New Delhi, May 22 -- The Centre is considering capping the number of attempts and introducing an upper age limit for NEET-UG aspirants - a significant shift for an examination that currently has no such restrictions - and told a Parliamentary panel on Thursday that these measures, alongside a gradual shift to computer-based testing (CBT), form the next phase of reforms flowing from the Radhakrishnan committee's recommendations. Currently, NEET-UG has no upper age limit and no cap on attempts; the only eligibility threshold is a minimum age of 17. The three reforms - attempt and age limits, CBT transition, and multi-session and multi-stage testing - were presented to the Parliament standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports as "long-term measures" to be implemented in consultation with the health ministry. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had separately announced on May 15 that NEET-UG will move to a digital format from next year. The meeting itself turned fractious. BJP MPs objected to the use of the word "leak" - opposing it both in the proceedings and in the agenda circulated three days prior. Opposition members objected to the BJP's position. NTA and the ministry maintained that "it was not a leak." The 31-member committee is headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and comprises 17 BJP members, four Congress, three Samajwadi Party, two TMC, and one each from DMK and NCP-SP; three seats are currently vacant. The Radhakrishnan panel, which submitted its report containing 95 recommendations in October 2024, had flagged multi-stage testing as a "viable possibility," saying "an acceptable framework with thresholds and test objectives of scoring/ranking at each stage, and number of attempts etc. may be evolved." NTA currently has CBT capacity for 150,000 candidates per shift and aims to expand that to 1 million within a year. This year, the NEET-UG was taken by 2.27 million - a volume that at present forces the agency to have candidates answer on paper. The age and attempt cap proposals drew divided reactions. Ajai Singh, vice chancellor of UP University of Medical Sciences Saifai, welcomed them. "Beyond a point, the ability to learn new skills and cope with the rigours of medical training declines. We already have such limits in several competitive examinations, and it is important to ensure students do not spend years repeatedly attempting one exam at the cost of their academic and professional growth," he said....