Over 14 lakh students have already downloaded the admit cards for engineering and medical entrance exams, JEE-Mains and NEET, till Wednesday evening. The NTA released admit cards for NEET on Wednesday amid the growing clamour for postponement of the two exams in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

The JEE-Mains exam is scheduled to take place from September 1-6 while the NEET-UG is scheduled for September 13.

For JEE (Main), a total of 7.41 lakh candidates out of 8.58 lakh have downloaded the admit cards. Only 332 candidates have requested for change of their centre cities, which are being considered positively.

For NEET (UG), a total of 6.84 lakh candidates, out of a total of 15.97 lakh, have downloaded the admit cards in the first five hours, since the start of the downloading at 11.55 am. More than 99 per cent candidates in each of the two examinations have been allotted the first choice of centre city.

In order to meet the social distancing requirements, there has been a substantial increase in the number of centres. In order to ensure proper social distancing inside the examination halls, the candidates will be seated in alternate seats in case of JEE (Main). In the case of NEET (UG), the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12, now.

For ensuring social distancing outside the examination hall, the entry and exit of candidates have been staggered. Adequate arrangements have also been made outside the examination centres to enable candidates to stand with adequate social distancing while waiting. Candidates have also been issued advisory guiding them about "Do’s and Don'ts" for proper social distancing.

NTA has also written to the states governments to extend support in local movement of the candidates so that they are able to reach their examination centres on time. The NTA assures all candidates a safe environment for tests and solicits cooperation from the candidates and their parents in following the standard operating procedures.

The NTA said that it has ensured that more than 99 per cent of candidates get their first choice of Centre Cities in both of these examinations. The number of examination centres has also been increased from 570 to 660 (JEE Main) and from 2546 to 3843 (NEET (UG) 2020). JEE (Main) is Computer Based Test (CBT) and NEET (UG) is a pen paper-based test.

Additionally, in case of JEE (Main), the number of shifts has been increased from the earlier 8 to 12, and the number of candidates per shift has been reduced from earlier 1.32 lakh to 85,000 now. A total of 8.58 lakh and 15.97 lakh candidates have been registered for JEE (Main) and NEET (UG) 2020 respectively. 

The Supreme Court had last week dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the two exams amid a spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases, saying precious year of students "cannot be wasted" and life has to go on. "We find that there is absolutely no justification in the prayer made for postponement of the examination in question relating to NEET as well as JEE-Mains," the Supreme Court had said.

JEE-Mains was originally supposed to be held from April 7-11, then postponed to July 18-23, and finally rescheduled to September 1-6. NEET-UG was originally scheduled for May 3, then pushed to July 26, and is now scheduled to be held on September 13.