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Why it matters
Students preparing for JEE Main, UGC NET, Joint CSIR UGC NET and CUET PG plan months of study, travel and other exams around these dates. The revised calendar replaces the September one, so anyone working from the old dates now has a different schedule. The dates are still tentative until each exam's bulletin comes out.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which runs India’s big entrance and eligibility tests, has moved the dates of four exams in its NTA exam calendar for December 2026 to April 2027. JEE Main Session 1, the Joint Entrance Examination for engineering admissions, now starts two days earlier, on 20 January 2027. The December UGC NET, the University Grants Commission’s National Eligibility Test, and the Joint CSIR UGC NET have also been reshuffled. The agency’s public notice of 26 October 2026 gives “administrative reasons” for the change and says the new schedule replaces the one it published on 16 September.
The revised NTA exam calendar also adds a date it did not have before: JEE Main Session 2 is listed for 2 to 7 April 2027. Eight other tests, including the management test CMAT and the entrance exam of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), keep their September dates.
NTA exam calendar: old and new dates compared
NewsPlainly put the two NTA calendars side by side. Every date below is from the agency’s own notices: the revised calendar of 26 October and the original calendar of 16 September 2026.
| Exam | Old dates (16 Sep) | New dates (26 Oct) | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| UGC NET, December cycle | 14 to 19 Dec 2026, buffer 20 and 21 Dec | 14 to 18 and 21 Dec 2026 | 6 |
| Joint CSIR UGC NET | 20 and 21 Dec 2026 | 19, 22 and 27 Dec 2026 | 2, now 3 |
| JEE Main Session 1 | 22 to 24 and 28 to 30 Jan 2027, buffer 31 Jan | 20 to 24 and 28 Jan 2027 | 6 |
| CUET PG | 1 to 5, 8, 12 to 20, 24 and 25 Mar 2027, buffer 30 and 31 Mar | 2 to 5, 8, 9, 12, 15 to 19, 24, 25 and 29 to 31 Mar 2027 | 17 |
| JEE Main Session 2 | Not listed | 2 to 7 Apr 2027 | 6 |
Two things stand out. The new calendar has no buffer days at all; in September the NTA had kept spare dates for UGC NET, JEE Main and CUET PG. And the revised calendar no longer lists the National Initiative for Technical Teachers Training (NITTT) tests, which the September calendar had placed on 26 and 27 February and on 5 and 7 March 2027. The 26 October notice does not mention NITTT, so it is not clear whether those tests have moved or been taken out of this calendar.
What changes for JEE Main 2027 and UGC NET candidates
JEE Main Session 1 (January 2027). The window opens on Wednesday 20 January instead of Friday 22 January, and runs five straight days to Sunday 24 January, with one more day on Thursday 28 January. The old plan had three days in each of two weeks, ending on Saturday 30 January. The old spare day, 31 January, was the same day as the All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination, which stays on 31 January in the new calendar.
JEE Main Session 2 (April 2027). This is new to the calendar. The September version only went up to March 2027 and did not list an April session; the revised one puts it on 2 to 7 April 2027.
UGC NET December 2026. The exam still runs six days. Saturday 19 December is dropped, and Monday 21 December, once a buffer day, becomes an exam day.
Joint CSIR UGC NET. The test held jointly with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) grows from two days to three, now spread over nine days: Saturday 19 December, Tuesday 22 December and Sunday 27 December. In the old calendar its two days, 20 and 21 December, were also UGC NET’s buffer days.
CUET PG 2027 dates: same 17 days, new pattern
The Common University Entrance Test for postgraduate admissions (CUET PG) still gets 17 exam days in March 2027. NewsPlainly counted both versions: 5 + 1 + 9 + 2 days in the old plan, and 4 + 2 + 1 + 5 + 2 + 3 days in the new one. Both add up to 17.
What changes is the shape. The exam now starts on 2 March, not 1 March, and runs to 31 March. The last three days, 29 to 31 March, used to be reserve days; they are now regular exam days, and there is no reserve left in the month. The change matters most for candidates who had planned travel or other exams around the last week of March, when reserve days used to be.
Which NTA exams keep their dates
Eight tests are unchanged from the September calendar:
- Rashtriya Indian Military College entrance: 6 December 2026
- SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) online course exams: 8 to 12 December 2026
- Rashtriya Military Schools entrance: 13 December 2026
- Army Cadets College: 4 January 2027
- SHRESHTA (NETS), Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas: 10 January 2027
- NIFT entrance examination: 10 January 2027
- All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination: 31 January 2027
- Common Management Admission Test (CMAT): 7 February 2027
Taken together, the revised NTA exam calendar now holds 13 tests between 6 December 2026 and 7 April 2027, against 14 tests up to March 2027 in the September version, which included the two NITTT papers. The weekdays in this article are NewsPlainly’s own check against the calendar; the NTA lists dates only.
Are these NTA dates final?
No. Both NTA notices say the dates are tentative and can change for administrative, academic, statutory, logistical or other reasons. The September notice also says that publishing a calendar is not the formal notification for any exam: each test gets its own information bulletin, with registration dates, fees and rules, issued separately.
The agency has asked candidates to rely only on its website, nta.ac.in, and each exam’s own portal, and to check them regularly. The calendar does not give admit card or result dates; those come with each exam’s bulletin and later notices.
Frequently asked questions
When is JEE Main 2027 Session 1?
The NTA's revised calendar lists JEE Main Session 1 on 20 to 24 January and 28 January 2027. The earlier calendar had 22 to 24 and 28 to 30 January.
What is the new UGC NET December 2026 date?
UGC NET December cycle is scheduled for 14 to 18 December and 21 December 2026. Joint CSIR UGC NET is on 19, 22 and 27 December 2026.
When is CUET PG 2027?
CUET PG 2027 is listed for 17 days in March 2027: 2 to 5, 8, 9, 12, 15 to 19, 24, 25 and 29 to 31 March. The dates are tentative.
Why did the NTA change the exam calendar?
The NTA's notice of 26 October 2026 says the calendar was revised due to administrative reasons. It gives no further detail.