NEET PG cut-off slashed to zero percentile to fill over 18,000 vacant seats

Revised criteria for reserved categories; doctor bodies criticise the move

After the second round of NEET-PG counselling, over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remain vacant across the country, and according to the health ministry, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) had to lower cutoffs before the third round starts. 

 

Sources in the ministry said the scale of shortfall is significant and spreads across both government and private institutions. 

 

Under the revised criteria, cutoffs have been reduced to zero percentile from 40th percentile for reserved categories, with the minimum qualifying scores falling to -40 from 235 out of 800.

 

Similarly, qualifying percentile for general and economic weaker section (EWS) candidates has been reduced from 50th to 7th percentile, and for general persons with benchmark disability (PwBD) from 45th to 5th percentile.  

 

People in the know added that the persistence of vacancies was not due to a lack of eligible or capable doctors. 

 

“The non-filling of seats is not on account of lack of eligibility or competence, but due to the existing qualifying percentile criteria, which has restricted the available pool of eligible candidates despite the presence of numerous vacant seats,” an official said.

 

He added the previous percentile thresholds had restricted the pool of eligible candidates despite the availability of seats.

 

India has over 57,000 postgraduate (PG) medical seats in both government and private sector institutions.

 

The revision aims to ensure optimal utilisation of available seats, which are vital for expanding India’s pool of trained medical specialists. 

 

“Leaving such seats vacant undermines national efforts to improve healthcare delivery and results in the loss of valuable educational resources,” the official quoted above added.

 

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also formally requested a revision of the qualifying cutoff on January 12, citing the need to prevent seat wastage and strengthen healthcare services.

 

The move, however, has drawn strong opposition from doctors’ group Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) asking to withdraw the notification. 

 

In a letter to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, FAIMA president Rohan Krishnan said that reducing the percentile to zero sets a dangerous precedent.

 

“To fill these seats, eligibility is being diluted. We are compromising merit and producing degree holders instead of good doctors,” Krishnan said, adding that critical specialties like paediatrics and medicine could be affected.  

 

Officials, however, said admissions will remain strictly merit-based, determined by NEET-PG rank and candidate preferences.

 

“Allotments will be made only through authorised counselling mechanisms and no direct or discretionary admissions are permitted. Inter-se merit and choice-based allocation will continue to guide seat distribution,” the officials added. 

Filling the gap

• 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remain vacant
• Cutoffs reduced to zero from 40th percentile for reserved categories
• Minimum qualifying score falls to -40 from 235 out of 800
• Qualifying percentile for general and EWS candidates reduced from 50th to 7th
• For general persons with benchmark disability (PwBD), percentile reduced from 45th to 5th