NEET PG to Go Rank-Based? Expert Panel Report Tells Supreme Court

The way India decides who qualifies for postgraduate and super-speciality medical seats may soon change. A 12-member expert committee has told the Supreme Court that NEET-PG and NEET-SS should move from the current percentile-based qualifying system to a rank-based merit system. The report, placed before the court on November 3, says the National Medical Commission (NMC) has already given in-principle approval to the idea.

For lakhs of MBBS graduates who appear for NEET-PG every year, this could be the biggest change to the qualifying process in years – though the details are yet to be written into a regulation.

Background: the cut-off controversy

The committee was set up after the Supreme Court questioned the steep reduction of qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025. The Union Health Ministry had slashed the cut-offs to fill vacant postgraduate seats. As reported, the general category qualifying score fell from 276 to 103, while the cut-off for SC, ST and OBC candidates dropped from 235 to minus 40.

A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe had questioned the move, observing that it appeared to affect the quality of medical education. The court said it would examine the decision even though it was a policy matter, and directed the Centre to audit the NEET admission system. The expert committee's report is the result of that exercise.

NEET-PG rank-based system: key facts

What the committee said

The panel accepted that authorities had lowered percentiles because postgraduate seats were going vacant. But it stressed that minimum standards must be maintained, warning that the significance of competitive examinations "should not be reduced to an administrative formality."

Under the current system, candidates must cross a minimum percentile to become eligible for counselling. When seats remain empty, that percentile is lowered, sometimes drastically. A rank-based merit system would focus on a candidate's position in the merit list rather than a percentile threshold. How exactly the qualifying line will be drawn under the new model will become clear only when the NMC releases its draft regulation.

Steps proposed to fill vacant PG seats

The committee also looked at why seats stay empty in the first place, especially in non-clinical branches. Its suggestions include:

• Lower fees for non-clinical courses, with separate fee structures for clinical and non-clinical branches
• Exemption from service bonds for pre-clinical and para-clinical candidates
• Additional counselling rounds to reduce seat wastage
• KYC and biometric verification by NTA and NBEMS to stop seat blocking
• For dental and nursing seats: better job opportunities, lower fees and possible closure of seats lying vacant for two to three years in a row

Counselling changes for 2026-27

The report also listed changes already made to counselling for the 2026-27 cycle:

1. Candidates are placed in "Freeze" or "Float" categories, depending on whether they want to keep their seat or try for an upgrade.
2. Seat relinquishment and upgradation happen online.
3. Fees are paid only once, at the final institution allotted.
4. Documents are uploaded and verified online.
5. The NMC has been integrated with the MCC portal to verify the seat matrix, which helped remove duplicate seats.

For the future, the panel wants the NMC, NBEMS and NTA to share verified seat data well before counselling, and suggested that the MCC publish a fixed yearly schedule for the Supreme Court's approval. It also asked states to look at stipend gaps between clinical and non-clinical residents, rural incentives and service bond rules.

Petitioners are not convinced

The petitioners who challenged the cut-off reduction were unimpressed. Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, appearing for one of them, argued that the committee had changed the marking system instead of justifying why cut-offs were cut so sharply. "Now, ironically, they changing from percentile to rank based. What is the difference?" he told the court.

The Supreme Court gave the petitioners time to respond to the report and adjourned the matter.

What it means for NEET-PG aspirants

For now, nothing changes immediately. Candidates preparing for the next NEET-PG should continue as usual, because the rank-based system will need a formal NMC regulation, public consultation and possibly the Supreme Court's nod before it is applied. Some reports suggest it could apply from 2027, but no official implementation date has been notified.

What aspirants can expect sooner are the counselling reforms – the Freeze/Float option, online upgrades and one-time fee payment – which are meant to stop seat blocking and reduce the number of seats left empty at the end of counselling.

What happens next

• The NMC is expected to release a draft regulation on the rank-based system for stakeholder feedback.
• Petitioners will file their response to the expert committee's report.
• The Supreme Court will take up the matter again after that, and could issue directions on how and when the new system is rolled out.

Students should rely only on official notices from the NMC, NBEMS and MCC for any change in eligibility rules.

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