How National Testing Agency decides NEET-UG topper?

This year, four candidates scored the exact same percentile, 99.9997733, in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) [NEET-UG], yet the first rank went to just one—Tanishka from Rajasthan. AIR 2 went to Vatsa Ashish Batra from Delhi, while rank three was given to Hrishikesh Nagbhushan Gangule, while Rucha Pawashe scored rank four. Both Gangule and Pawashe are from Karnataka.

To avoid any ties in top ranks, the National Testing Agency (NTA) decided the ranking using a new tie-breaker criteria, according to a report by The Indian Express. So, what is this new criteria?

To decide a multi-way tie-breaker—last year three people were awarded first rank because all three scored the same percentile—the NTA factored in six conditions, as compared to only three last year.

“For counselling purposes, it’s important that every candidate gets a unique rank. This is why we have revised our tie-breaker rule. Because of this, no two candidates have been tied at the same rank this year,” a senior NTA official told the publication.

This year, the NTA used the following factors to decide on ranks of students with same percentile:

1. Candidate who secured higher marks/percentiles in Biology (Botany and Zoology), followed by

2. The candidate with the highest mark/percentile in Chemistry, followed by

3. The candidate who achieved the highest marks/percentile score in Physics in the test followed by

4. Candidates who had a smaller ratio of incorrect answers to correct answers in all subjects, followed by

5. Candidates with the lowest proportion of incorrect responses to correct responses in Biology (Botany and Zoology), followed by

6. Candidate with the lowest ratio of incorrect answers to correct answers in Chemistry, followed by

7. The candidate with a lesser percentage of incorrect answers in Physics, followed by

8. Candidate older in age, followed by

9. NEET application number in ascending order

Over 16 lakh students appeared for the NEET-UG 2022, which was held in 3,750 centres all over the country. Passing marks for the NEET-UG 2022 were in the range of 715-117 out of 720