Sat Jun 14 15:52:34 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

Nikhil Sonnad from Vijayapura, Karnataka, has topped the state in the NEET(UG)-2025 exams, securing an All India Rank of 17. Four students from Karnataka secured ranks within the top 50 nationally. While a significant number of students from Karnataka qualified, the figure is lower than the previous year. Gautam Kumar emerged as the national topper in the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PWBD) category. NEET was conducted in 13 languages, including Kannada, and saw a large number of students participating nationwide, with a good qualification rate.

**News Article:**

**Karnataka Student Nikhil Sonnad Tops State in NEET 2025, Securing All India Rank 17**

**Bengaluru, June 14, 2025:** Nikhil Sonnad, a native of Vijayapura, has emerged as the topper from Karnataka in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET(UG))-2025, achieving an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 17. The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the results on Saturday. Sonnad, an alumnus of Expert PU College, Mangaluru, scored 670 marks out of 720 (99.99 percentile) in the highly competitive medical entrance exam.

Speaking to The Hindu, Sonnad, who also secured 8th rank in the CET-2025 for B.Sc (Agriculture), attributed his success to a flexible study schedule and a calm approach to the exam. “I have never followed a fixed schedule in studying. I have always been flexible… I read and understood carefully without getting nervous and answered them,” he stated. Born to doctor parents, Sonnad aspires to pursue a career in cancer research and become a medical entrepreneur after completing his postgraduate studies, and is aiming to join the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi.

This year, four students from Karnataka have made it to the top 50 ranks at the All India level. Ruchir Gupta secured AIR-22, Tejas Shailesh Ghotgalkar achieved AIR-38, and Pranshu Jahagirdar secured AIR-42.

According to the NTA, 83,582 out of 1,42,369 students from Karnataka who appeared for the exam are eligible for the counselling process. However, the number of qualified candidates from the state has declined compared to last year’s 88,887.

Gautam Kumar from Karnataka secured the top rank nationally in the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PWBD-Male) category, with an AIR of 1,684.

The NEET(UG) exam was conducted in 13 languages, including Kannada. A total of 460 candidates registered to write the exam in Kannada this year, compared to 1,065 last year.

Nationwide, 12,36,531 candidates qualified out of the 22,09,318 who appeared for the exam. Six out of eleven transgender candidates also qualified. The exam was conducted on May 4 across 5,468 centres in 552 cities, including 14 locations outside India.

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