By: Akanksha
A government-appointed expert committee has warned that the qualifying cutoffs for NEET-PG should not be reduced any further, and that the minimum standards for the NEET exams must be upheld. The 12-member expert committee, set up by the Union Government and reporting to Justice PS Narasimba and Justice Alok Aradhe in the Supreme Court, highlighted the risk of candidates with negative scores and very poor performance being admitted. This comes after the National Board of Examinations (NBE) cut the qualifying percentile for the 2025-26 round, resulting in a number of pleas. This means any further reductions in NEET-PG cutoffs may be questioned, and the integrity of the exams is being protected.
However, the committee has not ruled out every reduction in qualifying percentiles. It acknowledged that competent authorities may lower the qualifying criteria depending on vacant seats but cautioned against diluting minimum standards to the extent of allowing candidates with grossly inadequate or negative performance to qualify for postgraduate medical admissions.
Also Read: SC Refuses Urgent Listing of PIL Challenging NEET-UG Re-Examination
An expert committee of 12 members, led by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Loveneesh G. Krishna, submitted a detailed report to a Supreme Court bench in November 2026. The Union Government constituted the committee on July 23, 2026, following the Supreme Court's directions to audit the existing NEET admission system, identify gaps and recommend practical solutions.
The committee was tasked with auditing the exam system for NEET admissions, identifying any issues, and recommending practical solutions. The report highlights how the percentiles can be reduced, alongside the roles of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), National Medical Commission (NMC), NBEMS, NTA, and state counselling bodies. It also outlines proposed changes to the counselling process.
The NBEMS released a notice on January 13, 2026 ,announcing that it was significantly reducing the minimum qualifying percentile for the third counselling round of NEET-PG, 2025-26. It reduced the cut-off to the 7th percentile (103 marks) for General and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) categories. General PwBD candidates would have to score in the 5th percentile (90 marks). Most controversially, the cut-off was reduced to the 0th percentile for SC/ST/OBC candidates (including PwBD). The revised score for this category was -40 marks, meaning that candidates scoring as low as -40 became eligible for counselling.
This resulted in many petitions to the Supreme Court arguing that allowing candidates with negative scores compromised the credibility of the exam and the quality of medical education. This prompted the Central Government to set up the expert committee.
A negative cut-off means that candidates can still qualify despite scoring less than zero in the exams. This means they lost more marks for incorrect answers than they scored for correct answers. Allowing these candidates to undertake postgraduate training raises concerns regarding their clinical competence and ability to handle complex clinical situations.
If the cut-off continues to drop, then scoring highly in NEET-PG will not be as competitive. For example, someone who scored 400 marks may find they are competing for the same seat as those with negative marks, MedAdmit noted.
The challenge, therefore, is to address vacant postgraduate medical seats without compromising the minimum academic standards required for specialist training.
Also Read: NMC to Integrate Clinical Research Into MBBS and PG Medical Curriculum
If there are a lot of vacant seats, then the easiest solution is to reduce the qualifying cut-off. However, this can cause a ‘race to the bottom.’
The Centre highlighted the extent of vacant postgraduate medical seats while defending the reduction in qualifying percentiles. For the 2025-26 academic session, approximately 70,000 seats were available against 2,24,029 candidates. After Round 2 of NEET-PG counselling, 9,621 All India Quota (AIQ) seats remained vacant. Of these, 5,213 were in government medical colleges, including AIQ and Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats.
The NBEMS also informed the Supreme Court that 95,913 additional candidates became eligible for NEET-PG 2025 counselling following the reduction in qualifying percentiles.
The expert committee made it clear that it does not want the cut-offs to be reduced for the convenience of the institutions. It suggests looking into improving the distribution of seats, increasing movement between states, and addressing regional disparities.
The committee has also suggested alternative measures to encourage admissions to pre-clinical and para-clinical postgraduate courses, which may otherwise have vacant seats. These include:
Lower fees for non-clinical courses: State fee fixation committees or competent authorities may consider separate fee structures for clinical and non-clinical postgraduate branches, with lower fees for non-clinical courses to encourage candidates to accept these seats.
Service bond exemption: The committee has suggested that candidates accepting pre-clinical and para-clinical postgraduate seats should be considered for exemption from service bond requirements to prevent vacancies in these courses.
The committee has also suggested that the examination-conducting bodies, including NTA and NBEMS, explore Know Your Customer (KYC) and biometric verification mechanisms to prevent candidates from appearing in entrance examinations merely to block seats.
The expert committee’s report will be used as a reference for future decisions by the NBE, MCC, and NMC. While the committee does not have the authority to decide on the cut-offs, it has submitted its findings to the Supreme Court. The report is expected to inform future decisions on qualifying criteria and postgraduate medical counselling.
The committee has also proposed several measures to improve the counselling process and reduce delays:
Verified seat details: NMC, NBEMS and NTA should provide verified seat information well before counselling begins.
Fixed counselling schedules: MCC should prepare a fixed annual counselling schedule for each academic year and course and submit it to the Supreme Court for ratification.
Updated procedures: Standard operating procedures should be prepared and updated every year to streamline counselling.
Stakeholder meetings: Regular meetings should be held before and after counselling to identify gaps and address recurring problems.
Direct sharing of results: An online mechanism should be developed to share NEET results directly with state counselling authorities.
The committee has also suggested that examination-conducting bodies, including NTA and NBEMS, explore Know Your Customer (KYC) and biometric verification mechanisms to prevent candidates from appearing in entrance examinations merely to block seats.
The report also mentioned that the cut-off could change for NEET-PG and NEET-SS from a percentile system o a rank-based merit system. The NMC has given in-principle approval for this. The NMC Secretary communicated the proposal to the DGHS in a letter dated October 1, 2026. Under the proposed system, examination results would declare candidates' ranks instead of percentile scores.
The NMC is expected to issue draft regulations for stakeholder consultation before finalising the change. The committee has indicated that introducing a rank-based system could also reduce delays between counselling rounds. However, the proposal has not yet been finalised or implemented.
Overall, the committee has taken a firm stance, and this is a turning point in the cut-off policy. Candidates should try to score as highly as possible.
For now, candidates should continue to follow the existing NEET-PG eligibility and counselling rules. The proposed rank-based system and other recommendations will take effect only after the relevant authorities finalise and notify the necessary regulations. Candidates should monitor official NBEMS, NMC and MCC announcements for updates.
(Rh/APC/MSM)