17 July,2026 01:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Punjab`s Aryan Gupta secured All India Rank (AIR) 1 with a near-perfect percentile of 99.9999. Pic/ X
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the detailed results and performance analysis of NEET UG 2026, revealing one of the most competitive editions of the medical entrance examination in recent years. With cut-offs rising sharply and top ranks separated by minute percentile differences, the exam witnessed intense competition among nearly 20 lakh aspirants.
Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana have jointly secured All India Rank (AIR) 1 and 2 by scoring 715 out of 720 marks.
Uplakshya Goyal from Rajasthan secured AIR 3 with a percentile of 99.99985.
Bihar emerged as one of the strongest-performing states, with Ayush Bhalotia (AIR 4) and Riya Ranjan (AIR 6) both achieving a percentile of 99.99965.
Maharashtra's Kudale Shravani Krishna secured AIR 5, also with a percentile of 99.99965, while Aryan Dubey of Uttar Pradesh clinched AIR 7.
The results highlighted strong performances from candidates across the country.
In Delhi, Kashvi Dhall emerged as the top performer, securing AIR 24. Gujarat witnessed a three-way tie among Taha Samun Bhatia (AIR 25), Patel Shaurya Bhavesh (AIR 26) and Akshit Kumar Gaur (AIR 30), all with percentiles of 99.9979.
Among southern states, Vaishnavi Das led Karnataka with AIR 20, while Namala Prerana topped Andhra Pradesh with AIR 36. Sabyasachi Laskar emerged as West Bengal's highest-ranked candidate at AIR 35.
NEET UG registrations, which peaked at 24.06 lakh in 2024, remained strong in 2026 at 22.79 lakh candidates.
However, attendance dropped significantly. Of the 22.79 lakh registered candidates, only 19.99 lakh appeared for the examination, resulting in a record absentee count of nearly 2.8 lakh candidates.
Female candidates continued to outnumber male candidates in NEET UG 2026.
According to NTA data, 13.32 lakh women registered for the examination compared to 9.46 lakh men. Women also accounted for the majority of successful candidates, with 6.54 lakh qualifiers, compared to 4.67 lakh male qualifiers.
English continued to be the most preferred medium of examination, chosen by 18.08 lakh candidates.
Hindi remained the second most popular language, with 3.45 lakh candidates opting for it. Among regional languages, Gujarati, Bengali and Tamil recorded the highest participation.
The NTA data showed a significant increase in qualifying marks across categories compared to previous years.
For the Unreserved (UR) and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) categories, the qualifying score range rose to 715-213 marks, compared to 686-144 marks in 2025.
For OBC, SC and ST candidates, the qualifying range increased to 212-177 marks, up from 143-113 marks in 2025, indicating a much tougher competition level.
A total of 11,21,185 candidates qualified NEET UG 2026.
Among them:
General category: 2.91 lakh
OBC-NCL: 5.12 lakh
SC: 1.59 lakh
ST: 63,716
Gen-EWS: 95,026
PwBD: 3,666
PwD: 303
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of qualifiers, with 1,70,770 candidates clearing the examination.
Other major contributors included:
Rajasthan: 1,33,140 qualifiers
Maharashtra: 1,07,304 qualifiers
Bihar: 68,968 qualifiers
Karnataka: 65,901 qualifiers
Tamil Nadu: 61,306 qualifiers
West Bengal: 52,746 qualifiers
At the other end of the spectrum, Lakshadweep recorded 43 qualifiers, while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 369 successful candidates.
Among reserved category candidates, 81,111 OBC candidates, 29,947 SC candidates, and 12,452 ST candidates qualified within the prescribed percentile range.
The NTA said the figures reflect the growing competitiveness of the examination while maintaining representation across categories and regions.
With counselling for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and allied medical courses expected to begin soon, the focus now shifts to seat allocation and admission processes across the country.
