Hemani Kandhari
July 16, 2026 : The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday declared the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026. The results were announced on time, allowing the medical admission and counselling process to begin as scheduled.
Nearly 20 lakh students appeared for the examination, which was held on June 21, 2026, at 5,440 centres in 551 cities across India and 14 cities abroad. Out of them, 11.21 lakh candidates qualified for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other allied medical courses.
The examination was conducted in 13 languages, making it accessible to students from different parts of the country.
According to the NTA, more than 58 per cent of the qualified candidates are women. Women also recorded a better qualification rate than men, with 56.8 per cent of female candidates qualifying compared to 55.1 per cent of male candidates.
The highest score of 715 out of 720 was jointly secured by Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana. A total of 19 candidates scored above 700 marks, while 138 candidates scored above 690 marks. More than 93 per cent of these top scorers appeared for NEET for the first time, and almost all of them are between 17 and 19 years of age.
Qualified candidates have come from all 36 States and Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of qualified candidates with more than 1.7 lakh, while Lakshadweep had 43 successful candidates. State toppers have also emerged from every North-Eastern state.
Among the category-wise qualified candidates, 5.12 lakh belong to OBC-NCL, followed by 2.91 lakh from the General category, 1.59 lakh from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, 95,026 from the General-EWS category, 63,716 from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, 3,666 Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) and 303 Persons with Disabilities (PwD).
The NTA said the result was declared within the planned timeline after improving the examination process. The provisional answer key was released on June 25, followed by the answer sheet display in July. The final answer key and results were both announced on July 16.
Candidates can download their scorecards and check category-wise cut-offs, topper lists and other details on the official NEET website. Counselling for the All India Quota will be conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), while State authorities will conduct counselling for State quota seats.
The NTA has also advised candidates to beware of fake calls, messages and websites promising admissions or score improvements. It has urged students to rely only on official websites for information related to counselling and admissions.
