The Union Cabinet on 20 May 2016 approved an ordinance to exempt the State boards from the purview of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for one year.Once approved by the President, the ordinance allows the State boards to hold their own entrance test for admission to medical and dental courses for the 2016-17 academic year.

The ordinance was brought out to bypass the 9 May 2016 order of the Supreme Court. In the order, the court directed that the NEET should be the sole criterion for medical admissions across the country beginning from the 2016-17 academic year.

The ordinance was approved under the Article 123 of the Constitution, which empowers the President of India to promulgate ordinances during recess of the Parliament.