Exam Pattern
AIIMS NORCET Exam Pattern
AIIMS NORCET-10 Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test 2026
The AIIMS NORCET exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
NORCET-10 Stage I Preliminary
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.3333333333333333 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Block A, Block B, Block C, Block D, Block E |
| Test | Qs | Marks | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block A | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| Block B | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| Block C | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| Block D | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| Block E | 20 | 20 | 18 |
Timing: Five sequential 18-minute blocks. A block is disabled once its time expires and the next one activates, so time saved in one block cannot be carried into another..
Stage I is a qualifying stage: it decides who sits Stage II Main, and does not itself decide final merit or rank. Stage II is a separate paper and is not covered here. AIIMS fixes the overall composition at 20 General Knowledge and Aptitude questions and 80 Nursing questions across the whole paper; it does not publish how those are distributed within each block. The even 4 plus 16 mix used inside every block here is a TakeMockTest structuring choice made so each block is separately auditable, not an AIIMS rule.
Official source · checked 8 September 2026The AIIMS NORCET NORCET-10 Stage I Preliminary exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 90 minutes. That works out to about 54 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 5 sections are Block A, Block B, Block C, Block D and Block E. All 5 sections are separately timed, so time saved in one cannot be carried into another — you cannot bank minutes by rushing an easy section.
AIIMS NORCET NORCET-10 Stage I Preliminary marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.3333333333333333 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 25% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. That is exactly the 25% a blind guess between four options gives you, so guessing at random is neither gaining nor losing marks over a long paper — the moment you can rule out even one option, it starts paying.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 53.33 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 54 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free AIIMS NORCET mock test to see where your time actually goes.
AIIMS NORCET exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in AIIMS NORCET?
AIIMS NORCET deducts 0.3333333333333333 marks for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in AIIMS NORCET?
AIIMS NORCET has 100 questions. That leaves about 54 seconds per question in AIIMS NORCET.
What are the total marks in AIIMS NORCET?
AIIMS NORCET is out of 100 marks.
How long is the AIIMS NORCET exam?
AIIMS NORCET runs for 90 minutes.
Does AIIMS NORCET have a sectional time limit?
Yes. AIIMS NORCET times its sections separately, so time left over in one section cannot be spent on another. Plan a per-section budget before you sit it.