NEST Response Sheet 2026 (OUT): Steps to Download & Answer Key

Yes, the NEST response sheet was released on June 10, 2026, alongwith the answer key. Students can check their NEST response sheet through the login portal.

Students can check the NEST answer key through login portal. They will have to provide their application number / login ID, and password to download NEST 2026 answer key.

The process for downloading the NEST response sheet PDF is mentioned below.

• Go to NEST 2026 website, nestexam.in
• Click on Login button
• Enter the application  no./login Id and password
• Click on the NEST response sheet 

Applicants who want to take admission in NISER and are from General category need to secure the passing marks in their category. 

Since general category cut off marks are higher than other categories hence applicants who belong to this category need to put more effort to take admission. 

This year NEST cut off marks for general category for NISER are in between 80 to 90 marks. Though final marks will be decided after the conlusion of the exam. 

SMAS is used frequently in preparing the result of NEST exam. 

The full-form of SMAS is the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score. It is the cut off marks which applicants need to secure for each section of NEST paper.

Since there are different category candidates who appear in the exam hence they have seperate SMAS.  

The examination conducting body, NISER and UM-DAE CEBS, released NEST cutoff marks for the applicants who want to take admission in participating institutes. The cutoff marks for NEST are released along with the declaration of the result. Candidates whose score in NEST exam is equal or above the cutoff marks will be considered for the counselling process.

Applicants who want to take admission in NISER needs to secure the passing marks decided by the authorities for this. The NISER cut off marks can be less than or equall to cut off marks for CEBS.  

Since last year passing criteria has been changed hence applicants need to just secure passing marks in any of three subjects. Candidates scoring equal to and above the MAP and in SMAS in three sections will qualify for NISER through NEST exam. 

The MAP is the overall cut off percentile obtained by the candidates in the NEST exam. The highest MAP is 100th percentile. It is different for different categories. As 95 percentile for the General category, 90 percentile for OBC category and 75 percentile for SC/ ST/ Divyangjan category students. 

Applicants need to secure the cutoff marks from the category they belong to; otherwise, they won't be able to pass the exam. 

A candidate is required to score equal to or above a total Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) to get a merit rank. The minimum admissible percentile score varies for different category candidates. For general category applicants need to score 95 percentile marks in NEST exam. 

The category wise MAP is mentioned below:

Students who score less than the MAP would neither be allotted any merit rank nor be eligible for admission even though he/she secure SMAS in all sections. 

The MAP is the cutoff percentile overall obtained by the candidates in NEST. The highest MAP is 100th percentile, and for each category, it is 95 percentile for the General category, 90 percentile for OBC category and 75 percentile for SC/ ST/ Divyangjan categories. Applicants are advised to secure the qualifying marks as well as the overall marks to pass the NEST exam. 

The NEST cutoff marks for session I, for NISER Bhubaneswar are mentioned below: 

NEST 2026 result date was June 24. The link to check the result is updated online at nestexam.in.

NEST 2026 result was declared on June 24, 2026. The result applies only to the current academic year 2026-27.

The NEST exam counselling will be done in online mode only. The exam conducting authority will release the dates of counselling in official notification after the conclusion of the exam. 

Applicants are advised to check the NEST exam counselling schedule and visit the centre along with their academic as well as category related documents. 

The NEST 2026 Counselling is likely to begin in the second week of July. There will be around four rounds of counselling. The number of rounds will depend on the number of remaining seats. Candidates passing the NEST exam will be eligible for the admission process.