Will there be NEET PG or NExT in 2025?

The National Exit Test or NExT exam for MBBS admission is anticipated to be conducted by AIIMS Delhi, in the year 2025, tentatively scheduled in the month of August. According to the official data released by the concerned authorities, the NExT entrance test is dedicated to replace all the major national-level medical entrance exams such as NEET PG and FMGE, for postgraduate medical course admissions in India. While there have been no official statements released yet on the confirmation of the NExT exam in 2025, rumour has it that the NExT exam is likely to be held in two parts: Part 1 in August 2025; and Part 2 in February 2026. Previously, the news was circulated that the NExT exam is set to be conducted in February 2028 for the final year MBBS students of the batch 2024. However, no conclusion can be drawn from this statement without any official approval from the exam conducting body and concerned authorities to confirm or deny. The NExT Exam for MBBS was previously scheduled to be conducted this year on July 28, 2024, which was cancelled thereafter, and postponed indefinitely. 

On the contrary, the chances of the NEET PG 2025 Entrance Exam being cancelled are relatively slim due to its large participation of candidates every year for postgraduate medical course admissions. With the future of the NExT entrance exam in doubt, the NEET PG Entrance Test is expected to continue to thrive in India up until any official notification of cancellation is announced. The NEET PG 2025 Entrance Test is anticipated to be conducted in the month of June 2025, for admission to postgraduate medical courses such as MD, MS, PG Diploma, etc. The NEET PG 2024 Exam was conducted on the revised date of August 11, 2024, and the results for the same were announced on August 23, 2024. Therefore, for candidates wondering “Will there be NEET PG or NExT in 2025”, it is safe to state that the chances of NBE conducting the NEET PG Entrance Exam are undoubtedly higher than AIIMS Delhi announcing the NExT Exam. To dive deeper into the intricacies of this debate, follow this article through and through, to get an understanding of both the entrance exams and their details. 

AlsoRead: NEET PG 2025 Time Table

NEET PG vs NExT Exam Highlights 

To derive an analysis of whether the NEET PG or the NExT exam will be conducted in the following year, it is important to firstly understand the detailed exam structure of both and scrutinize accordingly. The detailed highlights of both the exam have been mentioned below in the comparison table for all candidates to refer to, and draw their conclusions from:

NEET PG vs NExT Exam Pattern

On July 13, 2023, the NExT entrance exam was deferred for the 2019 batch of MBBS students, and was announced that the same would be conducted in future for both the batches of 2019 and 2020 MBBS graduates combined. The National Medical Commission (NMC) released an official notification on December 28, 2022, announcing the detailed eligibility criteria, exam pattern and marking scheme of the NExT exam. The final brochure releasing the application dates and other information is expected to be published in November 2024. On the other hand, the NBE officially releases the information brochure for NEET PG Entrance Exam every year, prior to the commencement of the registration process. A detailed and informative comparison of the exam pattern of NEET PG and NExT exam has been mentioned in the table below:

NEET PG and NExT Exam Marking Scheme

The NEET PG vs NExT Exam Marking Scheme are as follows:

AlsoRead: NEET PG 2025 Syllabus

NEET PG vs NExT Exam Eligibility Criteria 

The eligibility criteria for NEET PG and NExT Exam are somewhat similar in a lot of aspects. The National Medical Commission (NMC) organized a webinar on June 27, 2024, providing clarity on many aspects related to the NExT exam, including the eligibility criteria. Refer to this table below to find out the detailed NEET PG vs NExT Exam Eligibility Criteria: 

NEET PG vs NExT Exam Application 

The National Exit Test or NExT exam will be conducted in two stages: Step 1 is theory-based and will be conducted based on 6 six subjects covering the final year syllabus of MBBS course; Only candidates who qualify the Step 1 will be eligible to further participate in the Step 2 of the NExT exam which is practical based and covers 7 subjects, and a viva. In comparison, the NEET PG Entrance Exam conducts a single registration process every year, comprising stages of application form fill, for candidates to appear in the entrance exam. Follow the table given below to find out the detailed application process for NEET PG vs NExT Exam:

NEET PG vs NExT Exam Mock Test

To begin with, both the exam conducting bodies of NEET PG and NExT Exam conduct a mock test of the respective exams open to all appearing candidates to test their exam preparations. The NBE conducts the NEET PG Mock Test around a month before the actual entrance test and allows candidates to analyze their performance by solving sample test questions for the exam. However, NExT Mock Test was scheduled to be conducted in the month of July 2024, which was later cancelled by the NMC. The last date to submit the NExT mock test application form was July 10, 2024, and the deadline to generate the Exam Unique Code (EUC) for the application process was July 14, 2024. 

To conclude, both the NEET PG and NExT entrance exams have a list of unique factors guiding candidates who wish to pursue a postgraduate medical degree in India. With the NExT exam determined to replace National-level Postgraduate Entrance Exams such as NEET PG and FMGE to be the sole admission qualification gateway in India, it is no doubt that the scope of this exam is likely to be huge in comparison to other entrances. However, whether there will be NEET PG or NExT in 2025 is still not confirmed as no official statements are out yet. The chances of NBE conducting the NEET PG exam in 2025 are higher than the NExT exam by AIIMS Delhi.