By Mariyam F
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is all set to release NEET PG 2026 answer key on its official website, natboard.edu.in, though there is no official confirmation on the release date of answer key.
The NEET PG exam was conducted on 30 August 2026. A re-exam was afterwards conducted on 5 September 2026 for 2,445 candidate as the initial exam was cancelled at two centers in Jaipur’s Sitapura due to an internal power failure.
The board’s decision to publish a provisional answer key before the actual results, that are expected to be released by 30 September 2026, was drawn after a Supreme Court order issued in 2025.
However, candidates should make a note that scores calculated with the help of a provisional answer key are only estimates and the final marks will be calculated on the basis of a final answer key and the evaluation process followed by NBEMS.
The industry professionals are, however, questioning the NEET PG exam answer key format. According to an X post by one such professional, the answer key is supposed to include question ID with its corresponding correct option ID and the candidate’s selected option ID, but not the actual question. The backlash arises over a genuine concern about how a candidate is supposed to remember question IDs and option IDs of over 180 questions two weeks after the exam.
A doctor pointed out that all the “hue and cry over answer keys“ seems pointless to him, as not publishing answer key is a norm in medical examinations conducted in other countries, comparing NEET PG to USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination).
Responding to the above, Dr. Aditya Sanjay Gupta, Pediatric Oncologist, AIIMS Delhi Alumni, highlighted that, “USMLE is not an isolated one day exam given by 50,000 aspirants. You can give it anytime of the year - students get different questions. It tests different MCQs where some MCQs are weighed more, some less and some not even considered” he further added, “If someone doesn’t score well - they still can do research, research jobs and many other things to improve their CV.”
Gupta further argued that the USMLE differs from NEET PG in its examination and admission structure, noting that the USMLE is taken by candidates at different times and uses different questions and scoring methods, while NEET PG is a single-day examination in which rank plays a significant role in determining admissions.
He also highlighted that, for a developing country like India, where fair examinations, away from corruption, stand a 50-50 chance, exams like NEET PG are a “brutal zero-sum game”.
Other major exams, like UPSC and NEET UG, release answer keys every year ahead of their results. With these examinations conducted on a much larger scale, some candidates and professionals have questioned why a similar protocol has not been followed for NEET PG, citing concerns over transparency and accountability.
(Rh/MF/MSM)