In light of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, several key exams have been rescheduled in recent weeks. The seven-phase LS polls for the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies are scheduled to take place from April 19 to June 1, with vote counting set for June 4. This period overlaps with the entrance exam season in India, prompting authorities to postpone and reschedule major exams.
Here's a rundown of the affected exams and their revised schedules:
UPSC Civil Service Prelims 2024
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently announced the postponement of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination from May 26 to June 16. The civil services examination, which is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages – preliminary, main, and interview – is held to select officers for prestigious positions such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.
CA exams
The CA (Chartered Accountancy) Inter Group 1 exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) are supposed to take place on May 3, 5 and 7 and Group 2 exams on May 9, 11 and 1. Similarly, the dates of CA Final Group 1 exams are May 2, 4 and 6 and Group 2, May 8, 10 and 12. These exams will be rescheduled, according to officials.
JEE exams
JEE-Main Session 2, scheduled from April 4 to 15, will proceed unchanged. However, officials from IIT-Madras, the organizing institution for JEE-Advanced this year, are expected to announce a shift from the current date of May 26. This adjustment is necessary due to Phase 6 of the Parliamentary elections scheduled for May 25.
NEET-PG
The National Medical Commission (NMC) rescheduled medical entrance exam NEET-PG to June 23. The NEET PG 2024 was scheduled to be held on July 7.
The result will be announced by July 15, while the counselling for admission will be held from August 5 to October 15. The cut-off date for the purpose of eligibility to appear in the NEET-PG 2024 will remain unchanged at August 15, 2024.
Exams that have not been rescheduled:
CUET-UG
The Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG will be conducted between May 15 and May 31, 2024, as announced earlier, and there will be no change in view of the Lok Sabha election schedule
NEET-UG
NEET-UG, the national-level qualifying exam for MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses, is scheduled on May 5. Officials at National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, indicated that there would be no change in the date.