Over 18,000 vacant PG medicine seats force govt to reduce cut-off below zero
Move to fill vacant seats draws sharp criticism from doctors over merit dilution
The government has decided to reduce the qualifying percentile for leftover postgraduate (PG) medical seats to zero for reserved category students, allowing even candidates with negative marks to secure admission.
The move has triggered mixed reactions within the medical fraternity, with some hailing the decision while others see it as evidence of declining standards in medical education.
In a notification issued on January 13, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) under the Union health ministry lowered the qualifying bar across categories for admissions to vacant PG seats.
The cut-off has been fixed at the 7th percentile for general category students, the 5th percentile for persons with disabilities, and zero percentile for candidates from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
For the reserved categories, this translates into eligibility at scores as low as minus 40.
Effectively, all reserved category candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-PG) 2025 are now eligible for admission to MD and MS seats that remain vacant after two rounds of counselling, as there is no minimum qualifying mark requirement.
Earlier, the cut-off percentile for PG admissions in the initial counselling rounds stood at 50 for unreserved candidates, 45 for persons with disabilities, and 40 for reserved category students.
Government sources maintained that after the second round of NEET-PG counselling, over 18,000 seats across states — including government and private medical colleges — are still lying vacant.
“The primary objective of NEET-PG and the subsequent counselling process is to ensure optimal utilisation of available postgraduate medical seats, to augment the availability of trained specialists and address the existing shortage of medical professionals in the country,” said a government official.
Leaving such many seats vacant defeats this objective and results in wastage of valuable national medical education resources, the source added.
There are nearly 50,000 MD/ MS seats in India’s medical colleges.
IN LINE WITH PAST PATTERN
A senior official in the Union health ministry told India Today that the decision was taken to address the persistent problem of vacant PG seats in medical colleges across the country.
“Even last year, the qualifying percentile was reduced significantly in the final round of counselling, yet more than 3,000 to 4,000 seats remained vacant,” the official said.
According to the official, this has become an annual pattern, largely because candidates tend to avoid non-clinical and research-oriented subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and pharmacology.
“Branches that offer better prospects for private clinical practice are picked up quickly, while these subjects see very few takers,” the official added.
The government hopes that filling PG seats across all streams will help produce more postgraduate doctors willing to serve as faculty in non-clinical departments at medical colleges, which continue to face acute shortages.
Government sources also maintained that the non-filling of seats is not due to a lack of eligibility or competence, but rather the existing qualifying percentile criteria, which had restricted the available pool of eligible candidates despite numerous vacant seats.
MIXED REACTIONS
The move, however, has drawn strong reactions from some doctors and educators. Many argue that lowering eligibility to negative marks undermines merit and could have long-term consequences for the quality of medical teaching and research.
“Merit shouldn’t have negative value. NEET-PG cut-off at minus 40 isn’t relief, it’s dilution,” radiologist Dr Sumer Sethi wrote on X, echoing concerns widely shared within the medical community.
Dr Dhruv Chauhan, a member of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), meanwhile said that the decision would benefit private medical colleges more than deserving doctors.
“These doctors spend years working hard to gain a seat, but now even those who have scored negative marks will be eligible for these seats,” he rued.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest network of doctors in the country, meanwhile thanked the government for revising the cut-off criteria, saying it had suggested the same.
Dr Indranil Deshmukh, secretary of the IMA-Junior Doctors’ Network, said those criticising the move should be comfortable with students opting for less competitive seats.
“Time has shown that those who scored lower marks in NEET haven’t failed in their PG courses,” Dr Deshmukh said.
The government has decided to reduce the qualifying percentile for leftover postgraduate (PG) medical seats to zero for reserved category students, allowing even candidates with negative marks to secure admission.
The move has triggered mixed reactions within the medical fraternity, with some hailing the decision while others see it as evidence of declining standards in medical education.
In a notification issued on January 13, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) under the Union health ministry lowered the qualifying bar across categories for admissions to vacant PG seats.
The cut-off has been fixed at the 7th percentile for general category students, the 5th percentile for persons with disabilities, and zero percentile for candidates from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
For the reserved categories, this translates into eligibility at scores as low as minus 40.
Effectively, all reserved category candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-PG) 2025 are now eligible for admission to MD and MS seats that remain vacant after two rounds of counselling, as there is no minimum qualifying mark requirement.
Earlier, the cut-off percentile for PG admissions in the initial counselling rounds stood at 50 for unreserved candidates, 45 for persons with disabilities, and 40 for reserved category students.
Government sources maintained that after the second round of NEET-PG counselling, over 18,000 seats across states — including government and private medical colleges — are still lying vacant.
“The primary objective of NEET-PG and the subsequent counselling process is to ensure optimal utilisation of available postgraduate medical seats, to augment the availability of trained specialists and address the existing shortage of medical professionals in the country,” said a government official.
Leaving such many seats vacant defeats this objective and results in wastage of valuable national medical education resources, the source added.
There are nearly 50,000 MD/ MS seats in India’s medical colleges.
IN LINE WITH PAST PATTERN
A senior official in the Union health ministry told India Today that the decision was taken to address the persistent problem of vacant PG seats in medical colleges across the country.
“Even last year, the qualifying percentile was reduced significantly in the final round of counselling, yet more than 3,000 to 4,000 seats remained vacant,” the official said.
According to the official, this has become an annual pattern, largely because candidates tend to avoid non-clinical and research-oriented subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and pharmacology.
“Branches that offer better prospects for private clinical practice are picked up quickly, while these subjects see very few takers,” the official added.
The government hopes that filling PG seats across all streams will help produce more postgraduate doctors willing to serve as faculty in non-clinical departments at medical colleges, which continue to face acute shortages.
Government sources also maintained that the non-filling of seats is not due to a lack of eligibility or competence, but rather the existing qualifying percentile criteria, which had restricted the available pool of eligible candidates despite numerous vacant seats.
MIXED REACTIONS
The move, however, has drawn strong reactions from some doctors and educators. Many argue that lowering eligibility to negative marks undermines merit and could have long-term consequences for the quality of medical teaching and research.
“Merit shouldn’t have negative value. NEET-PG cut-off at minus 40 isn’t relief, it’s dilution,” radiologist Dr Sumer Sethi wrote on X, echoing concerns widely shared within the medical community.
Dr Dhruv Chauhan, a member of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), meanwhile said that the decision would benefit private medical colleges more than deserving doctors.
“These doctors spend years working hard to gain a seat, but now even those who have scored negative marks will be eligible for these seats,” he rued.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest network of doctors in the country, meanwhile thanked the government for revising the cut-off criteria, saying it had suggested the same.
Dr Indranil Deshmukh, secretary of the IMA-Junior Doctors’ Network, said those criticising the move should be comfortable with students opting for less competitive seats.
“Time has shown that those who scored lower marks in NEET haven’t failed in their PG courses,” Dr Deshmukh said.