Institutes of National Importance Combined Entrance Test

INI-CET, the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test, is a national postgraduate medical entrance examination. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, conducts it as a computer-based test, held twice a year across a January session and a July session.

A qualifying score opens postgraduate seats at the country's Institutes of National Importance. It is used for admission to MD, MS and MDS courses, and to DM and MCh programmes, at institutions including the AIIMS network, JIPMER Puducherry, PGIMER Chandigarh, NIMHANS Bengaluru and SCTIMST Trivandrum.

The test replaced the separate entrance exams these institutions once ran on their own, so a candidate now sits one paper in place of several. Eligibility rests on an MBBS or BDS degree from a recognised institution and completion of the compulsory rotatory internship, or a scheduled completion by the cut-off each cycle sets. The question paper follows the MBBS and BDS curriculum, drawing on pre-clinical, para-clinical and clinical subjects.

Sources: AIIMS Assessment & Examination Registration Portal (official conducting body) · Careers360 – INI-CET replaces AIIMS PG, JIPMER PG, PGIMER and NIMHANS PG exams · PhysicsWallah – INI-CET full form and overview