Mridul Manya Anand, NEET 2024 AIR 1 has grabbed the top rank by scoring a perfect 720. Shiksha.com brings the NEET 2024 topper interview of Mridul Manya Anand where he shares his preparation strategy and advice to next year's NEET aspirants. Read the complete interview here on this page.
Mridul Manya Anand, NEET 2024 topper with AIR 1 had always wanted to be a doctor as Biology and living beings fascinated him. Hailing from Noida, and a student of St. Francis School, Indirapuram, Mridul has also aced several Olympiad exams.
Mridul is one of the 67 NEET 2024 takers who scored a perfect 720 and secured an All India Quota Rank of 1.03. He started preparing for NEET right after Class 10 and gives credit to NCERT books, regular revision and mock tests. Read the NEET 2024 topper interview of Mridul Manya Anand here.
NEET 2024 Topper Interview – Mridul Manya Anand, AIR 1
Q: Tell us something about your parents.
A: My mother is a homemaker and my father is a software engineer. Both of them are my support systems and motivated me throughout my NEET preparation journey.
Q: What motivated you to be a doctor?
A: I was always interested in Biology and was curious to know how the human body or living beings work. Hence, with time and after taking suggestions from my parents and teachers I decided to pursue Medicine and appear for NEET.
Q: When did you start NEET 2024 preparation?
A: I started preparing for NEET right after completing my Class 10 Board exam. I joined Aakash Institute to start my preparation in a systematic and disciplined manner from the very beginning. I stayed in a hostel near the institute to save time on my commute as my home was far away in Noida.
Q: How did you balance your NEET 2024 preparation with your Board exam and school studies?
A: It was not very difficult to balance the Board exam with NEET preparation as Physics, Chemistry and Biology subjects were common in both exams. Rather my Board exam preparation further complemented or strengthened my preparation for NEET. For other subjects like English or Maths, I managed my time accordingly. I had set up my timetable to study all subjects, so the preparation for both exams was well-balanced.
Q: What was your preparation strategy for NEET?
A: After the completion of the Class 11 and Class 12 syllabus for NEET 2024, my coaching institute used to conduct mock tests. For the mock test preparation adequate revision for each chapter and topic were done. I followed the strategy of first completing a portion of the NEET syllabus, followed by revision and mock tests. This helped me identify my weak areas and prompted me to revise and practice. April onwards, I took full-length NEET mock tests. Basically, revision and practice were my key preparation strategy for NEET 2024.
Q: How was your experience of taking NEET 2024?
A: For me, the NEET question paper was easy as I was familiar with all the questions and could solve them easily. However, there was one question on atoms, which took my maximum time. I was confused between two answer options and could not decide whether to mark either of them or leave the question altogether. Then I thought if two answer options were correct, then NTA would give marks to all candidates who attempted the question and mark either of the correct answer options and went ahead with it. In the end, my thought was right and NTA did give bonus marks for this question. I revised the entire paper before submitting it.
Q: What is your take on the NEET 2024 question paper, especially in comparison to last year’s paper?
A: I found this year’s NEET question paper easy and straightforward. There were no controversial questions. As compared to last year’s paper, this year’s questions were easier.
Q: What is your opinion on the NEET 2024 grace marks system?
A: For me, the grace marking scheme for NEET 2024 is not justified. Generally, a candidate attempts the easy questions in the beginning and leaves the tough questions for the end. So probably they solved maximum questions accurately and at a high speed within the time they got. NTA decided the grace marks based on their efficiency. For me, these are not the right parameters to decide the efficiency or quality of candidates. It is unfair for other genuine candidates.
Q: How did you deal with stress during NEET 2024 preparation?
A: There were times when I felt that I forgot the areas I prepared earlier. I went back to my short notes to brush up. But while taking NEET mock tests, I realised that they are in my memory. Later when I used to revise, I could recall everything I learnt. To cope with stress, I used to take regular breaks in between, it helped me resume my preparation with full concentration.
Q: What is your advice to NEET 2025 aspirants?
A: My advice to NEET 2025 aspirants would be to study the NCERT thoroughly and also practice and solve all the exercise questions given at the end of each chapter. Read the NCERT books at least four to five times before the exam. Along with regular revision, you should also analyse the questions you could not solve correctly and discuss them with your mentors.
Read More:

News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Jun '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Results |
May '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Exam |
Jun '20 | JIPMER 2020 exam (tentative) |
Apr '26 | FMGE 2026 Registration June Se... |
May '26 | FMGE 2026 application correcti... |
25 Apr '26 | OJEE 2026 Admit Card Release |
4 May '26 - 9 May '26 | OJEE 2026 |
Jul '22 | DAVV CET 2022 Registration |
14 Nov '25 - 22 Apr '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Application F... |
24 Apr '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Registration ... |
Apr '26 | NTA JIPMAT 2026 Exam Date |
25 Apr '26 | NTA NCHM JEE 2026 Exam Date |
Student Forum
Answered Yesterday
Aspirants need to pass NEET score equal to or above the cutoff to get admission in BHMS at Baroda Homoeopathic Medical College. The seats are allotted to aspirants in BHMS based on their NEET scores via Gujarat State Government Counselling.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered Yesterday
Baroda Homoeopathic Medical College accepts admissions of candidates in BHMS programme based on their NEET scores. The NEET percentile for Open category is 119 marks (50 percentile). The marks requirement for OBC/ SC/ ST category aspirants is 96 marks (40 percentile).
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 days ago
Yes, Indian students must qualify NEET to study MBBS abroad and to practice in India later. It is mandatory as per NMC guidelines. Other than this, you need fulfill other eligibility.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Candidates can get the NEET 2025 question paper in Tamil medium on this page - NEET Tamil Medium Question Papers. Download the NEET Tamil PYQs for free to practice for the exam.
P
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Yes, of course. NEET UG is compulsory for admission to all BDS courses in India (government and private). No alternate way or management admission is available without a valid NEET score. The rule was drawn up so that admission to all dental institutions will be transparent and merit based. Similarl
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, NEET is not mentioned as a requirement for forensic Science colleges in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. But, aspirants must have studied Science in Class 12 with a PCB combination.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can get the BHMS course with a rank of 300 if you belong to the OBC AI category. This category had the overall cutoff range between 93201 and 74967. Hence, getting a seat for this course with a rank of 300 can be achievable. Students who want admission to the Nehru Homoeopathic Medical Coll
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The required marks in NEET would depend entirely on the category you belong to. For the General AI category, the needed rank was 46875. Please remember that the cutoff for other categories will vary.
To know the required rank for other categories, see the table below.
| Category | Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital cutoff 2025 |
|---|---|
| General | 46875 |
| OBC | 74967 |
| SC | 230221 |
| ST | 288873 |
| EWS | 66693 |
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The marks required in NEET to qualify for the AYUSH counselling process depend on the category the student belongs to. For the General AI category, students need to secure a rank of at least 46875 to be eligible for a seat. Different categories will have different cutoffs. To know the Nehru Homoeopa
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
NEET is not mandatory for CG BSc Nursing. Admisison to the BSc Nursing courses in Chhattisgarh is based on the CG Nursing entrance test conducted by CG Vyapam.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Exam On - 3 May '26