The Centre has turned down requests from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu governments to exempt students from appearing in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical admissions, according to the HRD Ministry. The information was shared by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' in response to a written question in the Lok Sabha. "Medical education comes under the purview of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which has informed that requests have been received from the state governments of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu to exempt students from appearing in NEET." "However, Section 10D of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 prescribes conducting of a uniform entrance examination, namely NEET for medical admissions. Since the provisions of the above Act apply across the country without exemption, no relaxation was given to the states," Nishank said.
