Supreme Court Examines NBEMS NEET-PG Cut-Off Reduction

NEW DELHI (Azat TV) – India’s Supreme Court announced on Monday that it is examining the significant reduction in the qualifying percentile for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025, a move by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) that has sparked considerable debate. A bench comprising Justices P. S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe is deliberating whether lowering the cut-off to zero or even negative scores (as low as -40) compromises the standards of postgraduate medical education and potentially impacts patient safety.

The controversy stems from the NBEMS’s January 13, 2026, notice, which drastically reduced the minimum qualifying percentile for Round 3 counselling of NEET-PG 2025–26. This decision, made following recommendations from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the National Medical Commission (NMC), aims to prevent the widespread wastage of postgraduate medical seats across the country.

Supreme Court Scrutinizes NEET-PG Percentile Cut-Off

The Supreme Court bench acknowledged the government’s argument that NEET-PG is not an entry-level examination for MBBS graduates, who are already qualified doctors. However, the justices expressed concern about the potential impact of such a drastic reduction on the quality and integrity of postgraduate medical training. Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, representing the petitioners, highlighted that the Union’s focus appears to be primarily on filling vacant seats rather than upholding the expected academic standards in postgraduate medical education, which raises broader issues of patient safety, as reported by Indian Express.

The Centre, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, has robustly defended its decision. It argues that the purpose of NEET-PG is to generate an inter-se merit list for allocating a limited number of postgraduate seats, not to certify minimum competence, which is already established by the MBBS qualification itself. The government maintains that clinical competence is affirmed through the MBBS degree and subsequent internship, and NEET-PG serves as a ranking mechanism rather than a licensing examination.

Centre’s Defense: Preventing Seat Wastage and Competence

The government presented data to justify the cut-off reduction, noting that after Round 2 of counselling for NEET-PG 2025, 9,621 seats remained vacant across various specialities in the All India Quota (AIQ), with 5,213 of these in government medical colleges. Out of approximately 70,000 postgraduate seats available for the 2025–26 academic session, thousands remained unfilled despite over 2.24 lakh candidates appearing for the exam. The Centre argued that leaving these seats vacant would result in a significant waste of public funds invested in infrastructure, faculty resources, and hospital facilities.

Addressing concerns about patient safety, the affidavit asserted that such worries are ‘misplaced.’ It clarified that all candidates admitted to postgraduate courses are already licensed MBBS practitioners, entitled to practice independently. Furthermore, postgraduate training is described as a ‘structured three-year supervised training program’ where candidates operate under the constant guidance of senior faculty and specialists. Final competence, according to the government, is rigorously assessed at the exit stage through MD or MS examinations, which require candidates to secure at least 50 percent marks separately in theory and practical components without any relaxation. This ensures that the final qualification threshold remains uncompromised, even with a lowered entry percentile for counselling. The Centre views the reduction as a ‘proportionate administrative measure’ to prevent seat wastage and enhance specialist healthcare capacity, maintaining that it does not compromise academic standards or alter inter-se merit.

NBEMS Administers Other Key Medical Entrance Exams

Beyond the NEET-PG controversy, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) continues to administer several other critical examinations for medical and dental professionals. The Foreign Dental Screening Test (FDST) for BDS, 2026, is scheduled to be conducted on March 1, 2026, in a computer-based format exclusively at the New Delhi centre. This screening test is mandatory for foreign dental graduates seeking to practice dentistry in India, as reported by Medical Dialogues.

Additionally, the NBEMS released the city intimation slip for the Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) 2026, sending it to registered candidates via email on February 24, 2026. This slip informs candidates of their allotted exam city ahead of the March 7, 2026, examination, allowing them to make necessary travel arrangements. The official admit card for GPAT 2026 is expected to be released on March 2, 2026, according to Times of India.

The application process for NEET MDS 2026 is also expected to commence shortly, with the exam tentatively scheduled for May 2, 2026. This computer-based examination for dental postgraduate admissions will feature 240 multiple-choice questions from the BDS curriculum, as detailed by Indian Express. These ongoing activities underscore NBEMS’s broad mandate in managing medical and dental entrance and screening examinations across India.

The Supreme Court’s decision to scrutinize the NEET-PG percentile reduction signals a critical juncture for medical education policy in India, balancing the practical need to fill specialist training positions with the imperative to uphold rigorous academic and clinical standards. The outcome of the March 24 hearing could establish a significant precedent for future regulatory decisions affecting healthcare training and, by extension, patient care.