India is adding NEET PG seats fast: Why are thousands going vacant?

India is adding NEET PG seats fast: Why are thousands going vacant? 

India is creating more NEET PG seats than ever, but a stubborn question keeps returning: why do so many still go vacant? 

Rajya Sabha data shows a sharp rise in postgraduate seat addition alongside a persistent trail of empty seats. The result is a medical education system expanding rapidly, yet unable to make a significant slice of its specialist seats worth taking.

Saswati SarkarTOI Education

Mar 13, 2026, 18:55 IST

Thousands of NEET PG seats go empty. 

The Centre has recently released fresh figures showing a major expansion in medical education. The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on March 10 that 43 new medical colleges had been set up for the 2025–26 academic year and 11,682 MBBS seats and 8,967 postgraduate seats had been approved throughout the country.That’s 20,649 seats in total. 

The postgraduate number, the ministry said, covers seats in AIIMS and other Institutes of National Importance. The response also cited the government’s preferred blueprint for expansion: Link new medical colleges to existing district or referral hospitals and position the exercise as a solution to regional imbalance. A total of 157 medical colleges have been approved via the centrally sponsored scheme at a cost of ₹41,332.41 crore up to now. It has already delivered ₹23,246.10 crore of its share of ₹26,715.84 crore, the ministry noted. That stated priority is known and politically potent: Underserved areas, aspirational districts, spots where the map of medical education has long felt thin. But seat creation is an easy headline. The uncomfortable narrative begins when the glow of the press note wanes. Even as the system keeps adding capacity, it has been struggling to fill a substantial number of postgraduate medical seats. 

This is not a stray aberration. Rajya Sabha data shows vacant PG seats have persisted in the thousands across years. As a consequence, the NEET PG qualifying percentile had to be cut sharply to keep seats from lying empty. That is the paradox now staring at the system. India is generating the optics of mass expansion, but part of that expansion isn’t attracting takers without constantly lowering the entry threshold. So the real question is no longer how many seats have been created. It is why so many postgraduate medical seats still need to be rescued. India’s NEET PG seat curve takes a sharp upward turn Data presented in the Rajya Sabha in February 2026 by Patel shows that the story of postgraduate medical seat expansion over the last five years has not been one of calm, steady growth. It has moved in jolts. INDIA'S MEDICAL SEAT EXPANSION: A SNAPSHOT

Academic year

NEET UG seats added

NEET PG seats added

2021–22

8,790

4,705

2022–23

7,398

2,874

2023–24

9,652

4,713

2024–25

8,641

4,186

2025–26

11,682

8,416

Source: Data presented by the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in Rajya Sabha, February 2026

In 2021–22, the increase stood at 4,705 seats. A year later, it dropped sharply to 2,874. It climbed back to 4,713 in 2023–24, slipped again to 4,186 in 2024–25, and then suddenly shot up to 8,416 in 2025–26. That last number changes the texture of the trend. For four years, postgraduate expansion stayed trapped below the 5,000-seat mark, moving forward, then stumbling, then recovering, then losing pace again. Then came 2025–26, and the graph stopped behaving like a cautious line. With 8,416 PG seats added in a single year, the latest figure is not just the highest in the series, it is almost double the previous year’s addition. This is not incremental growth but a visible shift in scale. This is particularly important because the NEET PG story is the more serious end of medical education. 

While MBBS seats widen entry, PG medical seats strengthen the specialist pipeline. They decide how many trained doctors move into advanced disciplines, teaching roles and higher-end institutional care. So when PG seat expansion suddenly leaps like this, it suggests that the system is trying to push harder at the specialist end, where capacity has historically grown more unevenly. The undergraduate trend, by comparison, looks steadier. UG seat addition stood at 8,790 in 2021–22, fell to 7,398 in 2022–23, rose to 9,652 in 2023–24, dipped to 8,641 in 2024–25, and then climbed to 11,682 in 2025–26. So yes, MBBS expansion remains strong and politically visible. But it is the PG curve this year that really grabs attention. The undergraduate line rises. The postgraduate line lurches and in 2025–26, it lunges. NEET PG: The problem of increasing seats and rising vacancies A temporary problem is supposed to leave after making a mess. The issue of vacant seats in India’s postgraduate medical education seems to have unpacked its bags. 

VACANT MEDICAL SEATS IN INDIA: A FOUR-YEAR SNAPSHOT

Academic year

Vacant UG seats

Vacant PG seats

2021–22

141

3,744

2022–23

2,027

4,400

2023–24

490

3,028

2024–25

380

2,849

Source: Data presented by the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in Rajya Sabha, February 2026

For four consecutive academic years, NEET PG seats have remained vacant and the numbers are too large to be dismissed and too consistent to be treated as an exception. The count stood at 3,744 in 2021–22 and worsened to 4,400 in 2022–23. After that, it softened somewhat: 3,028 in 2023–24 and 2,849 in 2024–25. But this recovery is not reassuring in any sense. A system that still leaves nearly three thousand postgraduate seats empty is not battling a stray counselling hiccup. It is revealing a deeper discomfort. The state keeps producing seats but candidates keep refusing a significant chunk of them. The seat exists on paper, but not quite in aspiration. The undergraduate comparison only makes the contrast harsher. 

UG vacancies were a mere 141 in 2021–22. 

They spiked to 2,027 in 2022–23, but then fell sharply to 490 in 2023–24 and 380 in 2024–25. The UG curve looks bruised but capable of self-correction. The postgraduate curve, unfortunately, does not. The system here is not merely struggling to fill seats. It is struggling to make enough of them feel worth taking. Why young doctors are walking past NEET PG seats The story of vacant PG medical seats is not one of reluctant students. The vacancy trail, according to Dr Rohan Krishnan, Chief Patron of Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), suggests something more serious. He puts it bluntly, “Vacant seats are a symptom of systemic dysfunction, not student apathy.” The dysfunction begins, he argues, with the way seats are being created. “Seats have been added rapidly without ensuring adequate faculty strength, patient load, clinical exposure and teaching infrastructure,” says Krishnan. These are major pain points for postgraduate doctors. The second problem is where many of these seats are located and what kind of institutional life they offer. “Many vacant seats are concentrated in remote or underserved regions and in institutions with erratic stipends, excessive workload, inadequate safety and weak academic culture,” Dr Krishnan observes. “Young doctors are not avoiding service, they are avoiding exploitative and unsafe training environments.” 

He also points to the deterrent effect of state bond policies. “Long compulsory service periods, financial penalties running into lakhs and unclear enforcement mechanisms deter candidates, especially those from modest backgrounds, from accepting seats that may trap them in prolonged or uncertain obligations,” Krishnan says. Add to these the problems of multiple rounds of counselling, last-minute rule changes, and poor inter-state coordination. “All these result in candidates losing eligibility, seats remaining blocked till late rounds and no practical window for relocation,” he adds. Bottom line In the end, the NEET PG vacancy story is not about a few leftover seats after counselling. 

The problem is not one of dwindling aspiration, but of value creation. Adding more seats to boost higher education in medicine is an achievement for sure, but only if those seats offer the kind of reliability that aspirants find good enough to go for. A seat existing in theory and government documents cannot make it worthwhile. Policymakers need to stop treating the empty PG seats as temporary embarrassment that can be covered up by the easiest shortcut: Percentile reduction. They need to acknowledge and address the hard truths behind this systemic failure to make medical specialization in India a worthy pursuit. Click here for the February 2026 Rajya Sabha data.

NMC warns against ‘fake’ patients in medical colleges

 

NMC warns against ‘fake’ patients in medical colleges

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI  03.02.2026

Medical colleges admitting “fake patients” can see their applications for new postgraduate courses or additional seats immediately rejected, the National Medical Commission (NMC) warned in a recent order.

The commission said some medical colleges admit people who do not require any treatment to fulfill the requirement of bed occupancy and investigations. It said “fake patient practice” will invite punishment if it is reported during an assessment.

The NMC approves additional medical college seats through a stringent, time-bound online process conducted by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). Experts note that key aspects include adherence to the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, and Undergraduate Minimum Standard Requirements, with strict deadlines for submission.

The NMC said that detection of fake patients may result in barring the institution from starting new courses or from increasing intake in existing courses for a period specified by the MARB. It can affect the renewal of UG and existing PG courses.

The commission has laid down guidelines to identify fake patients. These include patients admitted on the day of, or just before, an assessment. Those who have minor ailments that can be treated on an outpatient basis, and those admitted without X-ray, blood reports or any in-patient treatment such as intravenous cannula, injections, and catheterisation will be treated as “fake” patients. Multiple patients from the same family being admitted, and patients admitted in large numbers through preventive health check-up camps are also “fake”. In paediatric wards, playful children admitted without any significant problem will be categorised as “fake”.

The NMC said the assessment will consider the faculty, infrastructure, clinical material/indicators, and quality of education of the college.

Student with 1/800 score in NEET-PG bags MS orthopaedics seat at pvt college in Hyderabad

Student with 1/800 score in NEET-PG bags MS orthopaedics seat at pvt college in Hyderabad

Ajay Tomar

Feb 12, 2026, 3:24 IST

Student with 1/800 score in NEET-PG bags MS orthopaedics seat at pvt college in Hyderabad Your TOI+ subscription ends in 25 days Subscribe Now! Renew Now

Hyderabad: The sharp reduction in the cut-off for national eligibility-cum-entrance test for postgraduate (NEET-PG) seats, announced recently, has left Telangana's medical fraternity worried. Especially after several PG medical seats — including high-risk clinical and surgical specialties — were filled by candidates with extremely low scores, during the third round of counselling released conducted by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS). 

The list shows how many candidates with poor scores gained admission into premier institutions. 

In one case, for instance, a candidate with a score of 1 out of 800 — and an all-India rank of 2,29,981 — secured an MS orthopaedics seat at a prominent private medical college in Hyderabad. Similarly, PG seats in forensic medicine and pathology at a noted govt medical college in the city were allotted to candidates who scored 12 and 24 marks, respectively. 

In Jan this year, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), along with the central health ministry lowered qualifying percentiles — from 50th to seven for general category — to fill more than 18,000 vacant PG seats nationwide for the 2025–26 academic session. Candidates from OBC, SC, ST, and PwD categories with even negative scores are now deemed eligible for counselling. Following this revision, several candidates in Telangana have landed seats in institutions such as Osmania Medical College (OMC), Gandhi Medical College (GMC), and other reputed colleges, including in high-demand specialties such as orthopaedics, paediatrics, general medicine, and others. 

"Surgical branches such as orthopaedics, and paediatric surgery have always been among the most in-demand specialities. Filling these seats with candidates scoring as low as one mark reflects a system under severe strain," said Dr Ajay Kumar Goud, general secretary of the Telangana Junior Residents Doctors' Association (T-JUDA). "Allowing clinical and surgical branches to be filled at near-zero percentiles is a serious dilution of standards and directly risks patient safety," he added. ‘Will not fix system' Experts also pointed out how lowering percentiles will not fix the system if infrastructure and faculty shortages persist.

 "The issue points to deeper structural problems - rapid expansion of PG seats without proportional growth in trained faculty, overcrowded classrooms, and declining bedside training," said Dr Kiran Madhala, secretary-general of the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA). The current policy also differs from the Centre's earlier stance. In July 2022, while opposing a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking reduction of NEET-PG cut-offs, the govt had argued that minimum qualifying standards were essential to maintain academic quality. The High Court had upheld that lowering standards in medical education could "wreak havoc on society." Doctors warned that the consequences may surface years later. 

"Training gaps today will reflect when these doctors practise independently. Critical specialties require quick, high-risk decision-making, and this trend may weaken emergency care services," added Dr Madhala. "While measures like conducting NEET twice a year may help reduce vacancies, they cannot replace merit-based selection. Any dilution of eligibility criteria compromises clinical excellence and public trust," said Dr Srinath Dubyala, president, Federation of All India Medical Association.

Bar for NEET-PG lowered: Just show up Students And Experts Oppose Move

Bar for NEET-PG lowered: Just show up 

Students And Experts Oppose Move

 Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com 11.02.2026

Chennai : National medical commission will continue to use NEET-PG 2026 as criterion for admissions to master’s programmes in medicine. Yet, candidates can qualify simply by showing up, even if they answer every question incorrectly or skip them entirely. 

NMC chairman Dr Abhijat Chandrakant Sheth told TOI that after two rounds of admission in 2025, cut-offs were slashed to a NEET-PG score of -40. “We were left with no choice. More than 10,000 seats were vacant. There were vacancies in clinical courses at govt colleges,” he argued. 

Results of the 3 rd round released by the medical counselling committee drew fire as students with low scores, including single digits out of 800, grabbed govt seats in high-demand courses such as orthopaedics. “Doing away with eligibility scores will not take away priority from meritorious students. Many competitive examinations abroad follow this model. Students who have better scores can opt for a preferred course and institution. 

A student with a lower score will not be placed over a meritorious candidate. It will avoid delays in the admission process,” he said. Students and experts have vehemently opposed the move. “NMC is not an efficient regulatory body like the UK’s general medical council or the American board of medical specialities,” argued Dr Priya G, who is awaiting PG admissions. 

“We wrote the exam in August and received scorecards the same month. But the admission is yet to be completed. Every year, we see a new set of problems in admissions, from paper leaks to errors in scoring and counselling mismanagement,” she said. 

Academic counsellors say that if the commission decides to allow students with poor scores to take part from round one, it will dilute merit entirely. “Seats go to the highest bidder, not the best prepared. There are vacancies, but for that, we cannot reward failure,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “It seems very wrong because this system seems to supply candidates to colleges that charge very high fees,” he said.

44 for Gynaecology, 4 for Ortho: What's behind alarmingly low NEET PG cut-offs for medical seats

44 for Gynaecology, 4 for Ortho: What's behind alarmingly low NEET PG cut-offs for medical seats

This shift was especially noted during the third round of counselling for the 2025–26 session, where seat allotments were recorded at record low scores.

Updated on: Feb 10, 2026 11:15 PM IST

Written byPriyanjali Narayan

The recent rounds of NEET PG counselling have highlighted an unusual admission pattern in government medical colleges, with candidates securing postgraduate seats at exceptionally low scores across several specialties in government institutions.

In one of the most striking instances, an MS Orthopaedics seat at a government medical college in Rohtak was allotted to a candidate who scored just 4 marks out of 800, (Representative image/Unsplash)

This has raised questions as it also includes core clinical and surgical branches across several states.

This stark shift was especially noted during the third round of counselling for the 2025–26 academic session, where seat allotments were recorded at single-digit and low double-digit scores in multiple disciplines.

What is happening?

In one of the most striking instances, an MS Orthopaedics seat at a government medical college in Rohtak was allotted to a candidate who scored just 4 marks out of 800, according to an NDTV report.

At a government medical college in Tamil Nadu, a Physiology seat was allotted to a candidate with a minus 12 score. Meanwhile, a premier Delhi medical institution saw an Obstetrics and Gynaecology seat allotted at 44 marks, while a General Surgery seat was filled at 47 marks, the report added.

How low scores can lead to top colleges?

These outcomes followed the Union Health Ministry’s decision to substantially lower NEET-PG qualifying thresholds for the 2025–26 academic session.

Under the revised criteria, the cut-off score for the general category was reduced to 103 from the earlier 276, the report stated.

For SC, ST and OBC categories, the cut-off was brought down to minus 40 from the earlier score of 235, allowing candidates with extremely low — and in some cases negative — scores to qualify for counselling.

The impact was visible across disciplines. Seats were allotted at 10 marks in Transfusion Medicine, 11 marks in Anatomy and even minus 8 marks in Biochemistry, particularly under reserved and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) categories.

Why low score selections can be a problem?

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to explain its drastic reduction of the qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025-26, according to a PTI report.

"Then the argument will be that the standards are being lowered and the counter-argument is that seats are going waste. So, somewhere there has to be a balance," the bench observed.

Who is raising the issue?

Doctors’ bodies, including the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the Federation of Doctors Association (FORDA), had raised an issue even during the second rounds of counselling.

In a letter addressed to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, FAIMA president Dr Rohan Krishnan said that reducing the qualifying percentile to zero sets a dangerous precedent for the future of India’s medical education system.

NEET-PG cut-off: Single-digit scores land PG seats in top med colleges

NEET-PG cut-off: Single-digit scores land PG seats in top med colleges 

TIMES OF INDIA 09.02.2026

New Delhi : A steep cut in NEET-PG qualifying standards has led to postgraduate medical seats in govt colleges being filled at shockingly low scores — including in high-risk clinical specialties — triggering alarm across the medical fraternity, reports Anuja Jaiswal. 

The impact was stark in third-round PG counselling, where candidates secured seats in govt medical colleges with scores ranging from single digits to double digits, spanning both clinical and non-clinical disciplines. Even premier institutions and core clinical branches saw seats being allotted to candidates with such scores. 

An MS orthopaedics seat at a govt institute in Rohtak was allotted to a candidate with just 4 marks out of 800, while obstetrics and gynaecology at a premier Delhi medical college went to a candidate who scored 44 marks. A general surgery seat was filled at 47 marks. 

 Removing cut-offs altogether risks patient safety, says doc This signals a serious breakdown in medical education and workforce planning,” said a senior faculty member at a govt medical college.

 “Orthopaedics has traditionally been among the most demanding surgical specialties. Filling it at near-zero scores is a sign not of weaker students but a system under severe strain.” This happened following the sharp lowering of NEETPG qualifying standards by Union health ministry for the 2025–26 academic session, with drastically reduced cutoffs across categories allowing candidates with extremely low — and even negative — scores to qualify. 

The effect was visible across disciplines. Seats were filled at 10 marks in transfusion medicine,  11 marks in anatomy, and minus 8 marks in biochemistry, many under reserved and PwD categories. While the revised cutoffs ensured that seats did not remain vacant, doctors warn the policy risks trading competence for convenience.

 “Allowing surgical and clinical branches to be filled at zero or near-zero percentile represents a serious erosion of standards,” said a senior doctor at a govt medical college. “Marks as low as 4, 11, 44 or 47 out of 800 point to a lack of basic aptitude. Removing cut-offs altogether directly risks patient safety.” The current policy marks asharp shift from govt’s earlier stand.

 In July 2022, opposing a plea to lower NEET-PG cut-offs in Delhi HC, Centre had argued that minimum qualifying percentiles were essential to maintain education standards. The court agreed, warning that lowering medical education standards could “wreak havoc on society”, as medicine involved matters of life and death. Defending the present framework, a senior health ministry official said PG seats are allotted strictly under revised eligibility rules, and competence is intended to be ensured through training and exit exams, not entry cut-offs alone. 

Colleges are certified by regulators and are responsible for failing unsuitable candidates, the official said. Medical educators, however, say the trend reflects deeper structural problems — rapid seat expansion without a matching rise in trained faculty, overcrowded classrooms and eroding bedside skills. “Without strong faculty, robust exit exams and a system to weed out unsuitable candidates, anyone who enters medicine eventually gets a degree,” said a senior academician. Faculty members say the consequences are already visible. 

Many postgraduate students arrive without strong theoretical foundations, clinical skills or discipline. Pressure to pass students, weak exit mechanisms and over-reliance on online learning have further diluted training quality. “Easy entry has reduced seriousness even at top institutions,” said another doctor on condition of anonymity. “Numbers are rising, but training quality is falling — and that poses long-term risks to patient care.” Doctors caution that the branch of medicine does not reveal its failures immediately. Gaps in training today may surface years later, when these doctors practise independently — with serious implications for patient safety and public trust in the healthcare system. 

09/02/2026, 07:54 Times of India ePaper bangalore - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-bangalore.cms 2/3 09/02/2026, 07:54 Times of India ePa

HC relief for MBBS student seeking spot on NRI quota list

HC relief for MBBS student seeking spot on NRI quota list 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.02.2026

Ahmedabad : The Gujarat high court on Monday directed the Medical Counselling Committee of the directorate general of health services to consider the candidature of MBBS Swara Kiran Bhatt for her inclusion in the merit list of eligible candidates for NEET-PG Round 3 in the NRI quota, despite her failure to upload one mandatory document – the NRI sponsor’s passbook – during the application process. 

While ordering MCC to consider Bhatt’s candidature, Justice Nirzar Desai directed her to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the HC legal services committee, as the student herself expressed a desire to donate the amount irrespective of whether she ultimately secured admission in PG courses or not. 

According to the case details, Bhatt cleared her MBBS on an NRI seat, sponsored by her maternal aunt. She took NEET-PG 2025 and secured an All India Rank of 1,80,339, and her score was much above the cut-off marks. When she applied for the PG courses, she failed to upload the sponsor’s passbook. This resulted in rejection of her candidature, and she approached the HC seeking a direction to MCC to include her name in the NRI eligible list and permit her participation in counselling. 

It was submitted that though she could not upload the sponsor’s passbook, a mandatory document to be supplied for eligibility in the NRI quota, she sent the document by email to the authority on Jan 30. The omission was a minor lacuna and must not cost the student her career. MCC’s counsel Ankit Shah opposed the petition, stating that the admission process substantially progressed and the counselling window was set to close on Monday noon, when the arguments took place. 

He maintained that nonuploading of the sponsor’s passbook justified nonconsideration of her candidature. After the hearing, the high court said, “It is expected that a person who already became a doctor and aspires to become a specialist would adhere to and maintain the requisite precision, and be absolutely meticulous while uploading the application form. However, such a minor mistake of failing to upload a single document ought not to result 

 Times of India ePaper ahmedabad - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-ahmedabad.cms

Over 800 NEET PG aspirants converted from Indian to NRI Change

Over 800 NEET PG aspirants converted from Indian to NRI Change 

Gives Them A Crack At Costly Seats With Less Competition

Rema.Nagarajan@timesofindia.com 01.02.2026

Medical Counselling Committee that allocates postgraduate seats in various medical specialties has released a list of 811 candidates who have chosen to “change their nationality” from Indian to NRI to get seats in the third round in 2025-26. Seats in NRI quota are the most expensive but that also means competition is less, with cut-offs lower than even for management quota. In effect, therefore, conversion to NRI gives those with low NEET scores but deep pockets a shot at getting seats in high demand clinical disciplines. 

The 811 candidates found to be eligible for conversion to NRI quota include two categories — those who actually are NRIs or children of NRIs and a second category of those who can show themselves to be wards of first degree or second degree relatives who are NRIs. 

There are 113 candidates in the first group and 698 in the second group. The lowest score among NRIs in the first category is 82 out of 800, while it is 28 in the second category. In the first category, 75 candidates scored less than 215, which means their rank is below 1.5 lakh. Over 422 of 698 candidates in the second category of NRIs are below 1.5 lakh rank. But these candidates can afford the NRI quota fees for any specialty. 

Fees for NRI quota PG seats in a clinical specialty could be as high as ₹45 lakh to ₹95 lakh per year, depending on the specialty, state and deemed university. If courts and govt did not allow conversion of Indians to NRIs, many of the quota seats would remain unfilled and would have to be converted into management seats where the fees would be much less. However, with even courts accepting the argument that private medical colleges cannot afford any financial loss, definition of NRIs has been expanded to allow candidates who don’t have NRI parents or siblings to show themselves as a ward of relatives. 

K’taka NRI seats sold for ₹25L to non-NRIs: MLA 

A political and ethical storm has erupted in Karnataka over the state govt’s decision to offer MBBS admissions in govt medical colleges under NRI quota — a move critics allege has resulted in affordable govt seats being effectively sold at a premium, report Sruthy Susan Ullas and Sandeep Moudgal . BJP’s Mangaluru North MLA Y Bharath Shetty raised the issue in the assembly earlier this week. “For the first time, Karnataka is selling govt medical seats for ₹25 lakh per year. A seat, which was meant to be affordable for a meritorious Kannadigaat ₹1-1.5 lakh per year, is now being sold by govt (at a much higher price),” he alleged.

Med student loses interest in psychiatry, hangs herself

Med student loses interest in psychiatry, hangs herself 

DHARWAD HOSTEL 

Basavaraj.Kattimani@timesofindia.com 29.01.2026

In a tragic incident, a medical student ended her life by hanging herself at Dharwad Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Dimhans) hostel Wednesday. According to police sources, the deceased is Pragnya Palegar, 25, of Shivamogga. She was staying at the hostel with a roommate. The suicide came to light when the roommate returned to the hostel Wednesday morning. Dimhans director Dr Arunkumar C told TOI

Pragnya was pursuing PG in MD Psychiatry. Having got admission on Jan 1, she had been staying at the hostel for the past few days. As she lost interest in psychiatry subject after taking admission, her parents came to the city to counsel and persuade her to continue the studies. “But we do not know what exactly transpired between them. We are shocked to know about her suicide. Her roommate alerted college staff and police after seeing her body,” Arunkumar added. 

Pragnya’s mother Dr Rekha, who is an anatomy professor, said the former took admission on her own interest. “After getting admission, she told us she was not interested in pursuing the course. As it is common for students to face such situations during the initial days of their PG, we thought she too was going through the same. We came to Dharwad and counselled her. We went back to Shivamogga yesterday. But she ended her life by hanging the next morning,” she said, adding the family is distraught at losing the lone daughter. 

PR Gangenahalli, inspector at Dharwad sub-urban police station quoted the victim’s parents, saying she lost interest in the course and took the extreme step, counselling by parents notwithstanding. “We filed a case and completed the formalities, including autopsy,” he added. If you are in need of support, call suicide-prevention helplines — Arogya Vani: 104, Sahai: 080- 25497777.

OCI draft quota rules in medical edu notified

 OCI draft quota rules in medical edu notified

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK 24.01.2026

Bengaluru : The govt has notified draft rules specifying quotas for Overseas Citizens of India in medical education. As per the rules, OCIs born on or before March 4, 2021, or OCI card holders before the date, are not entitled to any reservation applicable to a citizen of India. OCI candidates born on or after March 5, 2021 or such card holders after that date, are eligible for admission only against any Non-Resident Indian (NRI) seat or supernumerary seat. 

The rule is in sync with Supreme Court orders and central govt rules. The state is now amending Karnataka Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1984 (Karnataka Act 37 of 1984), for admission to govt seats under professional educational institutions rules, 2006. It is also applicable to postgraduate medical and dental degree and diploma courses. 

Members of the public can send objections/suggestions until 15 days from the date of publication of the draft; it was published on Jan 21. “We followed Supreme Court and central govt rules all these years. However, students approached the court despite that. We requested the medical education department to amend the rules so that they are specified. Now, the department notified the rules,” said H Prasanna, executive director, Karnataka Examinations Authority. 

Karnataka usually gets around 100 students with OCI cards for engineering admissions and 20 for medical. CET is taken by over 3.1 lakh students and NEET by around 1.4 lakh students in the state. The students were considered for general merit quota; they were not eligible for reservations.

In 2023 too, -40 was good enough for NEET PG

In 2023 too, -40 was good enough for NEET PG 

Rema.Nagarajan@timesofindia.com 19.01.2026

There is much outrage in the medical community that the cut off for NEET PG 2025 has been reduced to zero percentile for the reserved category, which is equivalent to a score of -40. However, this is not the first time a score of -40 was good enough to qualify. The cut off was similarly reduced to zero percentile in 2023 for all categories and then too the equivalent score was -40. 

In 2023, when the medical counselling committee announced the reduction to zero percentile, it did not reveal that this was equivalent to a score of -40. TOI had analysed NEET scores and pointed out that zero percentile meant 14 candidates who scored zero marks, 13 with negative marks and the one getting the lowest mark of -40 out of 800 would also qualify. 

In 2025, there are 126 candidates who have scored zero or less. Zero percentile means the lowest score or that none of the candidates got less. In 2023 and in 2025, one candidate got the lowest score of -40. Interestingly, in July 2022, in response to a petition filed by three students seeking lower cut off, govt had stated in court that “minimum qualifying percentile for admission is required to be maintained to ensure minimum standard of education and general standards for admission to professional courses”. Taking govt’s argument into consideration, the court dismissed the petition and ruled against lowering the standards of medical education as it “involves in its ambit the matter of life and death”. 

In 2023, govt officials were quoted in news reports justifying lowering the cut off to zero as aone-time measure to fill vacant PG seats. However, this has become a regular feature with cut offs being lowered to abysmal levels every year. About 2 lakh to 2.3 lakh students appear for NEET PG for over 70,000 seats. However, the seats in private colleges remain vacant as the fees for clinical subjects in many of them runs into crores, which most candidates cannot afford. 

Lowering the cut off increases the pool of ‘qualified’ candidates and improves the chance of finding candidates with deep pockets who can afford the fees even if they have rock bottom scores. “To lower NEET PG qualifying marks to abysmal level is driven solely by commercial considerations. This decision ‘reserves’ post-graduate medical seats to the rich and mighty in commercial fiefdoms called private medical colleges. This is shameful and must be condemned as unadulterated corruption,” tweeted former principal health secretary of Andhra Pradesh Dr P V Ramesh.

NEET PG cut-off slashed to 7th percentile for general category

NEET PG cut-off slashed to 7th percentile for general category 

IN GUJARAT, 642 SEATS VACANT 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  14.01.2026

Ahmedabad : After prolonged deliberations and mounting pressure from states, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) officially announced a significant reduction in the NEET-PG percentile criteria for admission to postgraduate medical courses, including MD and MS. The decision came after the completion of two rounds of counselling, with a large number of seats remaining vacant across the country.

Candidates from the general and EWS categories in the 7th percentile too will now be considered eligible for PG medical admission, equivalent to 103 marks in NEET-PG. For candidates in the GeneralPwD category, the qualifying percentile reduced to 5 percentile (around 90 marks). Notably, candidates belonging to SC, ST, and OBC categories will now be eligible at 0 percentile, which corresponds to minus 40 marks.

The earlier eligibility criteria —50th percentile (general), 45th percentile (PwD), and 40th percentile (reserved categories) — were applied for the first two rounds of counselling. However, despite this, over 20,000 PG medical seats remain vacant nationwide. In Gujarat alone, around 642 seats are currently vacant due to non-reporting by candidates, unconfirmed admissions, newly approved seats, and non-converted seats. 

Following the revised percentile announcement, authorities confirmed that fresh registration was mandatory for candidates wishing to participate in the upcoming counselling rounds under the lowered eligibility criteria. There have also been demands that candidates who did not secure their preferred courses in the first two rounds be allowed to participate in the fresh round. Registration for local seats in Gujarat is expected to begin on Thursday, with the detailed admission schedule to be announced shortly thereafter.

NEET-PG cut-off slashed to fill 9,000 vacant seats amid doctor shortage

NEET-PG cut-off slashed to fill 9,000 vacant seats amid doctor shortage

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com 14.01.2026

New Delhi : The govt on Tuesday lowered the qualifying cut-off for NEET-PG 2025, paving the way to fill more than 9,000 vacant postgraduate medical seats across the country, amid concerns that a large chunk of training capacity was being wasted at a time of acute doctor shortages. The decision was notified by National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which revised qualifying percentiles across categories to expand eligibility for counselling and admissions. Officials said around 2.42 lakh candidates appeared for NEET-PG this year, but a high cut-off had left thousands of seats unfilled. 

Under the revised criteria, the qualifying percentile for general and EWS candidates has been reduced from the 50 th to the 7 th percentile, and for general persons with benchmark disability (PwBD) from the 45 th to the 5 th percentile. For SC, ST and OBC candidates, including PwBD, the percentile has been reduced from 40 to zero, with the corresponding cut-off score fixed at –40 out of 800 (due to negative marking). 

Officials said India has around 65,000–70,000 PG medical seats, and allowing nearly one in seven seats to remain vacant would weaken teaching hospitals and strain healthcare delivery, particularly in govt institutions that rely heavily on resident doctors. The relaxation followed a representation by Indian Medical Association (IMA), which had written to Union health minister J P Nadda on Jan 12, seeking a rational revision of cut-offs to prevent large-scale vacancies.

MCC moves to lower qualifying percentile

 MCC moves to lower qualifying percentile

 PG MEDICAL INTAKE HALTED 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  11.01.2026

Ahmedabad : Round 3 of PG medical counselling for 2025 has been put on hold as the medical counselling committee (MCC) moves to revise the qualifying percentile. The MCC has instructed all state medical education departments and vice chancellors to halt third-round proceedings until a revised schedule is officially released, a move that makes it unlikely for the process to commence before Jan 15.

The delay comes at a time when Gujarat has 635 vacant PG medical seats. This includes 163 seats left empty due to non-reporting by candidates allotted seats. Additionally, 354 seats were already vacant, and approval was recently granted for 118 new PG seats. 

The MCC clarified that the all-India quota and state-level schedules will only be uploaded once the authority approves the new eligibility criteria. Additionally, the Union health ministry is conducting hearings until Jan 10 regarding appeals from state-run colleges for even more PG seats. Sources suggest that if the qualifying percentile is lowered, the Round 3 process may restart entirely to allow newly eligible candidates to apply

Clinical research no longer optional, to be integrated into MBBS, PG medical curriculum: NMC Chief

Clinical research no longer optional, to be integrated into MBBS, PG medical curriculum: NMC Chief 

Written By : MD Bureau Published On 5 Jan 2026 12:45 PM  

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has decided to integrate clinical research as a core component of medical education, moving it out of the optional category and embedding it into the mainstream clinical curriculum, including assessment and training.

NMC Chairperson and NBEMS President Dr Abhijat Sheth said the decision has been approved in principle by the NMC Board.

A joint committee involving ICMR, IISc, IITs and medical experts will be formed to draft a framework for large-scale integration of clinical research across undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. The initiative is expected to enhance the quality of medical education and foster a stronger culture of clinical research within the medical fraternity.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Abhijat Sheth, Chairperson NMC and President NBEMS said, "Clinical research is an important subject and we realise that it should be integrated into the mainstream part of the clinical medicine rather than optional or side subjects."

Hence, the National Medical Commission has decided that clinical research will be an integral part of clinical medicine, where not only the curriculum, but also curriculum assessment and training will be a part of the medical curriculum, said.

"I am happy to say that recently, the National Medical Commission Board has approved this in principle.Now, we will form a committee with ICMR, with the Indian Institute of Science and Technology and IITs and the experts from the medical fraternity to frame the draft proposal on how we will go for the clinical research on a large scale that includes both, undergraduate as well as postgraduate medical education as well as what ICMR has suggested that they will be very happy to start new PhD courses for clinical research and same also has been expressed by Indian Institute of Science and Technology and few of the Indian Institute of Technologies across India which has already far advanced into innovations and discovery. 

This will be a big advantage in terms of enhancement of quality in the medical education as well as a big advantage to the nation to build up the culture of clinical research amongst the medical fraternity, which is the need of the hour," added Dr Sheth, quotes ANI.

NBEMS to train doctors in AI, ML

 NBEMS to train doctors in AI, ML 

Sonal.Srivastava@timesofindia.com 05.01.2026

The National Board of Examinations (NBEMS) has recently announced introduction of online programme in Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education for postgraduate doctors and faculty, to facilitate precision medicine in Indian medical systems, enable datadriven decision-making during public health emergencies, improve hospital management, ensure uniform quality of training, and prepare doctors for a digital future. 

Furthermore, the NBEMS will soon launch a two-year fellowship for doctors to train in AI and ML in IITs. NBEMS is primarily an exam-conducting authority and does not traditionally run academic programmes. Moreover, doctors consulting large language models (LLMs) for diagnosis could create a trust deficit between patients and physicians. Against this backdrop, it is essential to examine why AI, including LLMs, is being integrated into healthcare systems and how its role is being defined.

“India produces nearly 75,000 postgraduate doctors every year, yet the country continues to face a specialist deficit estimated at 10-15 lakh. With over 17,000 hospitals spread across vastly different geographies and capacities, ensuring uniform quality of training has become challenging. AI, ML, and digital health technologies can help bridge gaps in healthcare delivery. Integrating AI in medical education is driven by two converging realities. First, healthcare delivery is becoming increasingly data-intensive—from imaging and pathology to genomics and hospital management. 

Second, human cognition alone can no longer process the sheer volume of clinical data being generated daily,” says Dr Minu Bajpai, vice president, NBEMS. Reducing Human Error A global survey by Elsevier across 111 countries, covering over 3,000 physicians, found that 83% of doctors without technological literacy risk being left behind. “AI will not replace doctors, but doctors trained in the latest technology will replace those who are not. AI will reinforce and standardise clinical diagnosis. For example, digitised biopsy slides can be analysed through AI software, enabling accurate reporting even in districts without specialist pathologists. X-rays, CT scans and MRIs can be increasingly interpreted with AI assistance, reducing reporting delays and  human error,” says Dr Bajpai.

AI processes genetic data, disease history, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors to suggest personalised treatment, particularly for chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. “Patients need different treatment pathways, and that precision is not possible without data analytics,” he adds. The NBEMS has developed modules to train doctors in AI and ML at IITs and will soon launch a fellowship that will enable doctors to learn algorithm development at premier engineering institutions.

NMC clears 171 additional PG seats for ’25-26 academic yr Don’t Wait For Formal Nod To Include Them, Counselling Authorities Told

NMC clears 171 additional PG seats for ’25-26 academic yr Don’t Wait For Formal Nod To Include Them, Counselling Authorities Told 

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com  02.01.2026

New Delhi : Medical aspirants seeking PG admissions will get a wider choice this year after National Medical Commission (NMC) approved 171 extra PG seats across medical colleges and directed counselling authorities to include them without waiting for formal nod. 

As per a public notice, the 171 extra seats span key specialties, including general medicine, general surgery, anaesthesiology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, radiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, psychiatry, orthopaedics, respiratory medicine and pathology. Colleges across multiple states, including UP, Maharashtra, TN, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, WB, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, have received extraseats under appeal process. 

In a notice issued on Dec 31, 2025, NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board said PG seats granted by the First Appeal Committee for the 2025–26 academic year will be treated as valid for counselling. The additional seats were approved after medical colleges challenged earlier MARB decisions under provisions of NMC Act, 2019. These appeals were examined by the First Appeal Committee in meetings held on Dec 22 and 23, following which extra seats were sanctioned. 

The commission clarified that the list uploaded on the NMC website would itself serve as the valid document for counselling, ensuring that eligible PG seats are not lost due to administrative delays. Formal LoPs for the newly sanctioned seats, it said, will be issued shortly.

MEDICAL COUNSELLING COMMITTEE

Ref. U-12021/11/2025-MEC Dated: 27-12-2025.

NOTICE

Urgent Attention:

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of DGHS has received several.

requests from PG candidates seeking to resign their Round 1 or Round 2

seats, as the results of State Counselling are currently being declared and

some States have not yet announced their results.

In view of the above, the competent authority has decided to extend the

time period for resignation. Accordingly, candidates who wish to resign

from their Round 1 or Round 2 seats are permitted to do so up to 04:00

PM on 29.12.2025 with forfeiture of security deposit.

Further, the reporting period for Round 2 of PG Counselling has also been

extended up to 04:00 PM on 29.12.2025.

Notice posted on: 27.12.2025

Scalpel losing edge: Few medical grads opt for surgery

Scalpel losing edge: Few medical grads opt for surgery 

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com 

New Delhi : India’s top-performing medical graduates have made their preference clear in this year’s NEET-PG counselling — career stability is trumping the operating table. In the first round of NEET-PG 2025, medicine and radiology dominated choices among high-rankers while general surgery saw one of its steepest drops in recent years, reflecting growing concerns over stress, long training pathways and mounting medico-legal pressures. 

Among the first 1,500 candidates, 632 (42%) chose MD General Medicine and 447 (30%) opted for MD Radiodiagnosis. Only 99 students (6.6%) selected MS General Surgery, indicating a widening shift away from high-risk procedural fields. A strong preference for Delhi also emerged, with six of the top 10 candidates choosing Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. 

Dr Neeraj Nischal from the department of medicine at AIIMS said, “MD Medicine is the gateway to almost all superspecialities, so it has always been in high demand. Students feel diagnostics offers a more controlled work life, though that may not always be true.” The fall in interest for surgery, senior clinicians say, is rooted in deeper anxieties. “Surgical branches are very demanding — you need passion. Otherwise, burnout is inevitable,” Dr Nischal said. 

Surgeons themselves acknowledge that the field has steadily lost appeal. “It takes much longer to settle down because general surgery is only the first step — you usually need to super-specialise in neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, urology or paediatric surgery,” said Dr Piyush Ranjan from AIIMS surgery department.