0
0
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has provided significant relief to postgraduate medical aspirants this year by instructing the National Medical Commission (NMC) to eliminate the qualifying percentile for NEET-PG 2023 for all categories. In a communication addressed to the Secretary of the Apex Medical Commission, the Ministry stated, “I am directed to refer to the aforementioned subject and to inform you that the proposal to reduce the qualifying percentile for Post Graduate Courses for 2023 (NEET-PG 2023) has been examined in the Ministry.”
“The approval of the competent authority is hereby granted for the reduction of the qualifying percentile for NEET-PG 2023 to ‘Zero’ across all categories. This communication is issued with the endorsement of the competent authority,” further conveyed the Ministry. This decision from the Union Health Ministry comes at a time when doctors nationwide have been advocating for a decrease in the NEET-PG 2023 cut-off criteria. Medical Dialogues previously reported that, pointing to the substantial number of unfilled postgraduate medical seats, doctors associated with the United Doctors Front Association (UDFA) had urged the National Medical Commission (NMC) to lower the cut-off percentile for NEET-PG counseling 2023.
In their communication to the NMC Secretary, the association also noted that on similar grounds, the Union Health Ministry had previously made the decision to lower the qualifying cut-off percentile for NEET PG 2020, NEET PG 2021, and NEET PG 2022 counseling to address the vacancy issue. Just last year, the Union Health Ministry had sanctioned a 25-percentile reduction in the cut-off marks for NEET PG 2022 across all categories. Recently, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) also raised this issue and wrote to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting a reduction of up to 30% in the NEET PG 2023 cut-off percentile to ensure the maximum possible filling of seats in both clinical and non-clinical branches.
The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) recently engaged with Ministry officials to present their request on this matter. In a letter directed to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, which was submitted to the Ministry officials, FORDA highlighted the persistent challenge of vacant seats in medical institutions across the nation over the past few years, despite multiple rounds of counseling for NEET PG.
Earlier this year, Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, informed the Lok Sabha that in the last three years, a total of 860 MBBS and 12758 PG Medical Seats remained unoccupied. The breakdown by academic year shows that in the 2022-2023 academic year alone, a total of 262 undergraduate medical seats and 4400 postgraduate medical seats remained unfilled.
