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NEET counselling · guide

EWS certificate for NEET counselling: limits and rules

Every point below links to its official source.

Key facts

  1. General (unreserved) candidates from Economically Weaker Sections get 10% of seats in each course in MCC counselling, under MoSJE OM No. 20013/01/2018-BC-II dated 17 January 2019. [1]
  2. To claim EWS in NEET counselling, a candidate must hold a valid EWS certificate that matches the 17.01.2019 OM and the latest Government of India guidelines. [1]
  3. EWS status requires gross annual family income below Rs 8 lakh, counting all sources (salary, agriculture, business, profession) for the financial year before the year of application. [2]
  4. A family is excluded from EWS whatever its income if it owns 5 acres or more of agricultural land, a residential flat of 1,000 sq ft or more, a residential plot of 100 sq yards or more in notified municipalities, or a plot of 200 sq yards or more elsewhere. [2]
  5. Property the family holds in different places or cities is added together for the land/property test. [2]
  6. For EWS purposes, 'family' means the applicant, their parents and siblings under 18, and their spouse and children under 18. [2]
  7. EWS is proved with an 'Income & Asset Certificate' in the prescribed format, issued by the competent revenue authority. In Puducherry, for example, the Tahsildar or Deputy Tahsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate issues it, and the certificate carries a 'valid for the year' field. [2]
  8. EWS reservation is for people not covered by SC, ST or central-list OBC reservation; the certificate states the holder's caste is not on those lists. [2]
  9. MCC requires the EWS certificate in the prescribed format at reporting, and NTA advised candidates to make sure their category certificate is updated and valid. [3]
  10. In MCC Round 3, unfilled EWS seats are converted to UR once eligible EWS candidates run out. [3]

Next steps

Which year's income counts on the EWS certificate?

Income for the financial year before the year of application, from all sources, under the central EWS norms.

Can an OBC candidate take EWS?

No. EWS is only for people not covered by SC, ST or central-list OBC reservation.

Sources

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