New Delhi: The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has lowered the qualifying percentile to zero for candidates in reserved categories for NEET-PG 2025, a move that allows even those with negative scores- as low as minus 40 out of 800- to take part in the third round of counselling for postgraduate medical seats. The decision, announced on Tuesday, has triggered sharp criticism from sections of the medical community, who warn it could compromise the quality of healthcare.
According to Health Ministry sources, the decision was taken after the completion of Round-2 counselling, which saw more than 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remain unfilled across government and private colleges. Officials say, "leaving such seats vacant undermines national efforts to improve healthcare delivery and results in the loss of valuable educational resources."
The ministry maintains that the revision does not dilute academic standards. "All NEET-PG candidates are MBBS-qualified doctors who have completed their internship. NEET-PG is only a ranking mechanism to facilitate transparent, merit-based seat allocation," sources said, adding that admissions will continue strictly through centralised counselling based on rank and preferences, with no scope for discretionary or direct admissions.
The revised cut-off, officials argue, merely expands the pool of eligible candidates among already-qualified doctors, ensuring better utilisation of existing infrastructure and human resources. The move is also in line with previous years when similar measures were taken to prevent seat wastage.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had formally written to Health Minister J.P. Nadda on January 12, urging a downward revision of the cut-off. In its letter, the IMA warned that high eligibility thresholds were excluding "otherwise competent and willing candidates," leading to shortages of resident doctors, increased workload on existing trainees and adverse effects on patient care, particularly in government hospitals. The decision to revise the cut-off was issued a day later, on January 13.
However, the move has drawn strong opposition from doctors' groups like the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA). Dr Rohan Krishnan, a Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) member, said reducing the percentile to zero sets a dangerous precedent.
"The NEET PG qualifying percentile has now been reduced to zero, which means even candidates with negative marks are eligible," Dr Krishnan said, warning that doctors scoring as low as minus 40 could now enter postgraduate training, practise medicine, and even participate in surgeries. Calling it a "very sad" development, he said the repeated lowering of cut-offs over the past five years reflects a trend driven by the need to fill seats in private medical colleges.
Dr Krishnan alleged that many such colleges lack adequate faculty, patient exposure, and infrastructure, making them unattractive to meritorious students. "To fill these seats, eligibility is being diluted. We are compromising merit and producing degree holders instead of good doctors," he said, cautioning that critical specialties like paediatrics and medicine could be affected.
Health Ministry sources, however, reject the charge of commercialisation, stressing that transparency, inter-se merit and choice-based allocation remain central to the process.