Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026: Institutional-level round scrapped, all admissions to be online

The Maharashtra government has discontinued the institutional-level admission round for postgraduate medical and dental courses. All admissions, including seats under the institutional quota and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota, will now be conducted through the centralised online admission process managed by the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, according to a report published on mahasamvad.in.
NEET PG Counselling 2026 LIVE

The state government notified the Maharashtra Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission) Rules, 2026, on October 5, 2026, for admission to the first year of full-time professional postgraduate medical and dental courses, the report said.

Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif said the changes aim to make the admission process more transparent and quality-based. He urged students to take note of the revised rules and participate in the admission process accordingly, as reported by mahasamvad.in.

Under the new rules, stray vacancy rounds to fill vacant seats will also be conducted online by the Maharashtra CET Cell. The government has expanded the eligibility criteria for institutional quota seats in private medical and dental colleges.

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Institutional quota eligibility expanded

Under the revised rules, candidates holding a Maharashtra domicile certificate will be eligible for institutional quota seats even if they completed their qualifying degree from an institution outside the state.

Candidates from outside Maharashtra and foreign medical degree holders will also be eligible to apply for institutional quota seats in private colleges, mahasamvad.in reported.

The revised rules expand the pool of candidates eligible for these seats while bringing admissions under the centralised online NEET PG counselling process.

Registration deadline to determine eligibility

The state government has specified that the last date of registration will be considered the cut-off date for determining candidates' eligibility for admission.

Candidates who do not meet the prescribed eligibility criteria by the registration deadline will be declared ineligible for admission for that academic year. Eligibility obtained after the last date of registration will not be considered for the same admission cycle.

Those who are participating in the Maharashtra NEET PG counselling 2026 should ensure that they meet all the required conditions before completing the registration process.

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Two-year ban for skipping final CAP round

According to the revised rules, candidates who fail to report to or join their allotted seat in the final Centralised Admission Process (CAP) round, resulting in the seat remaining vacant, will be barred from admission for the subsequent two years.

The rule, which is already in place for NEET UG undergraduate (UG) admissions in Maharashtra, will also apply to postgraduate medical and dental admissions under the new regulations.

Candidates can check the detailed admission schedule, information booklet and further notifications on the official website of the Maharashtra State CET Cell at cetcell.mahacet.org.

The detailed information booklet will provide further instructions on the admission process and applicable eligibility requirements for postgraduate medical and dental courses.