NORCET Trend Report · 2020 – 2026

NORCET has changed.
Has your preparation?

We studied every question from NORCET 1 to NORCET 10. Here is what the exam looks like today — in 5 findings.

2,737real NORCET questions
19papers · Prelims + Mains
7years · 2020 to 2026

01 · The biggest change

More than half the paper is now a patient case.

55%

of 2026 questions started with a clinical scenarioIn 2020 it was 22%.

11 → 20 wordsQuestions are almost twice as long
1 in 3questions is now 25+ words (34%, vs 14% in 2020)
6% → 16%"What should the nurse do first?" questions
Do this

Practise with case-based questions, not one-liners. Read the full stem — the answer hides in one detail: the age, the vitals, the timing.

02 · Memory vs application

Memorising alone will not clear the cut-off anymore.

How the paper changed from 2020 to 2026:

57% ↓35%Recall-based questions
31% ↑51%Application-based questions
5% ↑20%Questions rated Hard
2020 · out of 100 questions

72 easy 22 medium 5 hard

Rounded, so 2020 adds up to 99 — the blank square is the rounding.

4×more hard questions than in 2020
2026 · out of 100 questions

42 easy 38 medium 20 hard

Do this

Keep the basics — recall is still a third of the paper. But the marks that decide selection are in application questions. Practise those daily.

03 · Where the marks are

4 subjects give you 65% of the paper.

Share of questions, 2024 – 2026

4 subjects = 65% of the paper
26%Medical-Surgical
16%OBG
14%Paediatrics
9%Mental Health
35%all 20 other subjects
  • Medical-Surgical 26%
  • OBG 16%
  • Paediatrics 14%
  • Mental Health 9%
  • all 20 other subjects 35%
82%

of the 2026 paper was core nursing subjectsUp from 60% in 2020. GK, Reasoning, Maths and English together are now only about 7%.

Gaining weight

Paediatrics +4.7%Mental Health +4.0%OBG +2.6%

Losing weight

Microbiology −3.5%Foundation −2.9%Pharmacology −1.9%
Do this

Plan your week by weightage. Medical-Surgical gets the most hours, then OBG, Paediatrics and Mental Health. Cover GK and Reasoning — do not over-invest.

Results · NORCET 10

1,075+ qualified NORCET 10 with NPrep.

NORCET, other central exams and state government exams — all across India.

1,075+ qualified in NORCET 10, all across India. Toppers include AIR 2 Mehnaza and AIR 9 Seema in NORCET; Sristi and Jahangeer qualified RRB; Sakshi Rank 1 and Sachin Rank 9 in state government exams. Counselling team on WhatsApp: 6377639169.

04 · The 80 / 20 of NORCET

Just 50 topics make up 57% of the exam.

Out of 317 topics in total. The top 10 alone are 27% of every paper.

Topics 1–1027% of questions
Topics 11–5030% of questions
Topics 51–10019% of questions
Topics 101–31724% of questions

Top 10 topics, 2024 – 2026

    Fastest rising topics

    • Respiratory care2.8% → 5.1% of the paper
    • Cardiovascular & blood3.7% → 5.4% of the paper
    • Special obstetric topics0.3% → 1.2% of the paper
    • Newborn care2.0% → 2.9% of the paper
    • Complicated labour0.1% → 1.0% of the paper
    Do this

    Finish the top 50 topics before touching the rest. Respiratory, cardiac, newborn care and fluid–electrolytes are non-negotiable.

    05 · Prelims vs Mains

    Prelims and Mains are not the same exam.

    GK, Reasoning, Maths, English

    11%Prelims→3%Mains

    Clinical scenario questions

    30%Prelims→40%Mains

    OBG + Paediatrics + Mental Health

    29%Prelims→42%Mains

    Mains drops the non-nursing sections, goes heavier on OBG, Paediatrics and Mental Health, and asks longer clinical questions. Prepare for it differently.

    Prepare the way NORCET is actually set.

    NPrep's NORCET course follows this data — time by subject weightage, a scenario-based question bank, and live tests on the current Prelims and Mains pattern. Subject-wise PYQs from all 19 papers, with explanations.

    Download the NPrep app

    or visit nprep.in · Want the full ranked list of all 317 topics? It's on the app.

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