Medical Entrance Examinations in India

                                                         Every higher secondary student in India wishes to go for professional course and among science group students, Medicine is the most sought after one. As per the government records, there is an allopathic doctor for every 2000 people. This is much less than the WHO requirements of one doctor for every thousand people. So the government is taking every possible step to meet the shortage of doctors and prevent brain drain. This creates a high demand for doctors in the country, both in the public sector and private sector. There are 345 medical colleges in India, including the private, government and co-operative sector. The government recently increased the number of MBBS seats from 35,000 to 45,000. But still, there is a great competition among the students to grab one seat from the 45,000. As per the Medical Council of India (MCI) regulations, every student will have to pass an entrance examination with at least 50% marks to be eligible for MBBS. SEBC candidates are given relaxations in the 50% limit.
A broad look at the competitive examinations gives an idea to split up the available seats into three broad categories:
1. Seats filled through the All India Pre-Medical pre-dental Examination:
From the recognized medical colleges, 15% of all seats will be filled based on the result of a common examination called AIPMT conducted by the CBSE. It is held in two stages: the prelims and the finals.
The prelims: It will have a total of 200 questions. (50 each from physics, chemistry, botany and zoology) Each question carries four marks. The time of the examinations is three hours. A definite cutoff mark will be set for each category and students with marks above the cutoff marks will be selected for the final examination. The cutoff is usually 400 marks for the general category and 320 marks for the SEBC category.
The finals: It will have a total of 120 questions and the time for the examination is three hours.
A rank list will be put up based on the performance of the finals only. Through an online allotment procedure, students are allotted seats in the medical colleges considering the rank list and eligible reservations.
For more details, visit: www.aipmt.nic.in (official website of AIPMT)
www.mohfw.nic.in (official website of the ministry of health and family welfare) www.mcc.nic.in (official website of the medical counseling committee)
2. Seats filled through examinations of the states:
The remaining seats of the government medical colleges are filled by the state government based on the results of a common entrance examination conducted by the state government. For example, the government of Kerala conducts an examination called KEAM for admission to different medical colleges in Kerala state.
3. Seats filled through independent examinations:
Most of the well reputed institutions select their students by their own examinations. All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) are some of them. These are some of the best medical colleges in the country as ranked by Outlook Magazine and they are the most sought after among medical colleges.

                             For most of the examinations, the syllabus is almost the same. Most of the questions come from the Text book developed by the National Council of Education Research and Training. A thorough knowledge of the text book is essential for any of the above examinations. There may be questions from outside the text book as in the cases of AIIMS and JIPMER. These questions are meant to test the interest of the student in the subject and the vastness of his reading. Study materials such as Objective Physics, Objective Biology, and Objective Chemistry from different publishers helps to tackle these questions with ease.
                          MCI is planning to launch a single examination in the place of the above three. But a final decision is awaited. If a single examination called NEET (National Entrance Eligibility Test) is implemented, it will be a boon for the students as it saves them a lot of time and money.