Students in Chennai on the day of NEET-UG re-examination on June 21, 2026
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu
Twelve students from Tamil Nadu have scored above 690 marks in the re-test of National Entrance-cum-Elegibility Test (NEET) 2026, the results for which were released by the National Testing Authority (NTA) late last night (July 16, 2026). The examination originally held on May 3 was cancelled on May 12 due to an alleged paper leak and a re-examination was held on June 21.
Venkatapathi Velayutham V.A., with a percentile of 99.99915, was placed 12th in all-India rankings and topped the charts among Tamil Nadu candidates. The other candidates are Srinika V. (all-India rank 27), Sudar A.M. (rank 45), Vanisha Satish (rank 51), Sabaree G.N. (rank 59), R. Jaikrishna (rank 75), Samvitha P. (rank 82), Navithana V. (rank 88), Nikhil Sivananthan S. (rank 92), Janani Swethaa D.R. (rank 112), Rohith Mathew Rabindrarajan E. (rank 115), and J. Jayakrishna (rank 134). Four of the students belong to the Other Backward Classes – Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL) category.
Of the total 1,42,494 candidates who had registered for NEET (UG) from Tamil Nadu this year, 1,08,601 appeared. Among them, 61,306 have qualified. Last year, of the 1,40,158 candidates who had registered, 1,35,715 appeared for the examination with as many as 76,181 qualifying. The percentage of candidates who qualified from Tamil Nadu remained more or less unchanged at 56.45% this year, compared to 56.13% last year.
Meanwhile, of the 138 candidates who scored above 690 marks out of 720 across India, over 93% appeared for NEET-UG for the first time and 99% are aged between 17 and 19 years, the National Testing Agency said in a statement.
This year’s NEET results have indicated an increase in cut-off marks to the tune of about 30 to 35, compared to last year. Interpreting the results, Ashwin Ramaswamy, an independent career counsellor, said this is because more students scored better marks compared to last year. Giving an example, he said that as per the all-India rank list in 2025, 73 candidates scored above 650 marks while this year, 1,390 students achieved that feat. “This would mean that there would be more competition for seats this year,” he observed.
In this respect, the proportion of students who scored above 600 marks has had one of the highest increase compared to last year. In 2025, a total of 1,332 students had scored above 600 marks while this year, the figure stood at 9,815. “The proportion of increase in all-India levels should reflect in Tamil Nadu as well,” Mr. Ashwin remarked. Going by the same formula, Tamil Nadu should have 76 students scoring above 650 and over 800 students scoring above 600 marks, he predicted.
As per National Medical Commission’s (NMC) seat matrix released on July 13, Tamil Nadu will have an additional 950 MBBS seats this year, taking the total number of MBBS seats in the 78 colleges in the State to 13,999.
While the Tamil Nadu Medical Selection authorities are yet to release the schedule for counselling, applications for admission to MBBS/BDS courses may be submitted on the portal www.tnmedicalselection.net.
Published – July 17, 2026 12:53 pm IST
