AIIMS NORCET

NORCET is a centralized recruitment route for Nursing Officer positions. AIIMS New Delhi conducts the examination, while participating AIIMS, hospitals, and institutions report vacancies and apply their applicable recruitment rules. The NORCET-10 notice included AIIMS institutions and provided for participation by other named health institutions; the exact participating employers and vacancy numbers can change by cycle.

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• Use NORCET to compete for Nursing Officer vacancies rather than for admission to a nursing course.
• AIIMS New Delhi acts as the examination-conducting body; the receiving institution remains responsible for its recruitment rules, verification, joining, and posting decisions.
• Candidates should treat each cycle’s notification as controlling because vacancies may be added, changed, or withdrawn.

In NORCET-10, the principal degree route was B.Sc. (Hons.) Nursing, B.Sc. Nursing, B.Sc. (Post-Certificate), or Post-Basic B.Sc. Nursing from an Indian Nursing Council or State Nursing Council-recognized institution/university, together with registration as a nurse and midwife with a State Nursing Council or the Indian Nursing Council. The alternative GNM route required a recognized diploma, nurse-and-midwife registration, and two years’ post-qualification experience in a hospital with at least 50 beds.

The NORCET-10 general age band for AIIMS was 18–30 years, with specified relaxations. Eligibility is assessed against the relevant cycle’s closing date, and participating institutions’ recruitment rules may impose applicable institution-specific conditions. Candidates are provisionally permitted to take the examination based on their online declarations, but can be disqualified later if records or eligibility do not withstand scrutiny.

• Confirm that the nursing qualification and institution are recognized by the appropriate nursing council.
• Ensure required nurse-and-midwife registration is valid and available for verification.
• If applying through the GNM route, retain experience certificates that state the hospital, period of employment, duties, and other details required in the notice.
• Read the participating employer’s rules as well as the NORCET notice before applying.

NORCET-10 had two successive CBT stages. Stage I, NORCET Preliminary, was a qualifying screen rather than the source of final rank: it comprised 100 MCQs in 90 minutes, including 20 General Knowledge and Aptitude questions and 80 nursing questions. It was divided into five timed 18-minute sections, with one-third mark deducted for each incorrect answer.

Stage II, NORCET Main, comprised 160 nursing MCQs in 180 minutes. It was divided into four 45-minute sections, emphasized case-scenario questions testing nursing skills and competency, and also applied one-third negative marking. The Main score is the basis for the merit list and seat allocation process. For NORCET-10, stated qualifying standards were 50% for UR/EWS, 45% for OBC, and 40% for SC/ST, with the stated PwBD relaxation; those thresholds are cycle-specific and may change.

• Stage I: qualifying only; it does not determine final merit rank.
• Stage II: determines merit, subject to qualifying criteria and applicable normalization where multiple shifts are used.
• Because timed sections close and cannot be revisited, candidates need a section-by-section attempt strategy.

NORCET applications are submitted online through the AIIMS examinations portal during the dates published for the relevant cycle. In NORCET-10, AIIMS required candidates to use an existing One Time Registration/previous-examination ID where applicable, complete the form online, and retain the application and payment record rather than sending a physical application. The NORCET-10 registration window was February 24 through March 16, 2026, so it is closed; prospective applicants should wait for and follow the next official notice.

After the Main result and eligibility screening, qualified candidates are invited to submit institutional choices/preferences. Allocation is made in merit order from the choices submitted. A candidate who does not exercise choices in the allotted window is not considered for selection, and a candidate should select only positions they are prepared to join.

• Create or use the required AIIMS examination registration profile and apply only through the official portal.
• Check the application-status and correction window, city intimation, and admit-card dates stated in the current notice.
• Upload a No Objection Certificate by the specified deadline if employed by a government, semi-government, PSU, autonomous, or government-funded organization, where required.
• Keep original education, registration, category, identity, and experience records ready for later verification.

Preparation should be anchored to the qualification-level nursing curriculum because the official NORCET-10 scheme states that the Preliminary nursing questions are drawn from nursing courses taught at the essential-qualification level, while the Main covers the nursing-course syllabus with a focus on case-scenario questions and competency. Stage I also requires General Knowledge and Aptitude preparation.

The published structure makes timed CBT practice especially important: Preliminary candidates must work through five 18-minute sections, and Main candidates through four 45-minute sections without returning to earlier sections. Because each wrong answer carries one-third negative marking, practice should include disciplined question selection and error review rather than indiscriminate guessing.

• Revise core nursing subjects at B.Sc./GNM qualification level and connect concepts to clinical case scenarios.
• Prepare General Knowledge and Aptitude for Stage I.
• Use timed practice sets that mirror the fixed section durations and train yourself to finish review within the active section.
• Track accuracy as well as speed to account for negative marking.

Candidates who meet the Stage I criteria are screened for Stage II; in NORCET-10, up to five times the total seats in each category were to be called for Stage II, subject to stated provisions for PwBD candidates and ties. The final merit list is prepared from Stage II performance only, after applying the notice’s qualifying criteria and, where relevant, AIIMS normalization procedures.

Selection and appointment remain conditional. AIIMS allocates seats in order of Main merit against eligible candidates’ choices, but the relevant AIIMS or hospital carries out verification and applies its own recruitment rules. The official notice expressly states that examination success does not confer a right to appointment, and candidatures may be cancelled for ineligibility, unsupported claims, or failed document/identity verification.

• A Stage I qualification is not a final selection.
• A Stage II qualification may still not yield allocation if no eligible preferred vacancy is available.
• An allocated candidate must satisfy the receiving institution’s verification and joining requirements.
• Posting is determined under the applicable rules of the institution to which the candidate is allocated.