The clarification comes after Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s comments at a webinar on Monday were reported to suggest that the entrance tests would also be based on a reduced syllabus.

The syllabus for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will not be reduced in 2021, the Education Ministry statement said on Tuesday. However, as several Class 12 boards have cut down their syllabi this year, both the engineering and medical entrance tests will offer more choices in their question paper patterns.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reduced its Class 12 board examination syllabus by 30% in view of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The syllabus of JEE and NEET will remain unchanged for the year 2021. However, unlike previous years, this year the candidates will have options to answer the questions in JEE and NEET Examinations, said the Ministry statement. It was issued as a clarification after Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishanks comments at a webinar on Monday were reported to suggest that the entrance tests would also be based on a reduced syllabus.
The syllabus for the JEE-Main will remain the same as the previous year. Students will be allowed to answer 75 questions out of a total of 90, that is, 25 out of 30 questions each in the Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics sections. In 2020, candidates were given only 75 questions, all of which had to be answered.
The exact pattern for this years National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for undergraduate medical admissions (NEET-UG) is yet to be announced. However, in view of reduction of syllabus by some boards across the country, the NEET-UG 2021 question paper will also have options on the lines of JEE-Main, said the statement.