Zero Percentile Set as Qualification for NEET PG 2023 by Centre

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) made a significant announcement on Wednesday, lowering the qualifying percentile for NEET PG 2023 to zero for all categories. This decision means that candidates who took the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2023 exam are now eligible to participate in the counselling process.

According to a notice issued by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), Directorate of Health Services, Government of India, “It is for the information to candidates that the qualifying percentile for PG Courses (Medical/ Dental) for NEET PG counselling 2023 has been reduced to ‘zero’ across all categories by MoHFW.”

For those already registered, there’s no need for re-registration, but they can edit their choices, as stated in the notice. A fresh schedule for round three onwards for PG counselling will soon be available on the MCC website.

The move to reduce the percentile came after the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) appealed to the Union Health Ministry to lower the cut-off score for NEET-PG 2023, citing persistent challenges in filling vacant medical seats.

In response to this, FORDA emphasized the importance of enabling more eligible candidates to fill these vacant seats by lowering the cut-off score. This sentiment was echoed by the Indian Medical Association, which urged a reduction in the NEET-PG 2023 cut-off percentile by up to 30 percent.

However, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin saw the Centre’s decision differently, alleging that it exposed a conspiracy related to the national test. He questioned the need for the test when post-graduate medical courses could be pursued via NEET, highlighting concerns about its fairness and impact on aspiring medical professionals. Udhayanidhi Stalin reiterated his party’s stance that NEET primarily benefits coaching centers and private medical colleges, calling for greater scrutiny and addressing “NEET injustice,” which has reportedly led to the deaths of several impoverished aspirants.