Respected Sir/Madam, Subject : Regarding the validity of the OBC certificate In the INI-CET prospectus, it is mentioned that: "The validity of the non-creamy layer certificate shall be issued from 01st April, 2025 to 31st March, 2026 valid for financial year 2025-2026 and on the basis of financial year 2024-2025 or non-creamy layer certificate shall be issued from 01st April, 2026 to 25th April, 2026 (i.e. closing date of application) valid for financial year 2026-2027 and on the basis of financial year 2025-2026." At the time of registration (29th March 2026), I applied using my OBC certificate, which was valid from 05th April 2025 to 31st March 2026. Later, I obtained a new OBC certificate which is valid from 07th May 2026 to 31st March 2027. I would like to know which certificate should be used during the counselling process. My concern is that the prospectus specifically mentions that the new certificate should be issued between 01st April 2026 and 25th April 2026, whereas my new certificate was issued on 07th May 2026. Thank you very much for your time and support.

Hello Dear Student,

As per the INI-CET prospectus, the OBC-NCL certificate used for reservation benefits must generally be valid for the prescribed financial year and satisfy the date requirements mentioned in the notification.

In your case:

• The certificate issued on 05 April 2025 was valid only up to 31 March 2026 , so it may not be valid for counselling conducted after that date.

• Your newer OBC-NCL certificate is valid from 07 May 2026 to 31 March 2027 , which covers the relevant counselling period and financial year.

However, since the prospectus specifically mentions certificates issued between 01 April 2026 and 25 April 2026 , there may be ambiguity regarding certificates issued after the application closing date.

Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you:

• Contact the AIIMS/INI-CET counselling helpdesk for official clarification.

• Keep both certificates ready during counselling.

• Obtain written confirmation from the counselling authority, if possible.

The final decision regarding acceptance of the certificate will rest with the counselling authority during document verification.

Hope it helps!