AIIMS INI

AIIMS INI CET is the common entrance test for postgraduate medical and dental seats at India's Institutes of National Importance. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, conducts it twice a year for the January and July academic sessions. Through this one exam, MBBS and BDS graduates compete for MD, MS, MDS, 6-year DM and 6-year MCh seats at AIIMS institutes, JIPMER Puducherry, PGIMER Chandigarh, NIMHANS Bengaluru and SCTIMST Thiruvananthapuram.

Registration for the INI CET January 2027 session is open now and closes on 13 October 2026 at 5:00 PM. The exam is scheduled for 1 November 2026. This page covers the dates, participating institutes, fee, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, result, qualifying cut-off and a practical preparation plan for the current session.

Table of Contents

1. AIIMS INI CET at a Glance

2. INI CET January 2027 Important Dates

3. Participating Institutes and Courses

4. INI CET vs NEET PG

5. How to Apply and Application Fee

6. INI CET Eligibility Criteria

7. INI CET Exam Pattern

8. INI CET Syllabus

9. Admit Card, Result and Counselling

10. INI CET Qualifying Cut-Off

11. How to Prepare for INI CET

AIIMS INI CET at a Glance

INI CET January 2027 Important Dates

AIIMS released the January 2027 session schedule along with the prospectus in September 2026. The key milestones are below.

The result and counselling dates are tentative and can change. Track the notices on aiimsexams.ac.in and the email linked to your registration.

Previous Session for Reference

For the July 2026 session, the exam was held on 16 May 2026 and the result was declared on 23 May 2026. The roughly one-week gap between exam and result is typical, which is why the January 2027 result is expected in early November.

Participating Institutes and Courses

INI CET fills postgraduate seats at institutes that have their own Acts of Parliament and run admissions outside NEET PG. The exact list of institutes and seats changes each session, so treat the table below as a guide and confirm the current seat position in Prospectus Part B.

The January 2027 session is reported to offer about 815 seats. Seat numbers vary sharply between sessions and are often revised during counselling, so this figure is indicative.

INI CET vs NEET PG: Which Exam Do You Need?

Many interns ask whether NEET PG is enough for an AIIMS seat. It is not. The institutes above admit only through INI CET, so you need to appear for both exams if you want the widest choice of seats.

Both papers are built on the same MBBS curriculum, so one preparation plan serves both. The difference lies in question style: INI CET tends to test conceptual depth, recent advances and image-based recognition more sharply.

How to Apply and Application Fee

Registration happens only online through the AIIMS examination portal. AIIMS uses a single registration process (often called Basic Registration) followed by exam-specific application and fee payment.

1. Create your account: Register on aiimsexams.ac.in with your name, date of birth, mobile number and email ID. These details cannot be edited later, so enter them exactly as in your documents.

2. Complete the INI CET application: Select the January 2027 session, fill in academic details, internship dates and registration with the medical or dental council.

3. Upload documents: Add your photograph, signature, degree or final-year marksheet, council registration and category certificates as applicable.

4. Pay the fee online: Use a debit card, credit card or net banking before 5:00 PM on 13 October 2026.

5. Check your status: Log in between 17 and 19 October 2026 to confirm your application is accepted and fix any deficiency flagged by AIIMS.

OBC (NCL) and EWS certificates must be in the central government format and issued within the window specified in the prospectus. Candidates commonly lose a category claim because of an old or state-format certificate, so check this before you submit.

INI CET Eligibility Criteria

Educational Qualification

• MD, MS, 6-year DM, 6-year MCh and MD (Hospital Administration): An MBBS degree from an institution recognised by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

• MDS: A BDS degree from an institution recognised by the Dental Council of India (DCI).

• Minimum marks: The January 2027 eligibility, as reported, requires an aggregate of 55% in MBBS or BDS for General, OBC and EWS candidates and 50% for SC and ST candidates. Confirm the exact condition in Prospectus Part A for the January 2027 session.

Internship and Registration

You must complete the 12-month compulsory rotating internship on or before 31 January 2027. Candidates finishing even a day later are not eligible for this session and should plan for the July 2027 session instead. You also need permanent or provisional registration with the NMC, a State Medical Council or the DCI.

Age, Nationality and Other Conditions

• Age limit: No upper age limit is prescribed for INI CET.

• Foreign nationals: Eligible for a limited number of seats and need a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• Foreign medical graduates: Indian citizens with a foreign degree need FMGE clearance and the internship and registration conditions above.

• Sponsored candidates: Must submit the sponsorship certificate in the prescribed format within the deadline.

INI CET Exam Pattern

The paper is a single computer-based test. MDS candidates take a separate paper based on the BDS curriculum, with the same overall format.

Each correct answer earns 1 mark, each wrong answer costs one-third of a mark, and unanswered questions score zero. Questions are single-best-answer MCQs that include one-liners, clinical vignettes, image-based items and multi-statement formats.

What This Means for You

• Three wrong answers cancel one right answer: Accuracy matters as much as attempts.

• A blind guess gains nothing on average: With four options and -1/3 marking, a pure guess has an expected value of zero. If you can eliminate even one option, the odds tilt in your favour.

• Sectional timing changes pacing: You get 45 minutes for each block of 50 questions, which is under a minute per question. Treat each section as closed once its timer ends.

• Images reward visual revision: Specimens, X-rays, ECGs and clinical photographs need regular practice, not just text reading.

For marking rules, section strategy and exam-day timing in detail, read the INI CET exam pattern guide.

INI CET Syllabus

AIIMS does not publish a separate topic-wise syllabus. Questions are based on the MBBS curriculum prescribed by the NMC (and the BDS curriculum for MDS). In practice, that means all 19 MBBS subjects.

Admit Card, Result and Counselling

1. Admit card: Downloadable from your AIIMS login from 26 October 2026. It shows your exam city, centre, reporting time and instructions. Carry a printout with a valid photo ID.

2. Result: AIIMS publishes the result as a list of qualified candidates with their rank and percentile.

3. Counselling: Qualified candidates take part in online seat allocation conducted by AIIMS. You fill choices of institute and course, and seats are allotted by rank, category and availability across multiple rounds, followed by an open round where notified.

4. Reporting: Allotted candidates report to the institute with original documents within the given time. Missing this step forfeits the seat.

INI CET Qualifying Cut-Off

INI CET uses a qualifying percentile, not a fixed mark. You must reach this percentile to be considered for counselling, but clearing it does not guarantee a seat.

The actual closing rank for a seat depends on the institute, speciality, category and number of seats in that session, and it moves a lot between sessions. Treat past closing ranks as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above the qualifying percentile rather than a bare pass.

How to Prepare for INI CET

INI CET rewards depth and recall under time pressure. A plan that works for most interns rests on five habits.

• Build the base: Revise high-volume subjects first, mainly Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Community Medicine. Use standard textbooks for concepts and concise notes for revision.

• Add recent advances and images: Follow updated clinical guidelines, new drug approvals and national programme changes. Revise image banks every week rather than in one go before the exam.

• Solve previous papers: Recalled questions from past INI CET sessions show the depth AIIMS expects and how often topics repeat with a twist.

• Test each subject as you finish it: Short topic-wise tests, such as the INI CET subject-wise tests on Testkart, show whether a subject has actually stuck before you move on.

• Keep an error log: Note every wrong or guessed answer with the correct concept. Revising this log in the final weeks gives the highest return per hour.

Mock Tests and Timed Practice

Full-length mocks in the four-section, 45-minute format train you to pace each section and decide quickly when to skip. Analyse every mock on the same day: look at wrong answers, questions that took too long and questions you skipped but could have solved.

AIIMS INI CET is a two-attempts-a-year opportunity, so even if your internship timeline rules out the January 2027 session, a structured plan now puts you in a strong position for July 2027. Verify every date and rule on the official portal, practise in the real pattern, and revise from your own mistakes.