National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences

Latest Admission Updates (2026)

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru is an Institute of National Importance, so its MD, DM and MCh seats are filled exclusively through the AIIMS-conducted INI-CET and INI-SS examinations, not through NEET-PG or any NIMHANS-specific test. Here are the most important admission updates for the July 2026 session, as of June 2026, with the single most time-sensitive item first.

• INI-CET counselling underway (as of June 2026): The AIIMS New Delhi INI-CET July 2026 result was declared on 23 May 2026, and online counselling for NIMHANS MD/DM(post-MBBS)/MCh(post-MBBS) seats is the live window candidates must act on now.
• INI-CET July 2026 exam was held on 16 May 2026 for admission to NIMHANS MD Psychiatry and allied MD programmes.
• INI-CET admit card was released on 9 May 2026 on aiimsexams.ac.in.
• INI-CET July 2026 registration opened 28 March 2026 and closed on 25 April 2026 (5:00 PM).
• INI-SS July 2026 (for post-MD/MS DM and MCh at NIMHANS): application window was 30 March 2026 to 13 April 2026, and the Stage-I written test was conducted on 25 April 2026.
• Next cycle: Aspirants who missed July 2026 should target the INI-CET January 2027 session, expected to follow the usual September-November 2026 registration pattern (based on the 2025-2026 schedule).

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Admission 2026: Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for NIMHANS postgraduate medical seats is defined by the AIIMS INI-CET and INI-SS prospectuses, because NIMHANS participates in those common counselling pools. The table below answers the most common question aspirants ask, namely "Am I eligible to apply to NIMHANS for MD, DM or MCh in 2026?", by mapping each programme to its degree requirement, qualifying-marks rule and the accepted entrance exam. It matters because NIMHANS runs two distinct entry routes: a post-MBBS route through INI-CET and a post-MD/MS super-specialty route through INI-SS. Read each row as a complete eligibility unit, since the exam you sit depends entirely on the degree you already hold. All candidates must also have a valid MCI/NMC or State Medical Council registration and a completed internship by the cut-off date in the relevant prospectus.

The decisive takeaway is that your existing qualification, not your specialty preference, fixes your exam: MBBS holders sit INI-CET, while MD/MS/DNB holders sit INI-SS. NIMHANS offers DM specialisations across roughly nine super-specialty disciplines, so confirm your feeder-degree eligibility in the AIIMS prospectus before paying any fee. Candidates should next verify that their internship completion date and council registration are valid as of the relevant 2026 cut-off, because an otherwise high rank is forfeited if eligibility documents fail verification.

Course-Wise Admission Status

This section answers "Is admission to NIMHANS open right now and how many seats are on offer?" by giving the live status of each programme route as of June 2026. It matters because the July 2026 INI-CET and INI-SS application windows have already closed, so the actionable stage for currently eligible candidates is counselling, not fresh registration. NIMHANS does not run an independent application portal for these medical PG seats; the application happens on the AIIMS exam portal and seats are then allotted through INI counselling. Read the "Seats" column as indicative, because the exact NIMHANS seat matrix is published per session in the AIIMS counselling Part-B prospectus and varies slightly by round and category reservation.

The key takeaway is that NIMHANS seats are scarce and concentrated in psychiatry and neurosciences, so a qualifying score alone does not guarantee a seat; choice-filling strategy in INI counselling decides outcomes. Candidates already holding a July 2026 rank should lock NIMHANS high in their preference order during seat allotment rather than waiting for a mop-up round. Those not yet in the pool should prepare for the INI-CET January 2027 cycle and watch aiimsexams.ac.in for the exact seat matrix before choice filling.

Application Fees

This section answers "How much does it cost to apply to NIMHANS in 2026 and does my category pay less?" by listing the conducting-body application fee for each reservation category on its own row. It matters because the fee you pay goes to AIIMS New Delhi (the body running INI-CET and INI-SS), and it is entirely separate from the NIMHANS tuition you pay after a seat is allotted. Category does change the amount, so each of General, EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD is shown separately rather than bundled. Read the "Year" column to confirm the figures apply to the 2026 sessions.

The takeaways: INI-CET 2026 charges ₹4,000 for General and OBC-NCL and a reduced ₹3,200 for EWS, SC and ST, while PwD/PwBD candidates pay nothing, and these amounts were unchanged from the earlier 2025-2026 cycles. The INI-SS application fee is ₹4,000 with PwBD exempt; where a category-specific reduction could not be separately verified for 2026 it is marked "not separately listed" rather than assumed. Crucially, none of these are NIMHANS fees: after seat allotment the NIMHANS MD tuition is roughly ₹73,250 for the full course (with the broader MD fee package quoted around ₹1.83 lakh including other heads), so budget for the institute fee separately from the exam fee.

Entrance Exam Requirements

This section answers "Which exam do I need for NIMHANS and what score makes me competitive?" by mapping each accepted exam to its programme, its 2026 exam date and the rank band that historically secures a NIMHANS seat. It matters because NIMHANS is one of the most competitive INI participants, so the qualifying cut-off to merely pass the exam is far lower than the closing rank needed to actually win a NIMHANS seat. The two exams differ sharply in scale: INI-CET is a 200-question post-MBBS test, while INI-SS is an 80-question super-specialty test. Read the "Typical Qualifying Score" column as the competitive All India Rank band for NIMHANS General-category seats, not the bare pass percentile.

The takeaway is that for a NIMHANS MD seat in 2026 a General-category candidate realistically needs an INI-CET All India Rank in the low hundreds to under ~1,800, while super-specialty DM/MCh aspirants need an INI-SS rank inside roughly the top ~110. Because INI-CET feeds AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER and NIMHANS through a shared merit list, the NIMHANS closing rank tightens whenever more top scorers prefer it. Aspirants should benchmark against the category-wise closing ranks in the next section rather than the exam-pass cut-off, and aim well above the previous year's NIMHANS closing rank to stay safe across rounds.

Cutoff Analysis (2024-2026)

This section answers "What closing rank do I need at NIMHANS by category?" using the institute's actual category-wise closing ranks from the 2024 and 2025 sessions, which set the realistic 2026 benchmark. It matters because NIMHANS publishes some of the most aggressive closing ranks among all INI institutes, particularly for psychiatry and neurosurgery. The MD figures are INI-CET closing ranks, while the DM and MCh figures are INI-SS super-specialty closing ranks, so compare like with like within each row. Read each cell as the last (highest) rank admitted in that category and programme for that year; a smaller number means tougher competition.

The trend is clear and divergent across categories. For General-category seats, competition intensified: the sharpest MD General closing rank improved from 418 in 2024 to 306 in 2025, DM General tightened from the 122-124 band to 98-107, and MCh Neurosurgery hardened dramatically from 103 to 68, reflecting strong demand for NIMHANS neurosciences. By contrast, reserved-category MD closing ranks loosened, with SC moving from 3,289 (2024) to 4,541 (2025) and ST from 2,187 (2024) to 8,924 (2025), giving reserved candidates somewhat more headroom. For 2026, General aspirants should treat the 2025 best ranks (around 306 for MD, sub-110 for DM, sub-70 for MCh) as the bar to beat, while SC/ST candidates can plan against the wider 2025 closing ranks.

Counselling Process

NIMHANS seats are allotted through the centralised AIIMS New Delhi INI counselling, not through any separate NIMHANS process. For the July 2026 cycle, the step-by-step flow is as follows.

1. Register for counselling on the AIIMS INI counselling portal (inicounselling.aiimsexams.edu.in) after the INI-CET result of 23 May 2026, using your roll number and rank.
2. Pay the counselling/seat-acceptance fee as specified by AIIMS for the round.
3. Fill and lock choices, placing NIMHANS programmes (e.g. MD Psychiatry, DM Neurology, MCh Neurosurgery) in your preferred order; you may edit and reorder choices within the AIIMS-specified window.
4. Seat allotment is published online by AIIMS across multiple rounds, including Round 1, Round 2, an open/mop-up round, and a final round.
5. Report to NIMHANS for document verification with originals (MBBS/MD/MS degree, internship completion, NMC/State council registration, category and PwD certificates where applicable).
6. Pay the NIMHANS institute fee and complete admission formalities to confirm the seat; failure to report or verify forfeits the allotment to the next round.

For the parallel super-specialty route, post-MD/MS DM and MCh seats follow the two-stage INI-SS process (Stage-I written test on 25 April 2026 followed by departmental/clinical assessment), after which AIIMS conducts INI-SS counselling and NIMHANS performs document verification.

Important Dates (2026)

This master schedule answers "When is every key NIMHANS admission step in 2026?" by listing each canonical event for the INI-CET July 2026 cycle that feeds NIMHANS MD and post-MBBS DM/MCh seats. It matters because missing any single deadline, especially the application close or the counselling reporting date, ends your candidacy for the session. All dates are stated as of June 2026 and reflect the AIIMS New Delhi calendar, since AIIMS, not NIMHANS, runs the exam and counselling. Where AIIMS had not separately published an exact date for an event, it is listed as "to be announced" rather than omitted, so you can see the full sequence at a glance.

The takeaways: the hard deadlines for July 2026 have already passed, with applications having closed on 25 April 2026 and the exam conducted on 16 May 2026, so the only remaining live action is INI counselling following the 23 May 2026 result. AIIMS releases the precise counselling registration, seat-allotment and reporting dates separately after the result, which is why several rows read "to be announced". Candidates targeting NIMHANS for the next intake should bookmark aiimsexams.ac.in and track the INI-CET January 2027 notification, which is expected around September-November 2026 based on the prior schedule.