The Central government recently launched the Institutes of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) for postgraduate medical students to seek admission to certain elite medical institutions like the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry (JIPMER) and nine others. The first entrance test is scheduled to take place in states across the country on Friday, November 20, 2020.
A notice released by JIPMER on its official website in October said: "It is expected that such a common exam would be convenient for the students as they would be able to apply for a large combination of seats in these institutions simultaneously at one place. It would also allow the preparation of a single common merit list, offering a student the best possible choice as per his/her merit. This would prevent loss of time, effort and money in applying and joining at multiple places and also prevent wastage of seats by students moving from one institution to another."
Here's all you need to know about the new INI-CET exam:
What is INI-CET?
INI-CET is a new common entrance test that has replaced all the postgraduate entrance tests of AIIMS, JIPMER, NIMHANS and others for admission into postgraduate courses such as MD, MS, DM (6 years), MCh (6 years) and MDS.
Which institutions fall under the purview of the INICET?
AIIMS New Delhi
AIIMS Bhopal Saket Nagar
AIIMS Bhubaneswar Sijua
AIIMS Jodhpur
AIIMS Nagpur
AIIMS Patna
AIIMS Raipur
AIIMS Rishikesh
JIPMER, Pondicherry
NIMHANS, Bengaluru
PGIMER, Chandigarh
When will INI-CET be conducted?
The INI-CET will be conducted twice a year typically in the month of May for admission to the July session in the same year and month of November for admission starting January in the succeeding year. INI-CET will be administered by AIIMS, New Delhi and it shall be the sole authority for the conduct of the examination, declaration of results and seat allocation.
When is the exam?
INI-CET 2021 will be conducted on November 20, in computer-based test (CBT) mode. Results are expected to be announced on November 27, one week from the current exam date.
Who can apply for INI-CET?
For appearing for the examinations a candidate must have MBBS or BDS or equivalent courses completed from any recognised institution across the country or outside. The candidates who belong to the general, OBC or general PWD group must score a minimum of 55 per cent in the aggregate marks. For the SC or ST or SC-PWD or ST-PWD categories, candidates must score a minimum of 50 per cent marks.
Who is opposing the conduct of INI-CET and why?
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin on Tuesday demanded scrapping of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for PG medical college admissions as the Centre allowed the conduct of INI-CET. Stalin urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this subject so that admissions to postgraduate medical courses could be made simpler.
A few netizens on Twitter posted asking if NEET-PG isn't standard enough for central institutes then how will it be standard enough for the state seats and why is there a distinction being made for 11 of those central institutions. Some even enquired if NEET will hold any value for admissions to these institutions after the INI-CET comes into being.
