NEET 2024 Results: AIR 1 to 67 Toppers! What's the Tie-breaking Criteria?

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) recently announced the NEET 2024 results in which a record-breaking 67 candidates have topped the MBBS entrance exam scoring a remarkable percentage. The candidates achieved a flawless score of 720, placing them as joint top performers. Among these exceptional scorers, 53 are male and 14 are female. The highest percentile attained by these individuals, who hold the first rank in the All India Ranking (AIR), is an impressive 99.997129.

According to the scorecard of the qualified candidates for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), Rajasthan has the highest number of candidates in the top 67 with 11 candidates, followed by Tamil Nadu with 8 candidates and Maharashtra with 7 candidates.

Among the top 67, a male candidate from Maharashtra named Ved Sunilkumar Shende emerged as the Super topper in the NEET 2024 with a perfect score of 720 and a percentage of 99.997129. 

Also read- NEET 2024 Results: Here Are The 100 Toppers, Check List

The remaining 66 candidates who have topped the MBBS entrance exam include Syed Aarifin Yusuf M from Tamil Nadu, Mridul Manya Anand from Delhi, Ayush Naugraiya from Uttar Pradesh, Mazin Mansoor from Bihar, Rupayan Mandal from West Bengal, Akshat Pangaria from Uttarakhand, Shaurya Goyal from Punjab, Tathagat Awatar from Bihar, Chand Mallik from Tripura, Prachita from Rajasthan, Shailaja S from Tamil Nadu, Saurav from Rajasthan, Divyansh from Delhi, Gunmay Garg from Punjab, Aadarsh Singh Moyal from Rajasthan, Aditya Kumar Panda from Tamil Nadu, Arghyadeep Dutta from West Bengal, Sriram P from Tamil Nadu, Isha Kothari from Rajasthan, Kasturi Sandeep Chowdary from Andhra Pradesh, Shashank Sharma from Rajasthan, Shubhan Sengupta from Maharashtra.

Saksham Agrawal from West Bengal, Aryan Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, Kahkasha Parween from Jharkhand, Devadarshan R Nair from Kerala, Gattu Bhanuteja Sai from Andhra Pradesh, Umayma Malbari from Maharashtra, Kalyan V from Karnataka, Sujoy Dutta from Delhi, Shyam Jhanwar from Rajasthan, Aryan Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Manav Priyadarshi from Jharkhand, Palansha Agarwal from Maharashtra, Rajaneesh P from Tamil Nadu, Dhruv Garg from Rajasthan, Krishnamurti Pankaj Shiwal from Maharashtra, Sreenand Sharmil from Kerala, Ved Patel from Gujarat, Sam Shreyas Joseph from Karnataka, Jayathi Poorvaja M from Tamil Nadu, Mane Neha Kuldeep from Maharashtra, Hritik Raj from Bihar, Kriti Sharma from Gujarat, Taijas Singh from Chandigarh, Arjun Kishore from Karnataka, Rohith R from Tamil Nadu, Abhishek V J from Kerala, Sabareesan S from Tamil Nadu, Darsh Paghdar from Gujarat, Shikhin Goyal from Punjab, Amina Arif Kadiwala from Maharashtra.

Devesh Joshi from Rajasthan, Rishabh Shah from Gujarat, Poreddy Pavan Kumar Reddy from Andhra Pradesh, Abhinav Sunil Prasad from Kerala, Samit Kumar Saini from Rajasthan, Iram Quazi from Rajasthan, Vadlapudi Mukhesh Chowdary from Andhra Pradesh, Abhinav Kisna from Bihar, Khushboo from Haryana, Krish from Haryana, Lakshay from Delhi, Anjali from Haryana, Jahnvee from Rajasthan, Prateek from Haryana.

Medical Dialogues team recently reported that 56.4 per cent of the candidates have qualified for the exam, which was conducted on May 5 at centres 571 cities in India and 14 international locations. A record 24.06 lakh candidates had registered for NEET this year. The passing percentage is almost the same as last year at 56.2 per cent.

Among those who have qualified the country's biggest entrance exam for admission to MBBS and BDS courses at the undergraduate level, 5,47,036 are male, 7,69,222 are female and 10 are transgender persons, the NTA said.

The examination was conducted in 13 languages -- Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

NEET-UG is the qualifying entrance exam for admission to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS), Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), and Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and BSc (H) Nursing courses.

There are more than 80,000 MBBS seats in over 540 medical colleges in the country. Of the 13,16,268 qualified candidates, 3,33,932 were from the unreserved category, 6,18,890 from the OBC category, 1,78,738 from SC, 68,479 from ST, and 1,16,229 from the EWS category. Besides, 4,120 candidates from the Persons with Disabilities category have also qualified the exam.

The exam witnessed an increase in qualifying marks this year. For instance, the qualifying marks range for the unreserved category last year was 720-137, which has increased to 720-164 this year. Similarly, for OBC SC, and ST categories, it has increased from 136-107 last year to 163-129 this year.

"Sixty-seven candidates scored the same 99.997129 percentile score, therefore, they shared the all-India rank one. The merit list will be prepared using a tie-breaking formula with those getting higher marks or percentile score in Biology will be given preference followed by Chemistry and Physics," a senior NTA official said to PTI.

NTA Tie-Breaking Criteria

Medical Dialogues team on March 2024 had reported that the revised Information Bulletin for the NEET-UG 2024 exam, which was uploaded by NTA on its website, specified that NTA will allot ranks to joint scorers based on their performance - the proportion of incorrect and correct answers in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

When two or more candidates secure the same score in the NEET exam, their ranks are decided in compliance with the tie-breaking policy. 

Back then, NTA released an Information Bulletin and modified the tie-breaking policy for this year. Introducing lucky draw by computer or IT, the tie-breaking policy released by NTA mentioned that in case two or more candidates obtain equal marks, higher ranks will be given to candidates who obtain higher ranks in Biology, followed by marks in Chemistry, followed by higher marks in Physics, and lastly by draw of lots using computer.

However, NMC has decided to go back to its old method of breaking a tie between the same scorers. As per the revised brochure, which has been uploaded on the NTA portal, after prioritizing the marks in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, the proportion of incorrect and correct answers attempted in all shall be considered for breaking the tie, followed by the proportion in the individual subjects.

"In case of two or more candidates obtain equal marks/percentile scoresin the NEET (UG) - 2024, the inter-se-merit shall be determined as follows:

a. Candidate obtaining higher marks/percentile score in Biology (Botany & Zoology) in theTest, followed by,

b. Candidate obtaining higher marks/percentile score in Chemistry in the Test, followed by,

c. Candidate obtaining higher marks/percentile score in Physics in the Test, followed by,

d. Candidate with less proportion of the number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in all the subjects in the Test,

e. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Biology (Botany & Zoology) in the Test, followed by

f. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Chemistry in the Test, followed by

g. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Physics in the Test, followed by"

Also read- NEET 2024: NTA Revises Tie-Breaking Criteria