The great Indian rat race

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Editor's note: On 17 July, India conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, for aspiring medical students. The competition was intense: Over 17.5 lakh students battled it out for a little under 90,000 seats. The selection rate would be around 5%, among the lowest in a decade. At his home in Forbesganj, Bihar, Saurav keeps away from all chatter around the exam. “It’s a chapter from my past,” he says. “I don’t want to go back to it.” Saurav had attempted NEET four times between 2016 and 2019. In 2015, the year he’d started prepping, the number of NEET candidates had hit a record 10 lakh. “My groupies would often talk about it,” he recalls. “That we’ve to work harder than ever. Din bhar padhai, raat bhar padhai (Studying day and night).” Saurav spent a year at a coaching institute in Kota, Rajasthan, then the next three back home in Bihar. The competition was only getting tougher with time. Soon, Saurav’s sleep, appetite and mental health went for a toss. But his scores stayed put between 320-350 out of 720. …