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Eight central universities, two state universities, and two private universities, largely concentrated in four north Indian states, account for nearly half the applications received for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), which is being held in two phases across July and August.
At 6.63 lakh, centrally-run Delhi University has the highest number of applications, followed by Banaras Hindu University (4.34 lakh) and University of Allahabad (2.62 lakh).
Official data available with the National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, shows that 90 universities, which are using CUET scores for admissions this year, have received 58.5 lakh. Of the 58.5 lakh applications, 26.4 lakh have been received by just 13 universities. All of the 13 universities, barring one (Rajiv Gandhi University), are located in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Private universities to have received over one lakh applications are: Jaipur-based Apex University (101103), Galgotias University (123534) and IIMT University (168439) – both located in Uttar Pradesh.
The other central universities that have received a good response, with over 1 lakh applications each, include Lucknow’s Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (1.8 lakh), Central University, Haryana (1.09 lakh), Uttarakhand’s Hemvati Nandan Bahugana Garhwal University (1.11 lakh), Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia (1.44 lakh), and Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh (1.40 lakh).
Lucknow’s Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University and Dr BR Ambedkar University in Delhi — with 1.17 lakh and 1.54 lakh applications, respectively — are the two state universities in this category.
Overall, 9.9 lakh candidates registered for the entrance being conducted by the NTA, the scores of which will be used by 90 universities across India.
As many as 44 central universities, two state government-run universities, 21 private and 13 deemed universities have adopted the common entrance.
“While 9.9 lakh unique candidates have registered for the test, when the subject combinations chosen by them are taken into consideration, the number goes up to 14 lakh, as every unique candidate will appear in multiple papers. Each candidate can take up to nine papers,” a senior NTA official said.
The candidates have chosen around 54,555 unique combinations of subjects. “In total, they have made 58.5 lakh applications by paying a common exam fee. This is the single window benefit that the entrance provides. Otherwise, candidates would have to make separate applications for every university and pay separate sets of application fees,” the official added.
