does not follow the same standards.
Tyagi also says that the number of applicants for NEET-PG is higher than those for INICET, and that alone makes the management of the former more complicated.
However, Dr Bhavesh counters this by saying that ensuring the exam goes smoothly and the calendar is not disrupted is a matter of competence, not the number of aspirants.
“A competent organisation is supposed to ensure that the exam, counselling, and admissions happen on time irrespective of how many candidates apply for the exam. We see that the NEET-PG’s counselling has already been delayed this year, and the exam, which was supposed to be held in June got pushed to August,” he says.
