The process for admission to undergraduate dental and medical courses across the country is likely to get more challenging.

Special Correspondent

According to the statistics revealed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the number of total registrations for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) this year stands at 1.33 million (13.36 lakh), up from 1.15 million (11.5 lakh) who had applied in 2017.

There has been an increase of almost 200,000 in a year. With a limited number of seats available for aspiring students, the competition keeps getting tougher, reported the Hindustan Times.

Around the nation, there are 60,000 seats available at MBBS and BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) institutes for medical and dental programmes.

According to the experts, this phenomenal surge in the number of registrations can be attributed to a number of reasons, including more and more people opting for NEET scores or national-level examinations instead of state-conducted Common Entrance Tests (CETs) for health science courses.

Also, the number of scholarships and policies provided by the central and state governments have helped a higher number of scholars in clearing secondary and higher secondary education across the country.

NEET is a medical entrance test conducted at the national level under the supervision of the CBSE Board.

On April 18, The CBSE board released the admit cards or hall tickets on its official website after a delay from the original schedule of release. The hall tickets are available on the official website http://cbse.nic.in/ The applicants are required to download the admit cards from the official website and follow the given instructions there.

When a candidate downloads the CBSE NEET exam admit card, a copy of the same in the PDF format is emailed to the candidate on his or her email ID registered at the time of filling the NEET 2018 form.

The NEET admit card comprises a candidate's name, roll number, father's name, category, photograph, signature, date of birth, and the language of question paper, along with the name and address of the examination centre.

The students who want to pursue MBBS or BDS courses at medical colleges in India take the NEET test. CBSE will conduct the NEET exam for admission to MBBS/BDS courses for the year 2018-19 on Sunday (May 6, 2018) from 10 am to 1 pm.

After downloading NEET UG admit card, students are required to affix a passport size photograph on it and fill the document mentioned in NEET 2018 admit card.

On finding any discrepancy in the admit card, the student should report it immediately to CBSE as the information printed on the card will be verified at the time of admission.

If the information is found incorrect, the applicant's admit card may be cancelled.

Also, the CBSE has implemented a dress code in order to ensure the fair and impartial conduct of the NEET examination.

All candidates appearing for the exam must wear light clothes with half sleeves, without big buttons, brooch/ badge, flower, among other such things, along with salwar or trouser.

Candidates have to wear slippers, sandals with low heels, and not shoes. Girls should not wear any closed-toed footwear.

Candidates who would be wearing customary clothes like a burqa are required to report at the centre at least an hour earlier before the reporting time so that they can be frisked properly.

Under the new rules, the CBSE has not only implemented guidelines for the dress code but also issued strict instructions which prohibit students from carrying certain things inside the examination hall.

Items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap, watch/wristwatch, bracelet, camera or metallic item are not allowed in the examination hall.

No candidate should be wearing ornaments like a ring, earrings, nose-pin, chain/necklace, pendants, badge and brooch etc.

Also, the students cannot wear shoes inside the examination hall. Only slippers and sandals with low heels (for girls) are not allowed. The only items which the applicants are allowed to carry inside the examination hall is the admit card with a passport size photograph affixed on it.

One passport sized photograph will also be required to be affixed on the attendance sheet,

Here's how to download NEET admit cards from the direct link :

Step 1: Go to the website
Step 2: Fill in the required details in the given field with your registration number, date of birth, enter security pin number
Step 3: Click on submit
Step 4: Your admit card will be displayed on the screen
Step 5: Download the admit card and take a printout for future reference