NEET PG, NEET SS cut offs reduced by 15 percentile

NEW DELHI, April 27: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has reduced the NEET PG and NEET SS cut offs by 15 percentile. As per JP Nadda, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, the step has been taken to make sure PG seats are filled as well as to minimize the wastage of seats.

The reduction in cut off scores for National Eligiblity cum Entrance Test for Post Graduation (NEET PG) and Super Speciality (NEET SS) is “a significant step towards strengthening the medical sector and indicates the priority given by the government to the health sector”, as per the MoHFW. Approximately 18,000 students are expected to benefit from this move.

A beneficial but delayed move

All candidates who now clear the revised cut off percentile and cut off scores of NEET PG can now apply for the various state counselling processes which have begun over the last month as well as for the Deemed Universities’ counselling process which is still ongoing.

While the Government is portraying this move as a measure to ensure enough manpower is available to provide standard health services, questions are being raised as to why it has come so late into the PG admissions season. Clearly, the lessons from last year, where the Government had belatedly reduced the cut off percentile for NEET PG 2017 by 7.5 percentile for both General and Reserved categories and promoted it as a move benefitting 10,000 students, have not been learnt. This year's reduction is double that of the cut off percentiles which were reduced last year.

The NEET PG 2018 result had already been declared on January 23, 2018, and the counselling for 50% All India Quota seats as well as seats offered by Deemed Universities had already begun on March 17, 2018.

A major difference involved in the reduction of cut off scores between NEET PG 2017 as compared to NEET PG 2018 is that while the exam was conducted out of 1500 marks last year, this year it was out of 1200 marks.

NEET PG 2018 Revised Cut Offs

NEET PG 2017 Revised Cut Offs

NBE and PIB notifications on Revised Cut Offs

As per the notice released by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) on April 27, 2018, in relation to this move, “There is no change in NEET-PG 2018 Rank of all the appeared candidates which has already been indicated to the candidates through their score cards.”

Check the NBE notification carrying details about the revised cut off scores for NEET PG 2018 below -

As per the available information, there is no change in 50% All India Quota seats for MD/MS and PG Diploma seats. The news about the reduction in NEET PG and NEET SS cut off scores was first broken by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on behalf of the MoHFW.

Check the PIB release below -

NEET PG 2018 has already been dogged by various controversies and legal disputes this year, comprising instances of a stay order being passed on the transfer of AIQ seats to States as per a Supreme Court order, suspension of the second round of counselling as per a Madras High Court order and a change in the NEET PG counselling matrix midway through the admission process.