NEST Counselling 2026: Dates, Registration, EOI Form, Seat Allotment Process, NISER, UMDAE CEBS
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NEST Counselling 2026: Dates, Registration, EOI Form, Seat Allotment Process, NISER, UMDAE CEBS

Anurag ReddyUpdated on 31 Oct 2025, 04:56 PM IST

NEST Counselling 2026 - NISER and UM - DAE CEBS will start the NEST 2026 counselling registration process in July for the candidates who have qualified in the NEST 2026 exam. NISER and CEBS will hold the counselling sessions separately for the convenience of the candidates. The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) will be held to provide admissions for M.Sc programmes at NISER, Bhubaneswar and UM - DAE CEBS, Mumbai.

This Story also Contains

  1. NEST Counselling Dates 2026
  2. NISER Bhubaneswar Counselling 2026
  3. UMDAE CEBS Counselling 2026
  4. NEST Counselling 2026 Process
  5. NEST 2026 Counselling - Withdrawal of Admission
  6. NEST Counselling 2026 : Reservation Criteria
  7. NEST 2026 Seat Intake
  8. NEST Cut off 2026
NEST Counselling 2026: Dates, Registration, EOI Form, Seat Allotment Process, NISER, UMDAE CEBS
NEST Counselling

Candidates who qualified in the NEST exam should appear for the counselling and submit their documents for document verification at the time of counselling. The candidates who qualified in the NEST exam 2026 will be announced in the form of a merit list. The NEST merit list 2026 contains the ranks of candidates in Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS) and Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP). The candidates who got shortlisted will be eligible for the NEST 2026 counselling. Read more to know about the NEST counselling 2026, Documents required for NEST counselling 2026, etc.

NEST Counselling Dates 2026

Events

Dates

NEST 2026

June 2026

NEST 2026 Result

July 2026

NISER Bhubaneswar Counselling 2026

NISER merit list

July 2026

Email regarding Expression of Interest (EOI)

July 2026

Last date to fill the EOI form

July 2026

Document uploading

July 2026

First Round for admission

August 2026

First Round for counselling

August 2026

Payment window for admission through round 1st counselling

August 2026

Second round for counselling

September 2026

Payment window for admission through round 2nd counselling

September 2026

Third round for counselling

September 2026

Payment window for admission through round 3rd counselling

September 2026

Spot admission for the remaining candidates

October 2026


UMDAE CEBS Counselling 2026

UM-DAE CEBS registration

July 2026

Last date to fill UM-DAE CEBS registration

July 2026

UM-DAE CEBS First merit list

August 2026

Payment for UM-DAE CEBS first merit list candidates

August 2026

First Round for Counselling

August 2026

Second Round for Counselling

September 2026

Third Round for Counselling

September 2026

Semester Registration

October 2026


NEST Counselling 2026 Process

NISER, Bhubaneswar and UM - DAE CEBS will conduct the NEST 2026 counselling in offline mode. Candidates are required to attend the counselling sessions at the scheduled location on scheduled date and time. Candidates should submit all the required documents for verification before the NEST 2026 counselling process.

  • Applicants are required to submit the application form to appear for the NEST 2026 counselling.

  • Candidates can choose their preferred location based on their convenience for the counselling session.

  • Candidates are allowed to proceed with the process after the original documents have been verified.

  • Candidates must present the appropriate certificate for claiming the reserved category.

  • Candidates are required to choose a college and a course preference during counselling.

  • Candidates are required to submit a demand draft for the required fee to gain admission in the allotted college.

  • Candidates will be issued an offer letter by the authority, with which the candidate can enrol in the designated course and college.

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Documents Required for NEST Counselling 2026

Candidates are required to carry all the required documents to the NEST counselling process for verification. The admission process will not be completed without document verification. Here are the documents required for NEST exam counselling 2026.

  • Class 12 marksheet.

  • Category certificate.

  • Printout of NEST 2026 scorecard.

  • Four passport size colour photographs.

  • Proof of Date of Birth.

NEST Question/Sample Papers
Candidates can download NEST Question/Sample Papers from here.
Download Now

Photocopies of all the documents mentioned above are also required.

NEST 2026 Counselling - Withdrawal of Admission

Candidates who wish to discontinue from the counselling process and want to withdraw their NEST 2026 admission are required to follow the steps mentioned for withdrawing seats.

  • Name

  • Application number and roll number

  • Date of Birth

  • Percentage of Class 12th

  • Venue for counselling

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NEST Counselling 2026 : Reservation Criteria

NISER and CEBS will offer reservations to the reserved category candidates applying for admission. NISER and CEBS also reserve a certain percentage of seats for candidates of SC/ ST, OBC-NCL, PwD and Supernumerary Quota seats for candidates who are from Jammu and Kashmir.

OBC-NCL

  • 27% of the total seats are reserved in the admission process for candidates of the OBC-NCL category. It must be noted that candidates belonging to the OBC category are not considered eligible for reservation. Such candidates are treated the same as General category candidates. Even candidates who belong to the Socially and Educationally Backward Class have to match the criteria of OBC NCL to be considered eligible for the reservation as stated by the state government.

SC/ ST

  • 15% of the total seats are reserved for candidates of SC category, whereas 7.5% of seats will be reserved for candidates of ST category. To avail the reservation, candidates have to submit the requisite documents like a caste certificate to the admission committee during admission.

PwD

  • Candidates of PwD category will have 5% of the total seats reserved for them. The disability certificate presented by candidates has to be in accordance with the latest guidelines specified by the Government of India.

Supernumerary Quota for students from Jammu and Kashmir

  • Two supernumerary seats at both NISER Bhubaneswar and UMDAE-CBS will be reserved for candidates from Jammu and Kashmir. To avail the supernumerary quota, candidates must have completed their class 12th from the State Board of Jammu and Kashmir or from CBSE-affiliated schools which are located in Jammu and Kashmir.

NEST 2026 Seat Intake

The following seats are available at NISER and CEBS for each category:

Category

Seat Intake at NISER

Seat Intake at CEBS

General

101

23

Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the General category

NA (to be confirmed at the time of admission process only)

06

Other Backward Classes (OBC) - Non-Creamy Layer

54

15

Scheduled Caste (SC)

30

09

Scheduled Tribes (ST)

15

04

Divyangjan

5% of seats in each category above

5% of seats in each category

Total

200

57

NEST Cut off 2026

The NEST 2026 cut off will be declared by various institutions. Go through the below table to know about the NEST cut off marks for each category.

Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS)

Subject

General/ General-EWS

OBC-NCL

SC/ ST/ Divyangjan/ JK

Shift-I

Shift-II

Shift-I

Shift-II

Shift-I

Shift-II

Biology

5.698

5.541

5.128

4.987

2.849

2.771

Chemistry

5.215

6.106

4.694

5.495

2.608

3.053

Mathematics

4.979

6.082

4.481

5.474

2.49

3.041

Physics

4.817

5.125

4.335

4.613

2.409

2.563

Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) for merit-list

Category

Percentile

General / General-EWS

>=90

OBC-NCL

>=85

SC/ST/Divyangjan/JK

>=60

NEST 2022 Session 1 Cut Off for NISER Bhubaneswar (SMAS)

Category

Biology

Chemistry

Mathematics

Physics

General

4.2170

3.4805

3.6305

2.9345

OBC

3.7953

3.1325

3.2675

2.6411

SC/ST/PD/JK

2.1085

1.7403

1.8153

1.4673

NEST 2022 Session 2 Cut Off for NISER Bhubaneswar (SMAS)

Category

Biology

Chemistry

Mathematics

Physics

General

3.4599

3.3875

2.7815

2.9620

OBC

3.1140

3.0488

2.5034

2.6658

SC/ST/PD/JK

1.7300

1.6938

1.3908

1.4810

NEST 2022 Session 1 Cut Off for CEBS Mumbai (SMAS)

Category

Biology

Chemistry

Mathematics

Physics

General

8.43

6.96

7.26

5.87

OBC

7.59

6.26

6.53

5.28

SC/ST/PD/JK

4.22

3.48

3.63

2.93

NEST 2022 Session 2 Cut Off for CEBS Mumbai (SMAS)

Category

Biology

Chemistry

Mathematics

Physics

General

6.92

6.78

5.56

5.92

OBC

6.23

6.10

5.01

5.33

SC/ST/PD/JK

3.46

3.39

2.78

2.96

NEST 2022 Overall Cut Off (MAP)

Category

Overall Cut Off

ST/ SC/ Divyangjan

75%

OBC

90%

General

95%


NEST Reservation 2026

Category

Reservation (%)

OBC-NCL

27%

SC

15%

ST

7.5%

PD

3%

J&K Candidates

2 seats in each institution


Read more -

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: When will the NEST 2026 counselling begin?
A:

The NEST counselling 2026 for NISER Bhubaneswar and UM - DAE CEBS Mumbai will begin in July.

Q: Which colleges accept admissions through NEST 2026?
A:

NISER Bhubaneswar and CEBS Mumbai will accept admissions through the NEST 2026 exam.

Q: Who is eligible for NEST 2026?
A:

Candidates appearing for the NEST 2026 should have completed Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics as mandatory subjects in Class 12.

Q: Is there any reservation for the OBC Creamy Layer category in NEST 2026?
A:

No, there won’t be any reservation for the OBC Creamy Layer category in NEST exam 2026.

Q: Will the NISER and the CEBS have separate merit lists?
A:

Yes, the NISER and the CEBS will each publish their own merit lists.

Q: Will OBC candidates who do not have non-creamy layer certificates be granted a seat reservation in NEST 2026?
A:

No, only candidates from the non-creamy layer will be given preference under the OBC category.

Q: Will there be any seat reservations at NEST participating institutions for candidates in the EWS category?
A:

Qualified candidates from the EWS category will only be given a seat reservation at the CEBS under the General-EWS category. The NISER does not accept such reservations.

Q: How many rounds are there in the counselling process of NEST?
A:

NEST counselling process is typically done in three rounds.

Q: Is there any reservation for the OBC Creamy Layer category?
A:

No, there is no reservation for the OBC Creamy Layer category.

Q: When will the UM-DAE releases its first merit list?
A:

The University of Mumbai, Department of Atomic Energy will release the UM-DAE CEBS 2026 first merit list in July.

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Questions related to NEST

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NEST ?

Hello,

Yes, as a PCB (physics, chemistry, biology) student you can appear for the NEST (National Screening Test) exam, as it is open to all science students, and they can appear for any three of the four sections (biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics). With the NEST exam, you can get admission to institutes like NISER and CEBS.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hey:)

Thanks for reaching out!

You can attempt the NEST exam multiple times since there's no fixed limit on the number of attempts, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria for that particular year. On the other hand, the IISER Aptitude test (IAT) allows a maximum of three attempts in consecutive years after your class 12th. Both exams are conducted once a year,so, stay updated on eligibility rules and make the best use of the opportunity.

Hope this helps!


Yes, your NEST 2025 rank of 470 is quite competitive for getting admission into CEBS Mumbai. In previous years, CEBS has admitted students with ranks even beyond 500 in later rounds, depending on the availability of seats and withdrawals. So with your rank, you definitely stand a good chance, especially in Round 1 itself.

Also, keep in mind:

  • You must fill out the CEBS-specific admission form after your NEST result.

  • Be ready with your documents like Class 12 marksheet, NEST scorecard, ID proof, etc.

  • Fee structure is also subsidized due to DAE support and scholarships are available for meritorious students.

So yes, you are in a good position for CEBS Mumbai admission. Just follow the official admission updates and don’t miss the deadlines.


Hello!

So according to your rank that is 1713 in NEST you chances of getting NISER is very difficult because the cutt off of general category usually closed at 1000 rank and seats are very limited,  You rank 1713 is above that. You can try for other institutes that accept low rank if you are open to other options.


Yes, with a PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) background, you can pursue a B.Tech in Biotechnology, especially if you've taken relevant entrance exams like NEST, CUET, or have appeared for NEET. While some B.Tech programs may require Mathematics as a core subject, many universities offer programs that accommodate PCB students, either through specific tracks or by providing bridging courses in Mathematics during the first year.