NBEMS defends zero percentile NEET-PG cutoff to fill seats
NBEMS defends zero percentile NEET-PG cutoff to fill seats
With thousands of PG medical seats vacant, NBEMS defends lowering NEET-PG 2025 cut-off to zero for reserved candidates to expand eligibility for the third counselling round.
New Delhi is witnessing a policy move aimed at filling thousands of vacant postgraduate medical seats. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences has defended reducing the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying percentile to zero for reserved-category candidates, arguing that expanding the pool of eligible applicants is essential to address a shortage of trained specialists. More than 18,000 PG medical seats remain unfilled after two rounds of counselling, prompting the shift for the third round. The general category cut-off has been lowered from the 50th percentile to the 7th percentile, while reserved categories are set to zero, allowing candidates even with negative scores to participate in counselling. NEET-PG consists of 200 questions, with each correct answer worth 4 marks and a penalty for incorrect responses. A candidate could end up as low as -40 out of 800 and still be considered eligible for the third round. The overarching goal is to ensure optimal utilisation of seats and to boost the number of trained medical professionals, addressing shortages across the country.
A broader debate surrounds the move, with doctors’ groups in several states voicing concerns about potential impacts on medical education standards. Critics argue that such a low cutoff could affect the quality of intake and the preparedness of future specialists. Proponents, however, point out that leaving seats unfilled wastes valuable resources and undermines efforts to expand India’s pool of trained physicians. The counselling process for NEET-PG 2025’s third round is anticipated to determine how many seats will finally be filled and how the policy will affect training pipelines in the coming years.
