Exams · Reference
Thirteen gates, thirteen different keys.
JEE, NEET, CUET, CAT, GATE, CLAT, the NDA exam, UPSC CSE, SSC CGL and a state CET — what each one actually gates, who conducts it, the typical window, eligibility in one line, and the one link that matters: the exam's own official portal. Every row is checked against the conducting body's own site, not a coaching-centre blog — and where a fact couldn't be pinned down, the row says so instead of guessing.
01 — The Ledger
Thirteen exams, sourced.
Search by name or keyword, filter by category, or sort any column. Tap "Official portal" to go straight to the conducting body — that page always wins over anything printed here.
| Official portal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEE Main | UG engineering/architecture/planning at NITs, IIITs & other CFTIs; qualifies candidates for JEE Advanced. | National Testing Agency (NTA) | Twice a year — Session 1 (January), Session 2 (April). | Passed or appearing Class XII (or equivalent) in the two most recent years, no age limit. | jeemain.nta.nic.in |
| JEE Advanced | UG admission to the 23 IITs (from 2026 cycle, also feeds IISc Bengaluru B.Tech via JoSAA). | The IITs jointly, via a rotating Organising Institute (IIT Roorkee, 2026) | Once a year, mid-May, weeks after JEE Main's second session. | Rank in the top 2,50,000 (all categories) in JEE Main Paper 1; age and two-attempt limits apply — check the current notice. | jeeadv.ac.in |
| NEET UG | MBBS, BDS and AYUSH UG courses (BAMS/BUMS/BSMS/BHMS), plus BSc Nursing (Armed Forces Medical Services). | National Testing Agency (NTA), under the National Medical Commission | Once a year, historically in May. | Minimum age 17 by 31 December of the admission year; Class XII with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English. | neet.nta.nic.in |
| NEET-PG | MD/MS/PG Diploma seats — All-India quota, state quota, private/deemed colleges, AFMS. Excludes AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, NIMHANS and SCTIMST, which run their own separate admissions. | National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) | Annual — check the current Information Bulletin for the exact month. | MBBS degree with permanent/provisional NMC or State Medical Council registration, and internship completed or due by the session cut-off. | natboard.edu.in |
| CUET UG | UG admission to Central Universities and other Participating Universities (state, deemed and private) across India. | National Testing Agency (NTA) | Once a year, typically May. | Passed or appearing Class XII — check the official Information Bulletin, as exact subject/marks clauses vary by course. | cuet.nta.nic.in |
| CUET PG | Postgraduate admission to Central Universities and other Participating Universities (state, deemed and private) across India. | National Testing Agency (NTA) | Once a year — the 2026 cycle ran 6–27 March across 292 cities; check the official notification, as the exact month can shift. | A relevant Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) — the qualifying subject and marks requirement is set per postgraduate programme, so check the official Information Bulletin. | exams.nta.nic.in/cuet-pg |
| CAT | MBA/PGP and other management programmes at the 21 IIMs, plus 1,000+ other B-schools that accept CAT scores. | The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) jointly, via a rotating convening IIM | Once a year, traditionally the last Sunday of November. | Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% for SC/ST/PwBD); final-year students may apply provisionally. | iimcat.ac.in |
| GATE | Master's/PhD admission in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science and Humanities at IITs, IISc, NITs and others; also used by many PSUs for recruitment. | IISc Bengaluru and the IITs jointly, via a rotating organising institute, for the National Coordination Board (IIT Madras, GATE 2027) | Once a year, in February — GATE 2027 runs over three weekends (6–7, 13–14, 20–21 Feb 2027). | In (or beyond) the 3rd year of a qualifying Bachelor's/integrated programme, or already a graduate; no age or percentage cut-off. | Rotates yearly with the host institute — search "GATE [year] official website"; the current cycle is GATE 2027, organised by IIT Madras, at gate2027.iitm.ac.in (applications via goaps.iitm.ac.in, opening 14 Aug 2026) |
| CLAT | UG (BA LLB and similar) and PG (LLM) admission at the 25 National Law Universities; also used by some other law schools. | The Consortium of National Law Universities | Once a year, traditionally the first Sunday of December; applications open around August. | Passed 10+2 (or equivalent) with minimum 45% marks (40% for SC/ST/PwD); no upper age limit. | consortiumofnlus.ac.in |
| NDA & NA Exam | Admission to the National Defence Academy (Army/Navy/Air Force wings) and the Naval Academy's 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme. | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) | Twice a year — NDA I typically notified for an April exam, NDA II for a September exam. | Check the official notification directly — age, marital-status and subject requirements (Physics & Maths for Air Force/Navy) differ by wing and are stated precisely there. | upsc.gov.in |
| UPSC CSE | Recruitment to IAS, IPS, IFS (Foreign Service) and other Group A/B Central Civil Services. | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) | Once a year, three stages — Prelims (notified around Jan/Feb, held in May), Mains (August), Interview. | Age 21–32 as on 1 August of the exam year (category relaxations apply); Bachelor's degree from a recognised university. | upsc.gov.in |
| SSC CGL | Group B and Group C (non-gazetted) posts across ministries, departments and organisations of the Government of India. | Staff Selection Commission (SSC) | Once a year — the exact month has moved across recent cycles, so check SSC's current Examination Calendar rather than assume a fixed month. | Check the official notification directly — a Bachelor's degree in any discipline is the commonly cited baseline, but post-specific age and qualification rules are set fresh each cycle. | ssc.gov.in |
| MHT-CET (state example) | First-year Engineering/Technology, Pharmacy and Agriculture & allied UG admission in Maharashtra (PCM and PCB groups). | State Common Entrance Test Cell, Government of Maharashtra | Once a year — hall-ticket and result dates shift by cycle (2026: hall tickets released early April, results by mid-to-late June) — check the official CET Cell notification for the current cycle. | Passed 10+2 (HSC or equivalent) with the relevant science group — check the official Information Brochure for exact percentage and domicile rules. | cetcell.mahacet.org |
13 exams · tap any column to sort · every conducting body verified live on 26–27 Jul 2026 (see Sources) · this is India's biggest handful, not an exhaustive list — every state runs its own CET beyond the one example above.
02 — Common Questions
Before you trust a date.
Do these dates repeat every year?
No. Conducting bodies release a fresh notification for every cycle — sometimes twice a year, as with JEE Main and the NDA exam — and dates commonly move by weeks from one year to the next. Always confirm the current cycle's dates on the official portal linked in each row, never last year's dates repeated forward.
Has NExT replaced NEET-PG?
Not as far as this page could verify. NEET-PG's own conducting body, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, still runs a live annual cycle. The National Exit Test (NExT), proposed under the NMC Act 2019, was not visible anywhere in the National Medical Commission's current site navigation when checked. This is a genuinely evolving policy area — check the National Medical Commission's own circulars for the latest official statement before assuming either exam's status.
What happened to KVPY?
KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana) is discontinued — no aptitude test has run since 2021. It was reported to have been subsumed into the INSPIRE scheme by the Department of Science & Technology. See our Scholarships & Aid in India page for what INSPIRE actually covers today.
Why do some rows say "check the official notification" instead of giving a straight answer?
Because that row's exact fee, date, or eligibility clause could not be confirmed directly against an official document at the time this page was checked. Rather than print a plausible-sounding guess, we say so and link straight to the conducting body's own portal.
Is a coaching-centre blog a reliable source for exam dates or eligibility?
Treat it as a starting point at best, never as the final word. This page cites only the conducting body's own notifications and portals. Any third-party date, fee, or eligibility claim should be treated as provisional until you confirm it on the .gov.in, .ac.in, or .nic.in portal linked here.
03 — Sources
Where these facts come from
- National Testing Agency — JEE Main official portal and Information Bulletinjeemain.nta.nic.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- The IITs (Organising Institute IIT Roorkee, 2026 cycle) — JEE Advanced official portal, dates and eligibility noticejeeadv.ac.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- National Testing Agency — NEET (UG) official portal and Information Bulletinneet.nta.nic.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences — NEET-PG exam pagenatboard.edu.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- National Medical Commission — official site, checked for NExT statusnmc.org.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- National Testing Agency — CUET (UG) official portalcuet.nta.nic.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- The Indian Institutes of Management — official CAT portal (states there is no other website for CAT)iimcat.ac.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- IIT Madras (Organising Institute, GATE 2027) — official GATE portal, dates and eligibility; applications via goaps.iitm.ac.ingate2027.iitm.ac.in · accessed 27 Jul 2026
- The Consortium of National Law Universities — official CLAT portal and press releasesconsortiumofnlus.ac.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- Union Public Service Commission — official site, examination notices and annual calendar (NDA & NA Exam, Civil Services Examination)upsc.gov.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- Staff Selection Commission — official site and examination calendar (CGL)ssc.gov.in · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- State Common Entrance Test Cell, Government of Maharashtra — official MHT-CET portal and noticescetcell.mahacet.org · accessed 26 Jul 2026
- National Testing Agency — CUET (PG) official portalexams.nta.nic.in/cuet-pg · accessed 27 Jul 2026
Method: every exam's "what it gates," conducting body and official portal were confirmed by opening that body's own live site on 26–27 Jul 2026. Where a specific date, fee or eligibility clause could not be pinned to an exact official passage, the ledger says "check the official notification" instead of printing an estimate — see rows for NEET-PG's exact month, CUET UG's and CUET PG's precise eligibility wording, the NDA exam's eligibility specifics, SSC CGL's window and eligibility, and MHT-CET's hall-ticket/result dates and domicile rules. GATE's official URL rotates with its host institute every year (updated 27 Jul 2026 to the current GATE 2027 / IIT Madras cycle) and is not a stable long-term link.
Key terms for this topic
Generated on request by this site’s AI from the topic below — not a hand-written glossary. Useful for orientation; check anything you intend to rely on.