Exams test the ability of students and also instill core skills like time management, discipline, patience and hard work. Exams are the standard criteria whether you are applying to a university abroad or for a job. Some exams ask students to give descriptive answers while others are multiple-choice based. Clearing any exam requires strategic study planning. In this article, we have covered the top 10 toughest exams in India spread across various fields and disciplines that you should know.
Here is a list of some of the toughest exams in India.
Table of Contents
Chartered Accountant
The CA course has a rigorous exam pattern and is conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Clearing the multi-tier exam guarantees a successful career with a lucrative salary. But these exams require a great amount of hard work and dedication. There are three levels including the CPT or the Common Proficiency Test, the IPCC or the Integrated Professional Competence Course and the CA Final Examination.
| Conducting Body | Institute of Chartered Accountants of India |
| Exam Dates 2022(CPT) | June 2022 |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate |
| Exam Level | Foundation, Intermediate and Final |
| Official Website | icaiexam.icai.org |
AIIMS – UG
The AIIMS UG is conducted and organized by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. It is conducted at seven different campuses of AIIMS. AIIMS is one of the ksot renowned and selective medical institutions of India. It is a dream institution of many aspiring medical students. There are limited seats for students and they are expected to work really hard in order to ace it. The difficulty level of the exam is increased every year so that only the most deserving candidates get a seat.
| Conducting Body | All India Institute of Medical Sciences |
| Exam Dates 2022 | 25 June |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate and postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | mbbs.aiimsexams.org |
IIT – JEE
The IIT – JEE exam is conducted at the Indian Institute of Technology to test the eligibility of students for various engineering courses. There are two different stages including the IIT – JEE Mains and IIT – JEE Advanced. A large number of students appear for this exam every year and only a few are selected to attend IIT. In order to get admitted to the prestigious IIT, students have to work extremely hard as the syllabus is complex and the competition is too high. Approximately 6.5 lakh students appear for this exam every year and only the top 2.5 lakh qualify for the JEE Advanced.
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency |
| Exam Dates 2022 | 1st Session – February 4th week 2022, 2nd Session – March 3rd week 2022, 3rd Session – April last week 2022, 4th Session – May last week 2022. |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official | jeemain.nta.nic.in |
UPSC Civil Services Exam
The UPSC Civil Services exams is the most prestigious exam which is conducted to recruit students for top positions at the administrative level in the Central Government of India. The exams cover a variety of services including IPS, IAS and IFS. This three-tier exam demands a lot of hard work, dedication and seriousness. It consists of Preliminary Exams, Main Exam and the interview or personality test. The UPSC exam is one of the toughest exams in India encompassing a wide range of subjects. Every year around 10 lakh students appear for the exam.
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission |
| Exam Dates 2022 | 5th June 2022 |
| Exam Type | Postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India level |
| Official Website | www.upsc.gov.in |
NEET UG
The NEET exam is mandatory in India in order to get admission in any medical school of India. The National Testing Agency conducts a premedical test to choose candidates for BDS, MBBS and other medical courses in top institutions. Students who have qualified for their 12th grade examinations are eligible for this exam. With increasing competition, this exam has become one of the toughest exams in India. In 2021, approximately 17th lakh candidates appeared for this exam.
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency |
| Exam Dates 2022 | May 2022 |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | www.nta.ac.in |
Graduate Aptitude Test In Engineering
The GATE exam is conducted to test the eligibility of students for postgraduate courses in IIT. This exam is conducted by the Indian Institute of Science and has a prominent name in the list of the toughest exams in India. The GATE syllabus consists of a number of concepts taught across 4 years of undergraduate degree.
The candidates are tested on two different parameters i.e. General Aptitude and knowledge of Technical and Engineering Mathematics. Out of 7.11 lakh candidates who appeared for the exam in 2021, only 1.26 lakh candidates qualify for the exam. The candidate’s knowledge is tested on B.Tech and B.E. curriculum.
| Conducting Body | Indian Institute of Science |
| Exam Dates 2022 | 5th, 6th, 12th and 15th February 2022 |
| Exam Type | Postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | gate.iitkgp.ac.in |
National Defense Academy
The National Defense Academy exam or the NDA exam is conducted for recruiting candidates to the Indian Army, Navy or Airforce. It is conducted twice a year to analyse and determine the best candidates for the country’s highly prestigious defense academy. There are two stages to the exam i.e the written test and the SSB interview. There is a list of outdoor activities too to evaluate the performance of candidates on the ground. It is important for students to be physically fit to clear this stage. Students have to compulsorily clear all stages in order to qualify for admission to NDA.
| Conducting Body | UPSC |
| Exam Dates 2022 | NDA (I) – 10th April 2022, NDA (II) – 4th September 2022. |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | upsc.gov.in |
Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)
The Common Law Admissions Test is conducted to qualify for admissions to LLB and LLM. It is an entrance exam that is accepted by a majority of law schools in India. The exam is conducted offline only once a year. In order to be eligible for admission to a bachelor’s course, students must have completed 12th grade examinations.
In order to be eligible for admission to a master’s course, they must have a bachelor’s degree. The exam is quite challenging and requires a lot of hard work and knowledge of a variety of subjects. A large number of candidates appear for this exam every year to get admission to top law colleges of India.
| Conducting Body | National Law Universities |
| Exam Dates 2022 | May 3rd week, 2022 |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate and postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official | consortiumofnlus.ac.in |
National Institute of Design Entrance Exam
The NID exam is a design aptitude exam conducted by the National Institute of Design. This exam is designed to select talented candidates for the prospective design courses in NID. Students need to ace this exam in order to get admission to courses like Bachelor of Design, Master of Design and others. The exam has two levels including NID Prelims and NID Mains. Candidates are shortlisted through these levels for admission at NID located across the country.
The questions is the general paper of the exam are quite tricky and challenging. The creative section of the exam is very subjective and time-consuming. Hence, this exam is considered to be one of the toughest exams in India.
| Conducting Body | National Institute of Design |
| Exam Dates 2022 | 2nd January, 2022 |
| Exam Type | Undergraduate and postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | https://admissions.nid.edu/ |
UGC NET
UGC NET is another tough exam in the list that evaluates candidates for the Assistant Professor post and the Junior Research Fellowship post at Indian universities and various colleges. The exam is organized across 83 subjects. It is conducted across 81 centres spread around the country. The exam is conducted under the authority of the NTA or the National Testing Agency. Students who have completed their master’s degree usually pursue this exam. Around 6 lakh candidates appeared for UGC NET in 2021 and only 40000 qualified for the same. Paper 1 of the exam is extremely challenging and competitive, which is why only a few candidates are shortlisted.
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency |
| Exam Dates 2022 | June 1st Week, 2022 |
| Exam Type | Postgraduate |
| Exam Level | All India Level |
| Official Website | https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in/ |
Other Toughest Exams
Apart from the exams mentioned above there are a few other tough exams which are worth mentioning. So here are some other tough exams in India.
Indian Engineering Services
The IES exam is another contender in the list of tough exams. This exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and is designed to shortlist candidates for a number of engineering positions and some vacancies under the Government’s various departments. Over 2 lakh candidates appear for this exam every year. The test encompasses three level procedures of recruitment i.e IES Preliminary, IES Main and a personality test. The IES exam is organized for various engineering branches including electrical, mechanical, civil and electronics engineering.
Common Admission Test
The Common Admission Test is conducted to facilitate admissions to top business schools of India. Candidates are tested on a number of parameters like logical reasoning, data interpretation and verbal reasoning skills. Each year over 2 lakh candidates appear for CAT, but only 1500 are selected. The exam is conducted once a year online.
FAQs
After analysing the level of questions that appears in various exams, UPSC is undoubtedly the toughest one. However, NEET is one of the toughest national level exams in India as well.
Is NEET A Tough Exam? No doubt, NEET is a difficult and challenging exam. We are talking about the single-level medical entrance examination of the country with lakhs of students appearing for the exam, and limited seats offered in desired colleges.
A for difficulty level, NEET is slightly tougher than JEE Mains but easier than JEE Advanced, but that is subjective, as seats are comparatively limited in NEET making it more competitive.
Is it More Difficult for ICSE Students to Crack NEET? Ans: It is not. ICSE students can also qualify for NEET exam as the books that ICSE students follow and refer are similar to those followed by CBSE students. However, ICSE students need to refer to NCERT books as they are the main reference books to crack NEET.
Just getting admitted to a CBSE or ICSE board won’t guarantee you a seat in an IIT. For a JEE aspirant, it also depends on the mentality of the student. A student can be capable of handling the extra subjects in ICSE with ease, may enjoy reading literature books and feel better preparing for any examination
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