The National Board of Examinations has agreed to conduct a single common entrance test for admission to post-graduate medical courses across the country from next year.

"The Board of Governors of NBE has agreed in principle to hold the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for post-graduate medical courses like MD and MS from 2013, after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had requested us to do the same," president of National Board of Examinations K Srinath Reddy said.

He said the Ministry had asked it to conduct next year's NEET-PG exam, after the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had refused to conduct the same in 2011.

The common medical entrance exam for post-graduate courses is to be conducted as per directions of the Supreme Court to the Medical Council of India.

However, Reddy said before conducting the examination the NBE would require to clarify certain things with the Health ministry, which include strengthening the infrastructure within the Board and granting freedom to it for conducting the NEET-PG in 2013.

The responsibility of holding the NEET-PG was originally with the MCI, but it developed cold feet and tried to rope in AIIMS for holding the exam, which also backed out.

Reddy also said that the NBE would seek clarifications from the Health Ministry on the nature of arrangement for conducting the exam.

Both NEET-PG and NEET-UG for admission to all medical courses across the country were to be conducted by the MCI in 2012 but the MCI and Health Ministry sought more time in this regard as they were not fully prepared to hold the exams.

The National Board of Examinations, under the Health Ministry, was established in 1975 with the objective of improving the quality of Medical Education in post graduate examinations. The Board conducts postgraduate and postdoctoral examinations in 54 disciplines approved by it for the award of Diplomate of National Board (DNB) degree.