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Tamil Nadu, a state known for its staunch opposition to the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET), on Tuesday achieved its highest-ever tally in the top 50 positions of the exam, producing the country topper and also emerging as the state with the third-highest number of achievers, a stark contrast from five years ago when the state had no representation in the toppers league.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the NEET undergraduate results on Tuesday night, in which four of the top 10 ranks were secured by candidates from Tamil Nadu. Prabhanjan J, hailing from Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, jointly topped the exam with Bora Varun Chakravarthi from Andhra Pradesh with a perfect score of 720, while Kautav Bauri, a Dalit from the state, secured the third position.
Records show that in 2019 and 2021, the state did not have any representation among the top 50 ranks. However, last year, two candidates from Tamil Nadu made it to this elite league, and this year, with six candidates in the top ranks, it marks the state’s highest tally ever, trailing only behind Delhi with eight candidates and Rajasthan with seven.
NEET UG 2023 Toppers | AIR 1 | AIR 5 | AIR 8 | AIR 10 | Overall result
This is in line with the recent trend of more students from Tamil Nadu figuring in the top 95 percentile of candidates qualifying. Data obtained by The Indian Express from the NTA shows the total number of students who scored in the 95th percentile and above in Tamil Nadu has doubled from 2,307 students or 1.87per cent of total candidates appearing for the exam from the state to 3.48 per cent or 4,600 candidates in 2022. However, this is the first time, so many candidates from the state are also in the top 50.
Since 2017, Tamil Nadu has been actively striving to exempt itself from the NEET examination. Not allowing NEET was the electoral promise of the ruling DMK party. Chief Minister M K Stalin played a pivotal role in introducing a Bill in the Assembly last year, advocating for the exemption of Tamil Nadu students from NEET. The Bill received unanimous support but hasn’t received the President’s assent till date.
Following a Supreme Court ruling, NEET was made the gateway exam for all medical schools nationwide in 2017-18. Prior to NEET, Tamil Nadu relied primarily on board marks for admission to medical colleges.
Tamil Nadu’s political parties have voiced concerns over NEET, asserting that it exacerbates inequalities by placing rural students at a disadvantage due to the financial constraints they face in accessing coaching, as compared to their urban counterparts. A nine-member panel, tasked by the state government to evaluate the influence of NEET on medical admissions, discovered a decline in the proportion of rural students enrolled in Tamil Nadu’s medical colleges, from an average of 61.45% (pre-NEET 2016-17) to 50.81% (post-NEET 2020-21).
NEET UG 2023 Toppers | AIR 1 | AIR 4| AIR 5 | AIR 8 | AIR 7 |AIR 10 | AIR 11 | Overall result | Tie-breaker | Analysis
Overall, this year, a total of 11.44 lakh candidates qualified the exam, which is 1.52 lakh more than last year, despite the increase in cut-off marks across categories. The cut-off for unreserved category students in 2023 has increased from 715-117 last year to 720-137. Similarly, the cut-off for Sc, ST and OBC medical aspirants has also witnessed an increase from 116-93 to 136-107 this year.
State-wise, Uttar Pradesh with 1.4 lakh candidates has the higher number of qualifiers of the exam, followed by Maharashtra (1.3 lakh) and Rajasthan (1 lakh). NEET UG was held on May 7 and recorded an attendance of almost 98% of the 20.87 lakh candidates who registered for the entrance test.
