New Delhi: The NEET UG 2026 Result has been officially announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA), bringing relief to lakhs of medical aspirants across the country. More than 11.21 lakh candidates have successfully qualified in the national medical entrance examination, with women making up over 58% of the successful candidates. This year's examination remained one of the most closely watched entrance tests in India after the original exam conducted on May 3 was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak. Nearly 20 lakh pupils took the new test on June 21, 2026, in thousands of testing locations throughout India and abroad.

Aryan Gupta and Panshul Bansal Secure All India Rank 1

Nearly 20 lakh pupils took the new test on June 21, 2026, in thousands of testing locations throughout India and abroad. Their outstanding performance placed them at the top of the national merit list in one of India's most competitive entrance examinations. The remarkable level of competitiveness this year was further highlighted by the agency's revelation that 19 candidates received scores of 700 or above. Meanwhile, 1,492 students secured 650 marks or higher, strengthening their chances of admission into leading government medical colleges across the country.

More Than 20 Lakh Students Appeared for the Re-Examination

The NEET UG 2026 Result follows the nationwide re-examination conducted on June 21 after the earlier test was cancelled due to allegations of a question paper leak. According to the NTA, approximately 20 lakh candidates appeared for the examination at 5,440 examination centres spread across 551 cities in India and 14 international locations. After questions about fairness and openness surfaced earlier this year, authorities made ensuring the re-examination went smoothly a top priority.

Women Lead the Qualified Candidates

One of the biggest highlights of this year's result is the remarkable performance of female candidates. More than 58% of the 11.21 lakh eligible students are female, indicating the growing number of female candidates and their success in medical school. The data also reveals that over 93% of candidates with scores above 690 took NEET for the first test, and the vast majority of the top scorers are between the ages of 17 and 19. This indicates that first-time candidates continued to dominate the top ranks in the examination.

Category-Wise Cut-Off for NEET UG 2026

The National Testing Agency has also released the qualifying cut-off marks for different categories. For candidates in the Unreserved (General) category, the qualifying score has been fixed between 715 and 213 marks, corresponding to the 50th percentile. Nearly 9.97 lakh candidates from this category qualified. For OBC, SC and ST categories, the qualifying range has been fixed between 212 and 177 marks, representing the 40th percentile.
The number of qualified candidates includes:

• OBC: 81,111
• Scheduled Castes (SC): 29,947
• Scheduled Tribes (ST): 12,452

Officials noted that the qualifying cut-off has increased across all major categories compared to previous expectations, reflecting stronger overall performance in the re-examination.

Top Rank Holders Represent Eight States

The highest-performing candidates came from multiple regions of the country, demonstrating the nationwide competitiveness of the examination.

The top 17 rank holders belong to:

• Punjab
• Haryana
• Rajasthan
• Uttar Pradesh
• Maharashtra
• Bihar
• Tamil Nadu
• Telangana

Among the southern states, Venkatapathi Velayudham of Tamil Nadu emerged as the state topper with an All India Rank of 12.

Veeriahgari Sahyu from Telangana followed closely with the 13th national rank.

In Karnataka, Vaishnavi Das secured the state's highest rank by finishing 20th nationally, while Namala Prerana became Andhra Pradesh's top performer with an All India Rank of 36.

Satwik Patnaik topped Odisha, whereas Neeraj B secured the highest rank in Kerala.

Uttar Pradesh Registers the Highest Number of Qualified Students

Among all states and Union Territories, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of successful candidates, with more than 1.7 lakh students qualifying in the examination.At the other end of the spectrum, Lakshadweep recorded 43 qualified candidates, reflecting participation from even the smallest regions of the country.

The category-wise distribution of qualified candidates is as follows:

• General Category – 2.91 lakh
• OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) – 5.12 lakh
• Scheduled Castes – 1.59 lakh
• Scheduled Tribes – 63,716
• Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) – 95,026

The NTA also reported that 3,666 Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) and 303 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) successfully qualified.

What Happens After the NEET UG 2026 Result?

With the declaration of the NEET UG 2026 Result, the admission process for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and several undergraduate medical programmes will now move to the counselling stage. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is expected to announce the counselling schedule soon for seats under the All India Quota, while individual states will release their own counselling notifications for state quota admissions. Candidates are advised to carefully verify their scorecards, prepare the required admission documents, and regularly check official counselling announcements to avoid missing important deadlines.

Scorecards Now Available Online

The NTA has made the NEET UG 2026 Result available online through its official portal. Candidates can log in using their application credentials to download their scorecards and check their qualifying status. The agency had released the final answer key earlier on the same day before announcing the results. As India's largest undergraduate medical entrance examination, NEET UG remains the single gateway for admission to MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BSMS, BUMS and several other undergraduate medical programmes offered by government and private institutions across the country. With counselling set to begin shortly, lakhs of successful candidates will now compete for seats in India's premier medical colleges, marking the next crucial step in their journey toward becoming healthcare professionals.