In a groundbreaking decision, the Health Ministry has instructed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to eliminate the qualifying percentile requirement for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-Post Graduate (PG) 2023 across all categories. This development comes as a significant relief for aspiring postgraduate medical students this year, allowing eligible candidates to modify their choices.
As of the previous criteria, the NEET PG Cut-Off percentile stood at 50 for general/unreserved category students, 45 for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), and 40 for students from other reserved categories. The Health Ministry, in its official letter, stated, "The recommendation to reduce the qualifying percentile for postgraduate courses in 2023 (NEET PG 2023) has been carefully considered, and the competent authority has approved the reduction of the qualifying percentile to 'Zero' across all categories.
Dr. Harish Gupta, a member of the Delhi Medical Council, emphasized that this decision aims to ensure the occupancy of all clinical and non-clinical seats, preventing any vacant positions, a problem observed in previous years. He assured that the filling of postgraduate seats would adhere to NEET-PG counseling norms, with no compromise on the quality of medical education.
Notably, the Indian Medical Association had previously urged the Health Ministry to lower the NEET PG 2023 cut-off marks by up to 30%. Their request aimed to enable a larger number of aspiring doctors to enroll in postgraduate programs across various medical colleges nationwide, ensuring no vacant postgraduate seats. In their letter to the Ministry, they stated, "We request you to reduce the NEET PG 2023 cut-off percentile up to 30% so that most of the seats are filled in both clinical and non-clinical branches."
However, this decision has sparked controversy, with the Federation of All India Medical Association expressing shock and calling it "ridiculous" to grant eligibility to zero percentile candidates for postgraduate seats. Critics, including Dr. Anant Bhan, a researcher in global health, health policy, and bioethics, have raised concerns about the impact on the quality of PG medical education. Dr. K.V. Babu, an RTI activist, has also speculated that the government's move might be aimed at filling seats in private medical colleges.
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