INI-CET Round 2 and the Open Round: who can take part and what it costs

Last updated 20 Oct 2026 · Reviewed by Dr. Rajiv Marechal
Based on AIIMS New Delhi’s prospectus, Open Round brochures and result notifications (listed under Sources). The documents for your session on aiimsexams.ac.in are the only ones that count. FindMyBranch is not part of AIIMS.

INI-CET seat allocation has a mock round, then Round 1, Round 2 and an Open Round. The prospectus says there will be at least two rounds, followed by the Open Round. The later rounds have the strictest rules: a mistake here can cost ₹3 lakh, or the seat you already hold.

Got your rank? See which seats closed near it.

Check my INI-CET options

Round 2

Who is in it

Candidates who got a Round 1 seat, chose Option 2, and reported in time.
Candidates who took part in Round 1 but got no seat. They are in automatically.

Who is not

Anyone who did not register or fill choices for Round 1.
Anyone who got a Round 1 seat and chose no option by the deadline.
Anyone who chose an option but did not report and complete the formalities in time.
Anyone who chose Option 1. That option means stopping after Round 1.

How it works

No new choices. Round 2 uses your Round 1 list, in the same merit order as Round 1, preference seats included.
The seats on offer are the ones left after Round 1, the seats of people who took no action, and seats released when someone moves up.
Moved up? With Option 2, a better seat from your list must be taken. Your Round 1 seat is released, and your documents are transferred to the new institute.
Every Round 2 seat must be accepted online and reported to in person by the deadline. Otherwise it is treated as declined.
Held a Round 1 seat with Option 2 but did not report to your Round 2 seat? A ₹3 lakh draft you paid is forfeited, or your originals come back only after you pay ₹3 lakh. The seat is vacated, and only the Open Round is left.
PwBD candidates who get a new or better seat go to AIIMS New Delhi again for the medical board check.

The Open Round

Who can take part

Anyone at or above the qualifying percentile, including people already holding a seat.
People who skipped Round 1, or lost a seat for not reporting, can take part here even though they could not take part in Round 2.
Every participant deposits ₹3 lakh online (RTGS or NEFT) to take part.

Chose Option 1 in Round 1? The Round 1 notice says that option means not taking part in further rounds, so you are out of Round 2. But AIIMS’s July 2025 Open Round brochure let candidates who had joined a seat in any earlier round take part. Read your session’s Open Round brochure before you decide.

The rules that bite

Seats are allotted in the order of the original merit list and by category, as per the choices made and the seats available.
If you already hold a seat and the Open Round gives you a new one, your old seat is treated as resigned. You also pay that institute’s penalty for leaving. JIPMER’s prospectus says so directly for its Round 1 and Round 2 joiners.
Not accepting the seat by the deadline means you are treated as having declined it, and all rights to it are forfeited.
Not reporting and joining forfeits the ₹3 lakh, plus the other penalties in the round’s brochure.
Bring the originals with one set of self-attested copies. The July 2026 Open Round result names no draft option.
If you move up to a better seat in the Open Round, you complete the course at the new institute. Time at your earlier seat does not count.

Seats that change category

Reserved seats left empty are converted only in the Open Round: EWS and OBC seats to UR, ST seats to SC and then UR, SC seats to ST and then UR. The result lists these as “OCS”, an On Converted Seat. Who may take them is set by that round’s brochure.

How fast it moves

In July 2026, the Open Round’s reporting deadline was the last date of admission itself, 31 August 2026. Here is how the later rounds ran in the last two sessions:

Step	January 2026 session	July 2026 session
Round 2 result	9 January 2026	10 July 2026
Report to the Round 2 seat	by 15 January 2026, 5 pm	by 16 July 2026, 5 pm
Open Round brochure	17 January 2026	21 July 2026
Open Round result	21 February 2026	21 August 2026
Accept and report to the Open Round seat	by 28 February 2026, 11 am	by 31 August 2026, 11 am

For the January 2027 session, the prospectus sets the last date of admission as 28 February 2027. Round dates are announced separately.

Anything after the Open Round?

The prospectus names no round after it. In the January 2022 session, AIIMS did publish a merit list for a “spot round” of counselling, and JIPMER’s prospectus mentions on-the-spot counselling. Whether such a round happens, and its rules, would be announced by AIIMS in that session. Do not plan on one.

Reading Open Round closing ranks

Open Round seats often go at much later ranks than Round 1. In July 2026 an open (UR) seat in Physiology at AIIMS Guwahati went at rank 4,024 in Round 1, 6,201 in Round 2 and 35,045 in the Open Round. That is a real allotment, but it came from a seat falling vacant at the very end. It is not something to plan on.

In FindMyBranch, a session’s closing rank is the worst rank in any of its rounds, and the card names the round. When it says “Open Round”, the earlier rounds closed at better ranks; the full results show each one. Converted (OCS) seats are left out. See how to read an INI-CET closing rank.

Quick checklist

Want Round 2? Take part in Round 1, and choose Option 2 if you get a seat.
In Round 2, a better seat from your list must be taken. Report by the deadline.
Entering the Open Round while holding a seat? A new seat replaces it, and you pay to leave the old one.
Only list Open Round seats you will join. Not joining forfeits the ₹3 lakh.
Carry the originals. See the INI-CET documents checklist.
More on the money: what leaving an INI-CET seat costs.

See what each seat went at, round by round. The INI-CET tool shows the session and round behind every closing rank for your rank and category.

Check INI-CET options

Sources

Round rules are from the July 2026 and January 2026 sessions’ notices and the 2025 Open Round brochures. They can change each session.