NEET-PG Cut-Off Row: Centre constitutes 12-member expert committee to review admission system

The development came during the hearing of a petition challenging the government's decision to drastically reduce the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying percentile.

The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has constituted a 12-member expert committee, led by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), to undertake a comprehensive review of the NEET-PG admission system and recommend reforms.

NEET-PG Cut-Off Row: Centre constitutes 12-member expert committee to review admission system (HT File Photo)

The development came during the hearing of a petition challenging the government's decision to drastically reduce the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying percentile.

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The expert committee includes Dr Loveneesh G. Krishna, DGHS, as Chairman, Dr Sunita Mondal, Adviser, ME Cell, Addl. DGHS, Dr Nita Khurana, Addl. DG (MWB). Dte.GHS, Dr. G. Kausalya, DDG(LME), DteGHS, Dr. B. Srinivas, DDG(BS), Dte.GHS, Dr Vinay Gupta, Addl. Director, NBE, Kumar Rahul, Director, MoHFW, Sachin Prabhakar, Senior Scientist, NIC and Manvendra Pratap, Deputy Director (ME Cell) as members. Dr Praveen Kumar Dass, ADG (ME), as member secretary.

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The petitioners, led by Dr Lakshya Mittal, said they would also present their recommendations before the panel and have invited students and other stakeholders to share suggestions, stating that the aim is to help build a more transparent, fair and merit-based NEET-PG admission system.

The tweet shared by Dr Lakshya Mittal reads, "In our petition challenging the drastic reduction of the #NEETPG2025 qualifying cut-off, the Union Govt. @MoHFW_INDIA has informed the Hon’ble Supreme Court that it has constituted a @DghsIndia-led 12-member Expert Committee to comprehensively review the NEET-PG admission system and recommend reforms. The Hon’ble Court has granted 8 weeks for submission of the report. As petitioners, we will also submit our recommendations before the Expert Committee. Stakeholders are invited to share constructive suggestions with us (connect@udfbharat.com). We will endeavour to incorporate well-founded recommendations in our representation.Together, let us work towards a transparent, fair and merit-based NEET-PG admission system."

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Why were petitions filed?

The public interest litigation (PIL) petitions were filed in January urging the apex court to quash the January 13, 2026 notice issued by NBEMS notifying the revised cut-off scores, restoration of minimum qualifying standards and a stay on counselling conducted pursuant to the reduced percentile.

The revised eligibility criteria lowered the qualifying cut-off for the general category from the 50th percentile to the seventh percentile, making an additional 95,913 candidates eligible to participate in the NEET-PG counselling process.

The petitioners have contended that such a significant reduction in the qualifying percentile could adversely affect the standards of postgraduate medical education and is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

What the Centre said in the affidavit

The Centre in the affidavit filed before the court defended the decision to lower the qualifying percentile, arguing that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) is not meant to certify minimum clinical competence.

The decision to reduce the percentile cut-off, the affidavit said, was taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with the National Medical Commission in view of a large number of anticipated vacant seats.

According to the government, the reduction in percentile would make an additional 1,00,054 candidates eligible for the third round of counselling, taking the total number of eligible candidates to 2,28,170.

The affidavit stated that postgraduate medical seats represent substantial public investment in infrastructure, faculty and hospital facilities. Leaving such seats vacant would result in the wastage of national resources and adversely affect specialist healthcare delivery. It added that even after the reduction in the percentile, seat allotment continues to be strictly based on merit and candidate preference.