Low cutoff doesn't imply incompetence: Government defends move amid NEET PG row

The Health Ministry has defended the sharp reduction in NEET PG qualifying percentile, telling the Supreme Court that it "does not certify incompetence." Citing over 9,600 vacant AIQ seats, including in government colleges, the Centre said MBBS qualification ensures competence and patient safety concerns are misplaced.

Amid growing criticism over the decision to reduce the NEET-PG qualifying percentile -- in some cases to near zero -- the Union Health Ministry has told the Supreme Court that a low cut-off “does not certify incompetence”.

Responding to a PIL challenging the reduction of the minimum qualifying percentile for PG medical admissions for the 2025–26 academic session, the ministry said the decision to reduce the NEET PG cut off percentile followed detailed deliberations after thousands of seats remained vacant, including in government medical colleges.

“It is submitted that the NEET-PG is not to certify minimum competence which stands established by the MBBS qualification itself of the candidates but to generate an inter se merit list for allocation of limited postgraduate seats. The NEET PG scores are a function of relative performance and examination design which cannot be construed as determinative of clinical incompetence,” stated the affidavit filed by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The ministry termed the revised percentile a “policy decision” beyond the court’s jurisdiction. It stressed that “Reduction in percentile do not affect clinical competence,” reiterating that MBBS qualification -- which requires rigorous training across 16–17 specialties and a mandatory one-year internship -- already establishes basic competence.

“In NEET-PG 2025, after completion of the Round 2 of counselling, a total of 9,621 seats remained vacant in All India Quota (AIQ) across various specialties. Out of these, 5,213 seats were vacant in Government medical colleges alone,” the affidavit noted. Overall, around 70,000 PG seats were available against 2,24,029 candidates, with 31,742 under the AIQ.

The Ministry clarified that the reduction “was not undertaken to benefit private medical institutions, but to prevent large-scale vacancy of seats, including in Government institutions created through public expenditure.”