The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released its tentative examination calendar for December 2026 to March 2027, giving students an advance schedule for several major national-level entrance and eligibility examinations. The calendar includes JEE Main 2027, UGC-NET, Joint CSIR-UGC NET, CMAT and CUET-PG, among other exams.
According to the proposed schedule, the December 2026 session of UGC-NET is scheduled to be conducted from December 14 to 19, 2026. NTA has kept December 20 and 21 as buffer dates. The Joint CSIR-UGC NET December cycle is proposed for December 20 and 21.
For engineering aspirants, JEE Main 2027 Session 1 is proposed to be held over six days — January 22, 23, 24 and January 28, 29 and 30, 2027. January 31 has been kept as a buffer date.
The tentative calendar also includes several other major examinations. The CMAT 2027 is scheduled for February 7, while CUET-PG 2027 is planned across multiple dates in March. The NIFT Entrance Examination is scheduled for January 10.
NTA has made it clear that the dates are tentative and may change because of administrative, academic, statutory, logistical or other unforeseen circumstances. The calendar itself does not constitute the formal notification for individual examinations. Detailed notifications will be issued separately.
Candidates preparing for JEE Main and UGC-NET are therefore advised to use the tentative dates for planning their preparation while continuing to check the official examination portals for application forms, eligibility requirements, city intimation slips, admit cards and final examination schedules.
The official JEE Main and UGC-NET portals are already publishing examination-related updates.
The release of the calendar gives students an early indication of the upcoming examination cycle and allows them to organise their preparation, revision schedules and application planning well in advance.