In a major decision, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has lowered the qualifying percentile for NEET PG 2024 to the 5th percentile across all categories.
The reduction comes in the wake of the stray vacancy round of NEET PG counselling 2024, with the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) now expected to conduct additional counselling rounds to accommodate newly eligible candidates.
Earlier, in January, the cut-off had already been lowered to the 15th percentile for General category candidates and 10th percentile for reserved categories.
A solution to vacant seats
Defending the move, Dr Sharad Agarwal, former President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), argued that lowering the eligibility benchmark ensures that valuable medical seats do not go to waste.
"If the 50th or 40th percentile cut-off leads to thousands of vacant seats, it’s a national loss. The infrastructure and expenses of medical colleges must be justified," he stated.
Dr Agarwal further highlighted that non-clinical seats — essential for producing future medical faculty — often remain unfilled. With 50 to 100 new medical colleges opening every year, he warned that India could face a severe faculty shortage if this trend continues.
"A doctor who has been trying for two or three years to get a clinical seat but isn’t successful should have the option to take a non-clinical seat instead of remaining an MBBS graduate. This allows them to become faculty in a medical college, which benefits both the individual and the nation," he explained further.
Additionally, he reassured that clinical branches in government medical colleges remain strictly merit-based, with the top 3,000-4,000 rankers securing those seats.
Influence of private players?
However, not everyone agrees with the decision.
In conversation with EdexLive, medical influencer Dr Dhruv Chauhan argued that the cut-off reduction benefits private medical colleges more than students.
He also pointed out that non-clinical seats in government colleges were mostly filled this year, with only around 1,900 seats left in the stray round — a number that does not justify such a drastic cut-off reduction.
"This isn’t about government seats — it’s entirely for private players. Private institutions are behind this, and the government is supporting them. That’s why they reduce the percentile to zero or five every year," he stated.
Dr Chauhan also expressed concern over lowering the standard of medical professionals, arguing that such relaxations do not exist in other elite fields.
"When the eligibility percentile is reduced to zero or five, it means people who couldn’t even clear a basic benchmark are becoming doctors. How can we expect them to be competent?" he added.
Merit vs accessibility: The ongoing debate
While MCC assures that seat allotment remains merit-based, concerns persist about whether the repeated lowering of eligibility benchmarks compromises the quality of future specialists.
Critics fear that this could lower the competence of medical professionals, while supporters argue that it addresses workforce shortages and optimises resources.
