India is a developing nation and one of the largest economies in the world, having more than 100 billion population of more than 50% of the people are youth and below the age of 25% moreover all are connected to education and its society. Such a big nation like India is the largest producer of some of the best minds like engineers, business icons, and investors who would have applied for at least one competitive exam in their successful careers. Exams in India are the qualitative stages that justify the intelligence of the students and this trend has evolved today and resulted in conducting the toughest exams in India.
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Introduction
The world’s largest democratic nation has the best administration system that goes through the selection process for which it conducts the toughest exams for the Indian Administrative Services and National Defence Training. Government Services in India only can be achieved after qualifying for the exams scheduled as per the Indian Government System. Here the candidates have to appear for the top toughest exams in India to show their intelligence fit for that post.
The toughest exams in India may include the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for Indian Administrative Services, the Common Admission Test (CAT), IIT Jee Mains, and Gate. All these exams are scheduled to judge the candidates whether they are eligible for the post or not.
| S. No. | Top 10 Toughest Exams in India: Comprehensive Explanation |
| 1. | Civil Service Examination (IAS) |
| 2. | Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advance |
| 3. | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
| 4. | NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) |
| 5. | Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) |
| 6. | AIIMS MBBS Entrance Exam (AIIMS) |
| 7. | CA (Chartered Accountancy) Exam |
| 8. | Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) |
| 9. | National Defence Academy (NDA) Exam |
| 10. | CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) |
This article is all about the most difficult exams and their selection process which will help you to understand the Indian Administration System and how it works in society.
Top 10 Toughest Exams in India: Comprehensive Explanation
A detailed explanation of the top 10 toughest exams in India is given in this article which will enhance your understanding and help to know the behaviour and conducting agency of all these exams.
1. Civil Service Examination (IAS)
This is one of the reputed exams and is also considered the toughest exam in India which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as per the guidelines mentioned in the UPSC committee.
The Civil Service Examination is conducted in various stages like Preliminary, Mains, and interview using it select the candidates for prestigious services like Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS), etc.
Number of Participants in Exam- Approx 10-12 lakhs
Conducted Month- Once a year, Prelims in September and Mains in June
Mode- Offline using Pen and Paper
Application Fee- 100 (Relaxation provided for SC/ST/PwBD/Women candidates)
2. Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advance
JEE mains exam conducted for the selection process of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) by the National Testing Agency (NTA). This exam is one of the toughest exams in India after the prelims examination based on which the seats for IITs and NITs colleges are filed.
The JEE mains exams give rise to some of the best engineers in the world which reshape the future of the world through their intelligence and creative minds. Some of the best IIT colleges in India include the IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kharagpur which are responsible for delivering some of the best engineering minds all across the world.
Number of Participants: About 2.5 lakhs in a JEE exam
Conducting Period: Once in a year (Probably in May)
Mode: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Conducting Agency: IITs on a circular basis
Fee: 2800 for General and OBC male candidates, 1400 for female candidates, and 1400 for SC/ST/and PwD candidates
3. Common Admission Test (CAT)
The CAT exam is conducted by the famous exam-conducting agency, the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) which is popular for giving MBA courses and programs. The main purpose of this exam is the ability of the candidates for their verbal ability, reading comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability.
The CAT exam is well known for offering some of the best courses and programs for businesses and management knowledge and experience in categorizing human resources and developing factors in the world’s economy.
Appeared Candidates: Approximately 2.5 lakhs in a year
Conducting Year: Once in a year (Generally in November/December)
Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT)
Conducted By: IIMs on a rotational basis
Fee: 2200 GN, EWS, NC- OBC candidates, 1100 for all other categories
4. NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test)
NEET PG is the exam that selects the candidates for the Post-Graduate programs in the master category in medical courses like (MD/MS/Diploma) in India. This is considered one of the toughest exams in India conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBA) regularly as per the standards and procedures mentioned in the medical association system of India.
The graduate candidates have to prepare a lot for appearing in this examination after which they get admission in the highly decorated colleges to pursue a master’s degree in medical courses.
Application Per Year: Approximately 1.5 to 2 lakhs in a year
Frequency: Once in a year (Usually in January/February)
Mode: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Conducted By: National Board of Examinations (NBE)
Courses: Apply for courses on MS/MD/Diploma courses in the medical stream
Application Fee: 5000 for General/OBC Candidates, 3750 for SC/ST/PwD candidates
5. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)
This exam is one of the toughest exams in India, specifically for engineers willing to pursue master’s degrees in engineering. GATE is conducted by the Indian Institute of Sciences and Seven Institute of Technology for admission in some of the best post-graduate programs and recruitment to various public sector undertakings (PSUs).
This is a very famous exam in India among brilliant minds who are interested in digging further into their career options after coming up with the path of engineering.
Number of Participants: Approx 9-10 lakhs candidates
Conducting Period: Once a year mostly in February
Conducting Mode: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Conducting Agency: IITs and IISc on a rotation basis
Courses: After this exam, you will get the post-graduate program in engineering/architecture and recruitment in PSUs.
Application Fee: 1500 to 2000 for General and OBC candidates, 750 to 1250 for SC/ST/PwD candidates.
6. AIIMS MBBS Entrance Exam (AIIMS)
All India-Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is one of the toughest exams conducted by the All India-Institute of Medical Sciences for the application of the best medical institute in India. The entrance exam offers some of the best colleges for the undergraduate medical course MBBS.
This is the best method to pursue the undergraduate program in the medical course in India like MBBS and after that NEET UG application which also offers the same medical course under the name of the popular medical colleges.
Application Numbers: Approx 2-3 lakhs candidates
Conducting Period: Once in a year (Approximately in May/June)
Conducting Mode: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Course: Admission in the undergraduate Medical Course MBBS in AIIMS
Conducted By: All India-Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
Application Fee: 1500- 2000 for General and OBC candidates, 1200 to 1500 for SC/ST candidates.
Don’t Miss: Top 10 Medical Institutions of India
7. CA (Chartered Accountancy) Exam
This is considered one of the toughest exams in India which gives access to the best Chartered Accountancy (CA) who are responsible for managing all the accountancy-related work of the company. The CA exam conducted in India is categorized into three different stages which are CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final. Every step of this exam has a vast syllabus and a low passing percentage.
The exam conducted for this CA program is to judge the skills and intelligence of the candidates like their accounting, taxation, auditing, and financial management. This is one of the professional exams in India in which many candidates enroll to become the best CAs every year.
Number of Candidates: Approximately 2-3 lakhs for every stage of the examination
Conducting Period: The CA exam is conducted twice a year
Mode: Offline (using pen and paper)
Conducted by: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
Registration fees: Can be categorized into three stages-
CA Foundation: 9000 for registration and 1500 examination fee
CA Intermediate: 18000 for registration in both groups and 13,000 for one group. Exam fee- 2700 for both examinations and 1500 for one group
CA Final: 22000 Registration fee and examination fee 3300 for both the groups, 1800 for a single group
8. Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)
This is one of the reputed exams in India which gives the best understanding of the management programs. XAT is conducted by the XLRI Jamshedpur for the enrollment of its popular management and other reputed courses which are famous all across the country. The exam is conducted to check Verbal and logical ability, Qualitative Ability Decision Making, Data Interpretation, and General Knowledge.
Number of Participants: Approximately 1 lakh
Conducting period: Once in a year (Approximately in January)
Conducting Mode: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Courses: Admitting the candidates for the MBA program at XLRI and other management institutes
Conducted by: XLRI Jamshedpur
Application Fee: 1800 to 2000 (GN/OBC candidates), 900 to 1000 for SC/ST candidates
9. National Defence Academy (NDA) Exam
This is one of the most decorated exams in India held two times a year to select the best candidates who are enthusiasts for the defense and force area of service. Through this exam, the candidates are selected for the special groups of the forces in India like the Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force).
This exam is conducted by the UPSC two times every year and almost 3- 4 lakhs of candidates registered for this examination out of this somewhere around 10 percent of candidates are enrolled for the training program and SSB interview.
Candidates Participate: 3-4 lakhs
Conducting Period: Twice a year (generally in April and September)
Conducting Mode: Offline (Pen and Paper)
Courses: Training for Army, Airforce, and Navy
conducting Agency: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Application Fee: 100
10. CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)
CLAT is an entrance test for admission to law-related courses like LLB and LLM in the best colleges in India for law programs. The colleges which provide the best law-related education are the National Law University (NLU). They are the largely contributing factor in the country for providing the best legal aspect of the constitution and other laws.
Number of Participants: About 70, 000 – 80,000 candidates
Participant Numbers: Once in a year (usually in May)
Mode of Conducting: CBT (Computer Based Test)
Courses for Participants: Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate law courses
Conducted by Agency: Consortium of National Law Universities
Courses Fee: 4000 to 5000 for General and OBC candidates, 3500 for SC/ST candidates.
Conclusion
India is a country where the candidates are focused on achieving the best career in their own lives with the government services. Here are the top 10 toughest exams in India which have the toughest syllabus to judge the skills and intelligence capabilities of the candidates. Candidates can prepare for these exams on their own using various methods or just take coaching classes running all over the education market.
