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National Entrance Screening Test 2023
Overview
The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is a Computer-Based Test for admission to the 5-year Integrated MSc programme in basic sciences – Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics – at NISER, Bhubaneswar and UM-DAE CEBS, Mumbai.
| Exam Name | National Entrance Screening Test |
| Also Known As | NEST |
| Exam Category | Undergraduate |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Mode | Online (Computer based test) |
| Conducted by | NISER, UM-DAE CEBS |
NEW: NEST 2023 will not have a separate “General” section. There will be only 4 sections of 50 marks each.
UPDATE (Jul 10, 2023): NEST 2023 Cutoff scores have been declared, read NEST Cutoff Scores.
UPDATE (Jul 10, 2023): NEST 2023 Result has been announced, read NEST Result.
UPDATE (Jun 25, 2023): NEST 2023 Answer Keys released, read NEST Official Answer Keys.
UPDATE (Jun 13, 2023): NEST 2023 Admit Card released, read NEST Admit Card.
UPDATE (Jun 12, 2023): NEST 2023 Mock Test is now available, read NEST Official Mock Test.
UPDATE (May 18, 2023): NEST 2023 last date has been extended, read NEST 2023 Last Date.
UPDATE (Feb 27, 2023): NEST 2023 Applications are open now, check NEST 2023 Application Procedure.
UPDATE (Feb 24, 2023): NEST 2023 Applications will open from February 27, 2023. Subscribe to receive all updates on your mobile for free.
UPDATE (Feb 24, 2023): NEST 2023 exam date has been announced, read NEST 2023 Exam Date.
NEST 2023: Check Eligibility | Check Syllabus
Candidates are suggested to go through the rules for inclusion in Merit List here.
About
Pattern
- It is a Computer Based Test (CBT) of 3 hours 30 minutes duration.
- There will be 4 subject sections of 50 marks each containing subject-specific questions from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.
- Each subject section has 17 questions, out of which 12 questions are single correct answer MCQs, and 5 questions are multiple correct answer MCQs.
- For Single correct answer MCQs, each correct answer fetches 2.5 marks, while each incorrect answer has a penalty of 1 mark (-1 mark).
- For Multiple correct answer MCQs, each correct answer fetches 4 marks, and there’s no negative marking.
- Only the best 3 section scores will be counted for evaluation and merit list preparation. Check rules for inclusion in Merit List here.
- The medium of the question paper will be English only.
- NEW: NEST 2023 question paper will not have a separate “General” section.
Schedule
Date
June 24, 2023
Slots
- Session 1: 09:00 am to 12:30 pm
- Session 2: 02:30 pm to 06:00 pm
Note
The exam will be conducted in two sessions on the same day. The candidates will be allotted the examination session at random and no requests for a choice of a session would be entertained.
The allotted examination session will be mentioned in the candidate’s Admit Card.
Eligibility
For NEST exam
There is no restriction on appearing for NEST.
For admission in NISER/CEBS
- Basic: Candidate should be from regular science stream and preferably should have any combination of three subjects among Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics in classes XI and XII.
- Exam: Candidate must secure a rank in the NEST merit list.
- Age: Candidate should be born on or after August 1, 2003 (relaxed by 5 years for SC/ST/PD candidates).
- Qualifying Examination: Candidate should have passed Class XII qualifying examination either in 2021 or 2022. Candidates appearing in 2023 are also eligible.
- Marks in Qualifying Examination: Candidate must obtain a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate in Class XII (or equivalent) examination from any recognized Board in India (for SC/ST/PD, the minimum requirement is 55%).
Syllabus
Mock Test
- Practice sessions for the computer-based test will be available for all applicants on the application portal after online registration and complete submission of online application.
- The mock test is for practice purpose only.
Past Question Papers
See previous year Question Papers and Answers here.
Fees
NEST 2023 Application Fee is ₹1200 (₹600 for SC/ST/PD categories and female candidates).
Registration
- The registrations for NEST examination will begin from February 27, 2023.
- The last date to apply is
May 17, 2023May 24, 2023. - NEW: Check detailed steps for filling Application Form here.
Application Procedure
NEW: Check detailed steps for filling Application Form here.
- Candidates must fill-up the online application form through NEST website.
- Register and log in to fill the personal details and educational qualifications.
- Upload passport-sized image and signature.
- Pay the application fee through Online Payment.
- Save application summary page for future reference.
Note: Candidates need not to send any document to the NEST office in the entire application process.
Application Correction
- Candidates will be provided a facility to make corrections in their application form particulars.
- It is a one-time facility and is extended to the candidates to avoid any hardship to them.
- The correction window will be open for a few days after the last date of registration.
Test Centres
Test Cities
Test Centres
| State | City |
| AN | Port Blair |
| AP | Guntur |
| AP | Kurnool |
| AP | Rajahmundry |
| AP | Tirupathi |
| AP | Vijayawada |
| AP | Visakhapatnam |
| AP | Vizianagaram |
| AR | Naharlagun-Itanagar |
| AS | Dibrugarh |
| AS | Guwahati |
| AS | Tezpur |
| BR | Bhagalpur |
| BR | Patna |
| CG | Bhilai Nagar |
| CG | Raipur |
| DL | New Delhi |
| GA | Panaji |
| GJ | Ahmedabad |
| GJ | Bhuj |
| GJ | Rajkot |
| GJ | Surat |
| HP | Bilaspur |
| HP | Hamirpur |
| HP | Mandi |
| HR | Ambal |
| HR | Hisar |
| JH | Bokaro Steel City |
| JH | Dhanbad |
| JH | Jamshedpur |
| JH | Ranchi |
| JK | Jammu |
| JK | Srinagar |
| KA | Bengaluru |
| KA | Hubballi (Hubli) |
| KA | Mangaluru (Mangalore) |
| KA | Mysuru (Mysore) |
| KL | Alappuzha |
| KL | Ernakulam |
| KL | Idukki |
| KL | Kannur |
| KL | Kasaragod |
| KL | Kollam |
| KL | Kottayam |
| KL | Kozhikode |
| KL | Malappuram |
| KL | Palakkad |
| KL | Pathanamthitta |
| KL | Thiruvananthapuram |
| KL | Thrissur |
| LA | Leh |
| MH | Aurangabad |
| MH | Jalgaon |
| MH | Kolhapur |
| MH | Mumbai |
| MH | Nagpur |
| MH | Nanded |
| MH | Pune |
| MH | Ratnagiri |
| MH | Solapur |
| ML | Shillong |
| MN | Imphal |
| MP | Bhopal |
| MP | Gwalior |
| MP | Indore |
| MP | Jabalpur |
| MZ | Aizawl |
| NL | Dimapur |
| NL | Kohima |
| OD | Angul |
| OD | Balangir |
| OD | Balasore |
| OD | Bargarh |
| OD | Baripada |
| OD | Berhampur-Ganjam |
| OD | Bhawanipatna |
| OD | Bhubaneswar |
| OD | Cuttack |
| OD | Dhenkanal |
| OD | Jharsuguda |
| OD | Rayagada |
| OD | Rourkela |
| OD | Sambalpur |
| PB | Bhatinda |
| PB | Jalandhar |
| PB | Mohali |
| PY | Puducherry |
| RJ | Bikaner |
| RJ | Jaipur |
| RJ | Jodhpur |
| RJ | Kota |
| RJ | Udaipur |
| SK | Gangtok |
| TN | Chennai |
| TN | Coimbatore |
| TN | Madurai |
| TN | Salem |
| TN | Tiruchirappalli |
| TN | Tirunelveli |
| TR | Agartala |
| TS | Hyderabad |
| TS | Karimnagar |
| TS | Warangal |
| UK | Dehradun |
| UK | Haldwani |
| UK | Roorkee |
| UP | Agra |
| UP | Aligarh |
| UP | Gorakhpur |
| UP | Kanpur |
| UP | Lucknow |
| UP | Noida |
| UP | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| UP | Varanasi |
| WB | Asansol |
| WB | Berhampur |
| WB | Burdwan |
| WB | Durgapur |
| WB | Hooghly |
| WB | Kalyani |
| WB | Kolkata |
| WB | Siliguri |
Note
- Candidates must choose 5 centres in order of their preference while filling-up the application form.
- Every effort will be made to allot the candidate’s first preference.
- The address of the test venue allotted to the applicant will be mentioned on the NEST admit card.
Admit Card
- Admit Card can be downloaded from NEST website after it’s notified.
- Candidates are required to produce the Admit Card along with an Identity Card at the test centre.
- Address of the NEST test centre allotted to an applicant will be printed in the admit card.
- Admit Card should be kept safely as the successful candidates have to produce it in original during admission.
Answer Keys
- The answer keys of Computer-based examination will be made available on the NEST website.
- If a candidate is unsatisfied with an answer, he/she can challenge the answer keys.
Merit List
Overview
- A merit list will be prepared based on the total of three best scores from the four sections.
- For normalization of the two sessions of the exam, percentile scores will be considered. It will be calculated on the basis of the relative performance of all the candidates in the respective session. The highest score in each session will be 100 percentile.
Section-wise Cutoff
- For each section, 20% of the average of the best 100 scores in that section will be considered as Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS).
- A candidate must clear the cutoff (SMAS) in any three subject sections for inclusion in the merit list.
- SMAS for OBC students would be 90% of the respective SMAS of General category students.
- SMAS for SC/ST/PwD students would be 50% of the respective SMAS of General category students.
- Check NEST Cutoff Scores.
Overall Cutoff
- In addition to Subject-wise cutoff, a candidate is required to score equal to or above a total Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) in order to be included in the merit list.
- Overall Cutoff (MAP) for NEST 2023 is 90 percentile for General category, 85 percentile for OBC category and 60 percentile for SC/ST/PwD category.
- Check NEST Cutoff Scores.
Result
- The result for NEST 2023 will be announced as per schedule.
- Candidates will be allotted a General Rank and a Category Rank based on their performance in NEST exam.
- Check the rules for inclusion in Merit List here.
Counselling
- Admissions to 5-year Integrated MSc programme in basic sciences – Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics – at NISER, Bhubaneswar and UM-DAE CEBS, Mumbai will be done on the basis of NEST Merit rank.
Important Information
- Candidates must provide a correct e-mail address in the online application as the NEST office communicates with candidates through this e-mail id.
- Candidates must reach the test venue at least 90 minutes before the examination commences.
- Use of log tables and calculators in the examination hall is not allowed.
- Candidates must bring their Admit Card and a photo Identity Card to the examination hall.
Important Dates
| Start of Online application | February 27, 2023 |
| Closing of Online application | |
| Application Correction window | May 26 – May 29, 2023 |
| Download of Admit Card begins | June 12, 2023 |
| NEST examination | June 24, 2023 |
| Release of Answer Keys | June 25, 2023 |
| Answer Keys Objection window | June 28 – June 30, 2023 |
| Announcement of results | July 10, 2023 |
Contact Information
Candidates can contact NEST authorities through written communication, phone or email.
| NISER Contact Information | |
| Address | Chief Coordinator, NEST 2023, National Institute of Science Education and Research Bhubaneswar, P.O. Jatni, Khurda – 752050, Odisha (India) |
| Helpline | +91-7996065888, 0674-2494360 |
| [email protected], [email protected] | |
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