NEET-PG seat cutoffs slashed as specialist doctors' vacancies pile up

The scale of the cutoff lowering announced on Wednesday is big. “To ensure these seats do not go unfilled, the eligibility percentile for the unreserved (UR) category was reduced from 50 to 7, while for SC, ST and OBC (scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes) categories, it was lowered from 40 to zero," a third official said.

This official also said that this was not the first time such measures had been taken to address vacancies. "Last year, the percentile was reduced to 5 (for the unreserved category), and in the previous years, it had even been brought down to zero to ensure seats are not left vacant," he added.

With the current zero-percentile threshold for the reserved categories, any student who sat for the exam is now effectively eligible for the counseling process.

Merit allocation

Allotments will continue through authorized, transparent counseling mechanisms based on NEET-PG ranks and candidate preferences, with no provision for direct or discretionary admissions, the officials said.

“Leaving such a massive number of seats vacant undermines national efforts to improve healthcare delivery and results in the loss of valuable educational resources," said the first official cited above, requesting anonymity.

The revision reflects a pragmatic approach to human resource management within the healthcare sector, ensuring that the infrastructure of the country's medical colleges is fully utilized to meet the growing demand for specialized care.

This decision follows the completion of the second-round of counseling that revealed the extent of the vacancies. By adjusting the thresholds, the government aims to provide an opportunity for more doctors to participate in the remaining counseling rounds and secure a specialization.

Officials said this measure does not indicate a dilution of academic standards. They emphasized that all NEET-PG candidates are already MBBS-qualified doctors, who have completed their mandatory internships.

"The entrance exam serves as a ranking mechanism for already-qualified doctors to facilitate transparent, merit-based allocation," the first official said, noting that the previous thresholds had unintentionally restricted the pool of eligible candidates despite seats being available.

The decision followed a formal request from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on 12 January 2026, which cited an urgent need to prevent seat wastage and strengthen healthcare services. The subsequent notice on lowering of cutoffs was issued on 13 January.

Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, the president of IMA said, “This measure is consistent with past academic years, where similar adjustments proved effective in ensuring seat utilization while maintaining academic integrity. This move is towards strengthening the national healthcare system through a fair and merit-driven process."

The officials said that despite the cut-offs being lowered, admissions remain strictly merit-based, and choice-based allocations will continue to guide seat distributions across the medical institutions.

Queries emailed to the health ministry spokesperson went unanswered until press time.