NEET-PG 2025 Cut-Offs Slashed – Thousands of Seats Finally Open for Doctors
NBEMS lowers NEET-PG 2025 qualifying percentiles to fill over 18,000 vacant PG medical seats nationwide.
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 in a move aimed at addressing a large number of vacant postgraduate medical seats across the country. The decision comes after the completion of Round-2 counselling, which revealed that more than 18,000 PG seats remained unfilled in government and private medical colleges.
NBEMS stated that leaving such a significant number of seats vacant undermines national efforts to expand the pool of trained medical specialists. Officials emphasized that optimal utilisation of available seats is crucial for strengthening healthcare delivery and avoiding the loss of valuable educational resources. The revision, they said, is intended to widen eligibility without compromising academic standards.
Clarifying concerns over merit, NBEMS stressed that all NEET-PG candidates are already MBBS-qualified doctors who have completed their internships. The examination, it said, functions as a ranking mechanism for transparent and merit-based seat allocation through centralised counselling. Previous percentile thresholds had unnecessarily restricted the eligible candidate pool despite seat availability.
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Under the revised criteria, candidates from the General and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) categories will now qualify at the 7th percentile instead of the earlier 50th percentile, with a cut-off score of 103. For General Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), the qualifying percentile has been reduced from 45th to 5th, with a cut-off score of 90.
For Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates, including PwBD candidates within these groups, the qualifying percentile has been lowered from the 40th to the 0th percentile, with a revised cut-off score of 40. NBEMS clarified that NEET-PG 2025 ranks declared on August 19, 2025, remain unchanged.
The board reiterated that admissions will continue strictly through authorised counselling processes, with no scope for discretionary or direct admissions. The Indian Medical Association had earlier urged the revision to prevent seat wastage. NBEMS said the move aligns with past practices and reflects the government’s commitment to a fair, transparent, and merit-driven medical education system.
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