NEET-UG Row: Merit List Revised, Number of Toppers to Drop From 61 to 17

The number of toppers in the NEET-UG exam is set to drop from 61 to 17 following a revision of the merit list by the National Testing Agency (NTA), expected on Friday. This revision is based on IIT-Delhi’s recommendation, which identified that only one of the options for a physics question was correct, contrary to claims by several students who believed two options could be valid according to different NCERT books.

The correction means that those who selected the now-deemed incorrect option lost five marks (four for the wrong answer and one for negative marking). This adjustment affects around 4.2 lakh candidates, including 44 students who initially had perfect scores of 720 but selected the incorrect answer.

The revised rankings will significantly impact students, particularly those ranked between 50,000 and 1 lakh. Approximately 16,000 candidates who were previously likely to secure medical college seats may now miss out. Although the 44 students who will no longer be toppers will still be ranked between 33,000 and 50,000, the change could affect their chances of securing seats in government medical colleges.