NEST 2025: Important Topics & High-Scoring Strategies

Everyone is busy with their board exams and in the meantime, an important update regarding an entrance examination is out. Many times during the preparation time, when you study Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, you ask in which examinations you can participate more. So one of the very important examinations is the NEST (National Entrance Screening Test). 

From the two of the most prestigious institutions you can pursue integrated B.Sc and M.Sc courses from here. One of the institutes is National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneshwar and University of Mumbai- Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CEBS), Mumbai. Those who want to be in the research field, this is their golden opportunity. 

Introduction

The NEST 2025 is a compulsory and computer based entrance test that provides you the admission opportunity to the 5 year integrated B.Sc and M.Sc programme in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics at NISER, Bhubaneshwar and UM-DAE CEBS, Mumbai. 

Through the DISHA program of the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, admitted candidates receive annual scholarships of Rs 60,000. Each scholarship recipient gets Rs 20,000 per year for summer internship expenses. Candidates chosen by DST will receive INSPIRE scholarship endorsements from both NISER and UM-DAE CEBS through the INSPIRE-SHE program selection. 

Students who graduated from this program are now conducting Ph.D. studies at elite universities in India and international institutions. Students who maintain above a specified threshold in their program's overall performance at NISER and UM-DAE CEBS become eligible to directly face interviews for admission to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) training school.

Eligibility criteria for appearing in NEST 2025

Applicants who plan to join NISER and UM–DAE CEBS Integrated MSc programme 2025–30 must study regular science during their classes XI and XII. Candidates planning to enroll in admission programs need to pass the NEST 2025 examination. All applicants need to complete their class XII exams from any Indian recognized board either in 2023 or 2024 or must attend their upcoming examinations in 2025. 

Candidates who plan to join the program in 2025 need to complete their board examination before admission. The minimum requirement for NISER and UM-DAE CEBS admission is obtaining at least 60% marks or equivalent grade in class XII examination. All candidates who meet the specified criteria will be considered for admission directly. 

Scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) candidates along with Divyangjan candidates who achieve 55% marks or equivalent in their XIIth class exams are eligible for admission. Admission to NISER and UM-DAE CEBS requires students to submit a certificate from their Board which translates their letter grades into equivalent percentages of marks. If no certificate about equivalent percentage is submitted, then the admissions committee's decision at the concerned institution becomes final.

Reservation of Seats policy

The Integrated MSc program 2025–30 will offer 200 seats at NISER and 57 seats at UM-DAE CEBS. Both NISER and UM-DAE CEBS implement seat reservation policies in accordance with Government of India standards. 

• A total of 27% seats at these institutions have been allocated for students from the OBC-NCL category. 
• Candidates who fall within the creamy layer of Other Backward Classes (OBC) do not qualify for admission under reserved seats. These candidates will automatically fall under General Category status during admission procedures. The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) as notified by some of the State Governments, are, as such, NOT eligible to avail any reservation unless they satisfy the OBC–NCL criteria.  Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of society is allowed in the General-EWS category for admission to UM-DAE CEBS only.
• The admission process includes a 15% seat reservation for Scheduled Castes and a 7.5% seat reservation for Scheduled Tribes. Only those castes and tribes included in their respective state lists published by the Government of India will receive reservation benefits.

NEXT Examination Date 2025

The NEST 2025 examination will take place at multiple testing locations located in major towns across India during June 22, 2025 (Sunday) from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Candidates can check their NEST 2025 merit list (see merit list preparation section on page 11) posted on the NEST 2025 website by July 10, 2025. Any update or change regarding the examinations will be announced on the website. 

Examination Centres

There are about 128 proposed examination centres located across India's cities and towns where candidates can take their NEST Exam 2025. When candidates complete their application form they must specify three preferred examination centers. The examination team will make all possible attempts to assign the candidate's first preference center. The NEST admit card contains the necessary information regarding the allocated test venue's address. NEST candidates can download their admit cards from the online application portal starting from 02 June 2025. 

Examination Rules

• All candidates must arrive at the test venue sixty minutes before the scheduled start time of the examination. 
• The test will last 3 hours and 30 minutes starting at 9:00 AM.  Candidates will not be allowed to enter the examination hall after 9:30 AM. 
• Candidates must wait until 11 AM to leave the examination hall unless they require medical assistance. 
• Any use of log tables or calculators within the examination area remains prohibited. Candidates may bring their pens/pencils. 
• Candidates must not share or exchange their permitted items with their fellow candidates. 
• Candidates must present their admit card, school photo Identity Card or any official photo ID issued by Government agencies at the examination hall. 
• Any candidates discovered using unfair examination tactics will face immediate disqualification from the exam venue. 
• The examination hall maintains a strict ban on mobile phones along with all electronic gadgets.

Question Type and Total Marks

• The question paper comprises four sections that contain objective-type (MCQ) questions. 
• The paper consists of four distinct sections of 60 marks each along with specific questions from Biology and Chemistry and Mathematics and Physics. Each section includes 20 questions that have a single correct response. 
• The correct response gets 3 marks but selecting an incorrect answer will result in losing 1 mark and leaving a question blank will earn no marks. 
• The candidate's aim should be to answer every question in the exam because it produces better results. 
• The best three scores from the four sections will be combined to create the merit list at both institutions. 
• The section with the least score becomes unimportant for evaluation purposes during marking. That is, scores out of 180 marks will be considered for preparing the merit list. 
• Candidates can access previous year's question papers through NEST 2025 website at The question paper will be available in the languages Hindi and English. 

How to apply?

Candidates should visit to submit their NEST 2025 application online. Detailed instructions for the online procedure can be found by clicking ‘How to Apply online’. Online application submissions for NEST 2025 will end on May 09, 2025 at 11:45 PM. Candidates must submit all their applications exclusively on the NEST 2025 website. Candidates can submit applications only by using their official website and there are no other available application submission methods. Once candidates register online their application submission and fee payment portals become accessible with corresponding login credentials. 

• Male candidates in the General and OBC groups must pay Rs. 1,400/– as their application fee. 
• Candidates who fall into the SC/ST/Divyangjan groups and all female candidates must pay an application fee of Rs. 700/- during the application process.
• Candidates can make payments through an online payment gateway using credit card/debit card/net-banking options. 
• Applicants can use payment options including Mastercard/Visa/RuPay and UPI to proceed with the transaction. 
• Throughout the application process candidates are not required to send documents to the NEST office.
• Read the instruction sheet (under the 'How to Apply Online' section at www.nestexam.in) for complete details about the application process. 

NOTE: Candidates will be able to access their NEST 2025 admit card online starting from June 02, 2025. Admit cards will NOT be dispatched to any applicant. Applicants must download their admit cards through the NEST website after they log in to the website. The download link will be available only till the day of the examination.

Also check:

NEET 2025 Registration

NEET 2025 caste Certificate

NEET 2025 Information Bulletin