NExT

The National Exit Test (NExT) is a licentiate examination conducted to grant eligibility for postgraduate medical admissions and to obtain a license to practice medicine in India. It is a mandatory exam for all undergraduate medical students, including those who have completed their MBBS in India or abroad, to register with the Medical Council of India. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced that the National Exit Test (NExT) for MBBS students will be conducted twice a year, in May and November. The exam is most likely to be administered by AIIMS, New Delhi, and will be held in two stages: theory and practical. Earlier, the registration for the NExT Step 1 mock test began online on June 28, 2023, through the official website aiimsexams.ac.in. Candidates could apply until July 10, 2023, while the last date to generate the Exam Unique Code (EUC) and complete the application process was July 14, 2023. However, the NMC later cancelled the mock exam. As per the official notification, NExT Step 1 will be a theory-based examination, while Step 2 will assess the practical skills of candidates aspiring to pursue postgraduate medical courses. The NExT exam will serve as a single, unified gateway for obtaining a license to practice medicine in India, and will replace the existing NEET-PG and FMGE exams starting from 2025.