As the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) continues to face scrutiny over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025 transparency plea in the Supreme Court, a new controversy has emerged. Several aspirants are now claiming that their personal data may have been leaked online, as reported by The Indian Express.
Candidates have reported receiving calls and messages from admission counsellors offering paid MD or MS seats outside the regular admission and centralised counselling process conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and NBEMS.
On social media platforms like X and Reddit, students are sharing similar experiences.
One aspirant wrote on Reddit, “Just came across someone on a Telegram channel who is selling all the data of NEET PG 2025 students at a 15k rate. For the sake of getting more information, I messaged saying that I am working in a consultancy firm for PG counselling. I asked him for more details and said I was ready to offer a job. I gave him my own rank to cross-verify information. Turns out he has legitimate information. All the information he had was accurate. He had my name, my father's name, email ID, phone number, state and whatnot.”
Some aspirants said that details normally considered confidential, including candidate name, father’s name, phone number, email ID, NEET PG scores, state, and city, are now circulating publicly.
NEET PG database reportedly sold online?
Investigations revealed that a simple web search for NEET PG student data shows multiple listings for the “NEET PG 2025 Student Database” priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,500.
Sample datasets available online included information on 201 students, featuring phone numbers, roll numbers, city, state, fathers’ names, email IDs, and exam scores.
The full dataset was reportedly being sold for Rs 3,599. Students named in the sample confirmed that they appeared in the NEET PG 2025 exam, but were unaware that their data was allegedly being sold online.
Indian Doctor, an X user, criticised the leak, calling it “OUTRAGEOUS! #NEETPG students' Personal data application IDs, emails, phone numbers, roll numbers is being sold online like a commodity in just 3599/- What kind of shameless system is this? NMC and its IT partners have FAILED miserably in protecting students' privacy. This isn't just negligence it's a criminal betrayal of trust. Shame on @NMC_BHARAT. Shame on the entire rotten system. #medtwitter #NEETPG.”
NBEMS responds
NBEMS has denied any direct involvement in the alleged leak. A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express that NBEMS’s role is limited to conducting the NEET PG exam and declaring results.
“For the conduct of counselling, NBEMS shares the result data, which includes all of the above fields, with the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) for All India Quota counselling and with respective states for state quota seats,” the official said. They added that the data is shared via password-protected pen drives, with the password provided separately in a sealed envelope.
“The data might have leaked at any of these levels beyond NBEMS, as NBEMS maintains strict confidentiality and protocols for data security and sanctity,” the official added.
With NEET PG 2025 candidates now on alert over potential misuse of their personal information, the incident has raised serious questions about data security in medical entrance exams, prompting calls for stricter safeguards and accountability at every stage of the counselling process.