The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) has announced that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will become a compulsory requirement for admission to several undergraduate allied and healthcare programmes starting from the 2026-27 academic year. The commission clarified that students aspiring to pursue select allied and healthcare professional courses after Class 12 or an equivalent qualifying examination must appear for NEET in addition to fulfilling all other course-specific eligibility norms.
In its recent update issued in November, NCAHP confirmed that it has already notified 13 curricula for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes under the Allied and Healthcare category, all of which are set to be implemented in the upcoming academic cycle. More curricula are expected to be released soon as part of the commission’s ongoing reforms. According to the NCAHP Act, 2021, the eligibility requirements for these programmes have been embedded in the newly notified curricula, with the majority clearly listing NEET qualification as a mandatory criterion alongside other academic requirements.
The admission cycle for these revised programmes is scheduled to commence in 2026-27, marking a significant shift in the entry process for allied health sciences. Earlier this year, the commission also recommended discontinuing the use of the term “paramedical,” replacing it with the more comprehensive and formally recognised term “Allied and Healthcare,” reflecting the evolving scope and professionalism of these fields.
Among the key reforms introduced in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), physiotherapy graduates have now been permitted to use the title ‘Dr,’ provided it is followed by the suffix ‘PT’ to distinguish them from medical doctors and PhD holders. The revised norms also mandate NEET qualification for admission to programmes such as physiotherapy, optometry, nutrition and dietetics, dialysis technology, and various therapy-based courses, reinforcing efforts to standardise entry pathways and enhance quality across allied healthcare education.