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Exam guide · INI SS

INI SS January 2027: exam date, pattern, eligibility and seat allocation

INI SS (Institute of National Importance Super-Speciality entrance test) is the exam AIIMS New Delhi conducts twice a year for DM and MCh seats at 23 institutes: every AIIMS, PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, NIMHANS Bengaluru and SCTIMST Thiruvananthapuram. The January 2027 session CBT is on Saturday, 24 October 2026, and registration closes on 9 October 2026 at 5 PM. The paper has 80 questions specific to the course you apply for, in 90 minutes, marked +1 / −1/3, and you need 50% of the marks to qualify.

By the Duramater team · Updated

At a glance

Conducted by
AIIMS New Delhi (Examination Section)
Sessions
Twice a year: January and July (courses start 1 Jan / 1 Jul)
January 2027 CBT
24 October 2026 (Saturday)
Registration
23 September – 9 October 2026, 5 PM
Paper
80 questions, 90 minutes, English, one correct answer each
Marking
+1 correct, −1/3 wrong, 0 unanswered
Qualifying mark
50% of marks in Stage I (40 of 80), not a percentile
Stage II
20-mark departmental assessment, only for AIIMS and PGIMER seats
Application fee
₹4,000 (PwBD candidates exempt)
Reservation
None in DM/MCh seats

What is INI SS?

INI SS is the combined entrance test for post-doctoral DM and MCh (three-year) courses at the Institutes of National Importance, which do not admit through NEET SS. AIIMS New Delhi runs the application, the exam, the results and the seat allocation for all of them.

Participating institutes for the January 2027 session (the list can change between sessions):

  • AIIMS New Delhi, and AIIMS Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, Rishikesh, Bathinda, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Mangalagiri, Rajkot, Gorakhpur, Bibinagar, Raebareli, Kalyani, Guwahati, Jammu and Deoghar
  • PGIMER Chandigarh
  • JIPMER Puducherry
  • NIMHANS Bengaluru
  • SCTIMST (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology), Thiruvananthapuram

INI SS exam dates: January 2027 and July 2026 sessions

From the AIIMS prospectuses and result notifications
EventJanuary 2027 sessionJuly 2026 session
Online registration23 Sep – 9 Oct 2026 (5 PM)30 Mar – 13 Apr 2026
Application status15 Oct 2026—
Admit card20 Oct 202618 Apr 2026
CBT (Stage I)24 Oct 202625 Apr 2026
Stage I resultTo be announced6 May 2026
Stage II assessmentTo be announced18–23 May 2026
Final merit listsTo be announced2 Jun 2026 (revised)
Course starts1 Jan 20271 Jul 2026

The January 2026 session CBT was held on 22 November 2025. Seat allocation for the July 2026 session ran in three rounds: Round 1 (result 23 June), Round 2 (9 July) and an Open Round (24 August 2026), after which no further allocation was held for that session.

INI SS exam pattern

FeatureStage I (CBT)Stage II (departmental assessment)
Who takes itEvery candidateOnly candidates shortlisted for AIIMS and PGIMER seats
FormatComputer-based test, single correct answerOnline, by video call (about 8–10 minutes)
Questions / marks80 questions, 80 marks20 marks: clinical or lab scenario 10, spotting 5, viva 5
Duration90 minutes—
Marking+1 correct, −1/3 wrong, 0 unanswered or marked for review—
LanguageEnglishEnglish
To qualify50% marks (40 of 80)50% of Stage I + II combined (out of 100)

What the questions cover: in AIIMS’s words, “questions from the General/Basic component of the qualifying educational qualification and from sub-specialty/systems/component of the specialty-course for which the Examination is being conducted.” Unlike NEET SS, each INI SS paper is specific to the DM or MCh course you apply for: an MCh Urology candidate answers questions on General Surgery basics and on Urology.

At 80 questions in 90 minutes you have about 67 seconds a question. With −1/3 for a wrong answer, a blind guess between four options gains nothing on average, but every option you can rule out tips the odds in your favour.

Stage II, merit lists and tie-breakers

  • Who is called to Stage II: candidates with at least 50% in Stage I who applied for, and are eligible for, AIIMS or PGIMER seats in that course. AIIMS calls three times the AIIMS + PGIMER seats in each category, or twice the total seats across all institutes, whichever is higher. Missing Stage II rules you out of AIIMS and PGIMER seats only.
  • Common Merit List (CML): based on Stage I marks; used for JIPMER, NIMHANS and SCTIMST seats.
  • AIIMS Merit List (AML): based on Stage I + Stage II, out of 100; used for every AIIMS and PGIMER seat.
  • Tie-breakers (January 2027): fewer negative marks first, then the older candidate (Addendum 42/2026 removed the qualifying-exam marks step).

INI SS eligibility and age limits

  • Degree: an MD, MS or DNB (or NMC-recognised equivalent) in the feeder subject that each institute specifies for each course. Feeders differ by institute: for DM Cardiology, AIIMS accepts MD/DNB Medicine or Paediatrics, PGIMER MD Medicine, and JIPMER MD/DNB General Medicine, Paediatrics or Pulmonary Medicine.
  • Completion: the degree and the full three-year tenure (1,095 days at a single medical college) must be complete by 31 January 2027 for the January 2027 session. (The prospectus also lists 1 January 2027 as the last date of fulfilling eligibility, so do not cut it close.)
  • Reservation: none. DM/MCh seats are only General, Sponsored and Foreign National, and are not interchangeable.
Upper age limits for the January 2027 session, as on 1 January 2027
InstituteUpper age limitBorn on or after
AIIMS New Delhi and other AIIMS35 years1 January 1992
PGIMER Chandigarh45 years1 January 1982
NIMHANS Bengaluru37 years (all categories)1 January 1990
SCTIMST Thiruvananthapuram40 years1 January 1987
JIPMER PuducherryNo upper age limit—

Age relaxation: OBC 3 years; SC/ST 5 years; ex-servicemen and commissioned officers 5 years; PwBD 5 years. Sponsored candidates have no age limit, except 50 years at SCTIMST.

INI SS courses: DM and MCh

The January 2027 prospectus lists 61 DM and 23 MCh courses across the participating institutes. Not every institute offers every course; seats per course and institute are in Annexure-I of the prospectus and its corrigenda.

MCh courses (23): Breast, Endocrine & General Surgery, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery (CTVS), Cornea, Cataract & Refractive Surgery, GI Surgery / Surgical Gastroenterology, Gynaecologic Oncology, Hand & Micro-vascular Surgery, Head-Neck Surgery & Oncology, Joint Replacement & Reconstruction, Minimal Access Surgery & General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Paediatric Orthopaedics, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Renal Transplant Surgery, Reproductive Medicine & Surgery, Spine Surgery, Sports Injury, Surgical Oncology, Thoracic & General Surgery, Trauma Surgery & Critical Care, Urology, Vascular Surgery, Vitreo-Retinal Surgery.

DM courses (61): Acute Care-Emergency Medicine, Addiction Psychiatry, Cardiac Anaesthesia & Critical Care (CTVS Anaesthesia), Cardiology, Cardiovascular Radiology & Endovascular Interventions, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Forensic Medicine, Clinical Hematology, Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Physiology, Critical Care Medicine / Intensive Care, Developmental & Behavioural Paediatrics, Endocrinology, Forensic Pathology, Forensic Psychiatry, Forensic Radiology & Virtual Autopsy, Gastroenterology / Medical Gastroenterology, Global Health & Clinical Epidemiology, Hemato-Pathology, Hepatology, High Altitude Medicine, Histopathology, Hospital Medicine & Critical Care, Infectious Diseases, Interventional Radiology, Medical & Forensic Toxicology, Medical Genetics, Medical Oncology, Metabolic Medicine, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Neonatology, Nephrology, Neuro-Anaesthesiology & Neurocritical Care, Neuroimaging & Interventional Neuroradiology, Neurology, Neuropathology, Onco-Anaesthesia, Oncopathology, Paediatric Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, Paediatric Anaesthesiology, Paediatric Cardiology, Paediatric Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, Paediatric Critical Care, Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Paediatric Endocrinology, Paediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Paediatric Haemato-Oncology, Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Neurology, Paediatric Oncology, Paediatric Pulmonology, Paediatric Pulmonology & Intensive Care, Pain Medicine, Psychosomatic Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine, Toxicology, Trauma Anaesthesia & Acute Care, Tropical Infectious Diseases & Infection Control, Virology.

INI SS seat allocation

  • AIIMS New Delhi allocates seats online for every participating institute, using both merit lists. You fill choices of institute and course, and allocation is synchronised so each candidate gets their single best available choice across the CML and the AML.
  • In the July 2026 session there were three rounds: Round 1, Round 2 (on the choices filled for Round 1) and an Open Round. Round 1 offers “accept and exit” or “accept and upgrade”; you cannot refuse an allotted seat and stay in.
  • Allottees deposit original certificates or a ₹3 lakh security deposit, and not joining an upgraded seat attracts a ₹3 lakh penalty.
  • Seats left vacant are carried forward to the next session.

Application fee and exam centres

The fee is ₹4,000 plus transaction charges, non-refundable; PwBD candidates are exempt. You pay by card, net banking or UPI. For the January 2027 session you choose three states for your centre, allotted first come, first served: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi/NCR, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Assam, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

INI SS vs NEET SS

INI SSNEET SS
Conducted byAIIMS New DelhiNBEMS
SeatsAIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, NIMHANS, SCTIMSTAll other DM/MCh and DrNB seats
How oftenTwice a year (January and July sessions)Once a year
PaperSpecific to the course you apply forOne common paper per group, from the feeder speciality
Questions and time80 in 90 minutes150 in 150 minutes (3 × 50)
Marking+1 / −1/3+4 / −1
To qualify50% of marks50th percentile of your group
Second stageDepartmental assessment for AIIMS and PGIMER seatsNone
CounsellingAIIMS (institute allocation)MCC (DGHS)

Most candidates write both. Because INI SS tests your target course directly and NEET SS tests your broad speciality, plan your revision so the general topics serve both papers and the subspecialty topics are layered on for INI SS.

How to prepare for INI SS

  1. Split your time between the two components. The paper mixes your broad speciality’s basics with your target super-speciality, so revise both; do not prepare only from subspecialty texts.
  2. Work through previous sessions first. INI SS returns to the same concepts across sessions; past-session questions show the depth and style for your course. See our PYQ banks.
  3. Practise at 67 seconds a question. Take timed 80-question mocks so the pace is automatic on the day.
  4. Respect the −1/3. Attempt when you can eliminate an option; skip pure guesses.
  5. If you want AIIMS or PGIMER, prepare for Stage II too: clinical scenarios, image and instrument spotting, and a short viva.

INI SS mock tests on Duramater

We run a series for General Surgery and General Medicine plus one for each super-speciality, built from the previous INI SS sessions and written by recent INI SS toppers. Every mock follows the 80-question, 90-minute, +1 / −1/3 format, with an explained answer key.

Upcoming INI SS test dates

No dated tests are scheduled right now. New dates are added as each series opens.

Frequently asked questions

When is the INI SS January 2027 exam?

The CBT is on Saturday, 24 October 2026. Registration runs from 23 September to 9 October 2026 (5 PM), admit cards come on 20 October, and AIIMS has said result dates will be announced.

What is the INI SS exam pattern?

Stage I is a 90-minute computer-based test of 80 single-answer questions in English, +1 for a correct answer and −1/3 for a wrong one. Candidates shortlisted for AIIMS and PGIMER seats also take Stage II, a 20-mark online departmental assessment.

What are the INI SS qualifying marks?

50% of the marks in Stage I, that is 40 out of 80. It is an absolute mark, not a percentile. For AIIMS and PGIMER seats you also need 50% of Stage I and Stage II combined.

Is the INI SS paper different for each course?

Yes. Each paper covers the general or basic component of your feeder PG degree plus the sub-speciality and system components of the DM or MCh course you applied for.

What is INI SS Stage II?

A 20-mark departmental assessment by video call, only for AIIMS and PGIMER seats: a clinical or lab scenario (10), spotting of images, reports, instruments or drugs (5) and a viva (5). It feeds the AIIMS Merit List.

Which institutes take part in INI SS?

For the January 2027 session, 23 institutes: AIIMS New Delhi and 18 other AIIMS, PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, NIMHANS Bengaluru and SCTIMST Thiruvananthapuram.

What is the INI SS age limit?

As on 1 January 2027: 35 years for AIIMS, 45 for PGIMER, 37 for NIMHANS, 40 for SCTIMST and no upper limit for JIPMER, with relaxations of 3 years for OBC and 5 years for SC/ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen.

What is the INI SS application fee?

₹4,000 plus transaction charges, non-refundable. PwBD candidates are exempt.

Is there reservation in INI SS?

No. AIIMS states that no reservation applies to DM/MCh seats; seats are General, Sponsored or Foreign National only.

How often is INI SS held?

Twice a year, for the January and July sessions. The CBTs are typically held around April–May and October–November.

What is the difference between INI SS and NEET SS?

INI SS fills DM/MCh seats at AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, NIMHANS and SCTIMST with a course-specific 80-question paper twice a year. NEET SS fills all other DM, MCh and DrNB seats with a once-a-year, 150-question group paper drawn from your feeder speciality. See the NEET SS guide.

Official sources

Exam rules change between cycles. Always confirm dates, eligibility and fees in the latest information bulletin before you apply.

Keep reading

Mocks for your INI SS course

A series for every surgical and medical super-speciality, built from the previous sessions, on the 80-question, +1 / −1/3 pattern.