The NEET UG 2025 results, announced on June 14 by the National Testing Agency (NTA), mark a significant moment in India’s academic calendar. With over 22 lakh students competing and more than 12.36 lakh qualifying, the data offers important takeaways not just for aspiring medical students but also for educators, EdTech companies, policymakers, and healthcare leaders.
NEET UG is India’s largest entrance test for undergraduate medical and allied health programs. It is the single exam for MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BSMS, BUMS, BVSc & AH, and is also required for BSc Nursing admissions in Military Nursing Service institutions.
The exam was conducted on May 4, 2025, and results were released on June 14, 2025.
Total Registrations: 22.76 lakh
Students Appeared: 22.09 lakh
Qualified Candidates: 12.36 lakh
Absent Students: Around 66,700
The qualifying score varies by category. For the General and EWS categories, students needed to score within the 50th percentile, translating to a score range of 686 to 144. For OBC, SC, and ST students, the 40th percentile was the benchmark, with cut-off scores between 143 and 113.
Interestingly, the cut-offs were lower than last year, suggesting that the paper was relatively tougher this time. No student scored the perfect 720, and the highest mark recorded was 686.
The OBC category had the largest number of qualifiers with more than 5.64 lakh students. They were followed by:
General category: 3.38 lakh
SC category: 1.68 lakh
EWS: approximately 97,000
ST: over 67,000
These figures show how participation from historically underserved groups continues to rise, especially in the OBC category.
This year, Mahesh Kumar from Rajasthan topped the exam with 686 marks and a percentile of 99.99995. He was followed by Utkarsh Awadhiya from Madhya Pradesh (AIR 2) and Krishang Joshi from Maharashtra (AIR 3), who scored 681.
Gujarat made a strong impression with 50,040 qualifiers out of 80,151 students. Two of its candidates secured spots in the top 10 (AIR 6 and 8), and nine were among the top 100.
Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of qualifying students overall (1.7 lakh), although only four made it to the top 100. Notable performers from UP included Muktesh Tanmay (AIR 36) and Anant Chaurasia (AIR 44).
This year saw more girls appearing for NEET UG than boys—12.7 lakh compared to 9.37 lakh. Among the top 10 rankers, two were girls: Avika Aggarwal (AIR 5) and Bhavya Jha (AIR 8).
The numbers point toward increasing gender parity in the medical field, although the very top ranks are still male-dominated.
Students and experts noted that Physics was especially difficult, with many lengthy and calculation-heavy questions. The reduced number of perfect or near-perfect scores suggests the difficulty level was higher than previous years, leading to a drop in cut-off marks across categories.
Now that the results are out, the focus shifts to counselling. Students who meet the qualifying criteria are eligible for:
All India Quota (AIQ) counselling, covering 15% of government medical and dental seats across India, conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC)
State-level counselling for the remaining 85% of seats
NEET UG scores will be used for admission into multiple streams:
MBBS (Medicine)
BDS (Dentistry)
BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, and BSMS (AYUSH systems)
BVSc & AH (Veterinary Sciences)
BSc Nursing for MNS aspirants
Students need to register for the counselling rounds and follow deadlines closely, as both national and state-level authorities will release their respective schedules.
The NEET UG 2025 results are more than just a ranking of students. They reflect larger trends in Indian education—rising participation from OBCs, improving gender parity, regional disparities, and an increasing difficulty level of competitive exams. For India’s next generation of doctors, the journey has just begun. For the ecosystem around them, the results serve as an essential pulse-check on where we stand and what comes next.