National Entrance Screening Test
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The National Entrance Screening Test (popularly known as NEST) is an annual college entrance examination in India, conducted for admission into the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar (NISER) and the Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CEBS), Mumbai. These two institutes use NEST as a sole criterion for admission to their undergraduate programs. Also, the Integrated Science Education & Research Centre (ISERC) of Visva-Bharati University has been using the merit list of NEST for admission into its undergraduate program. NEST was conducted in 91 cities across India in June 2019.
As of 2018, obtaining a seat in NISER has become highly competitive. From a total of roughly 80,000 applicants nationwide, only 0.32% qualify for admission. As of 2018, the total intake of NISER and UM-DAE CBS is 200+2 students and 45+2 students respectively (where two seats in each college are reserved for students belonging to the state of Jammu and Kashmir). NEST is conducted in both English as well as Hindi language.
Pattern of the test
The NEST question paper has five sections. The first section, which is compulsory for all candidates, includes general questions. The next four sections includes questions on (1) Biology, (2) Chemistry, (3) Mathematics and (4) Physics. Candidates may opt to answer any three of the four sections. All sections carry equal marks. The questions are aimed at testing the comprehension and analytic ability of the candidates. The questions are of objective type with four answers given for each question. There may only be one relatively correct answer for each question. Wrong answers are awarded negative marks.
Important dates
• Start of Online application for
NEST 2021: February 24, 2021
• Closing of Online application:
July 15, 2021
• Download of Admit Card begins:
August 3, 2021
• NEST 2021 examination: August 14, 2021 (Hours of examination: 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM & 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM) • Announcement of results on NEST
website: September 1, 2021
Seats and intake
The number of students taking the examination has been increasing since it was first conducted in 2007. In 2018 200+2 seats were for NISER and 45+2 seats for UM-DAE CBS. About 60000 students appeared in the exam. The exam was conducted in two sittings. 1000hrs to 1300hrs and 1500hrs to 1800hrs.
The availability of seats in recent years is as given in table below:
| Institute | Intake (2007) | Intake (2008) | Intake (2009) | Intake (2010) | Intake (2011) | Intake (2012) | Intake (2013) | Intake (2014) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) | 40 | 40 | 52 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 100 |
| Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CBS) | 20 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |