NEET UG 2023: OCI Candidates Eligible to Take Medical Course Admission in India

NTA has revised the NEET UG 2023 information bulletin as per the judgment passed by the Supreme Court of India dated March 3. According to the amendment, OCI category candidates will now be eligible to apply for the medical courses reserved for Indian citizens.

NEET UG 2023 applicants belonging to the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) category will now be eligible for admission to the Undergraduate Medical/Dental/Ayurveda/ Unani/Siddha/ Homeopathy Courses in India. As per the latest notification released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the NEET UG 2023 information bulletin has been revised based on the judgement by the Supreme Court of India dated February 3. Earlier, OCI candidates were considered at par with the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) candidates and were not eligible to take admission to seats reserved exclusively for Indian citizens.

The original information had stated, “Hence, OCI/PIO will be treated as foreigners and be eligible for NRI seats only and will not be eligible for Indian National Seats including paid seats of deemed universities.” This criterion created a furore among the OCI candidates and their parents and was challenged at the court.

Based on the judgement and the revised NEET UG 2023 information bulletin, OCI candidates will be eligible to apply for the undergraduate medical courses reserved for Indian citizens. However, there is a caveat, which states that the OCI candidates will be eligible for admission to undergraduate medical and allied courses subject to the rules/regulations/notifications issued from time to time by the respective regulatory bodies/Counselling Authorities/Admission Authorities in conformity with the Policy Decision of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and/or Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

NEET UG 2023 Application Process Underway

Meanwhile, the NEET UG 2023 application process is underway and the last date to submit the application forms is April 6, 11.50 PM. Based on the past years' trends, it is likely that the application deadline may be extended by a few days. The application correction window will be activated after that. The exam is scheduled to be conducted on May 7, from 2 PM to 5.20 PM in over 400 cities across India and abroad.

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