NEW DELHI, October 13 — The National Testing Agency (NTA), on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC), on Tuesday released the comprehensive Information Bulletin for the UGC-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET December 2026 cycle), formally opening the online application portal (ugcnet.nta.ac.in) for candidates seeking eligibility for Assistant Professor, Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and PhD admissions.
According to the official examination notification, the nationwide Computer-Based Test (CBT) will be administered across 83 humanities, social science, commerce, and language disciplines in designated testing centers across all states and Union Territories. The examination structure features two mandatory papers administered in a single continuous three-hour sitting: Paper-I (50 objective questions on General Teaching and Research Aptitude, carrying 100 marks) and Paper-II (100 subject-specific objective questions, carrying 200 marks). In line with standard NET protocols, there is no negative marking penalty.
Under recently streamlined UGC regulations, final-year candidates enrolled in four-year undergraduate degree programmes (FYUP) with a minimum 75 percent aggregate score are now eligible to appear directly for the NET and JRF. Furthermore, central and state universities now utilize UGC-NET percentile scores across three categories (JRF + Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor only, and PhD admission eligibility), eliminating separate individual university doctoral entrance tests.
The statutory architecture of the University Grants Commission (established under the UGC Act 1956 following the Radhakrishnan Commission recommendations), the National Testing Agency (registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 as an autonomous testing body in 2017), the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF Act 2023), and higher education reforms under NEP 2020 are foundational topics for UGC-NET Paper-I and State College Service examinations.