Why NEET PG 2025 Cutoff Was Revised: Vacant Seats, Budget Reality & Round 3 Outcomes

NEET PG 2025 counselling why thousands of seats went vacant, how the revised cutoff impacts eligibility, and what candidates can expect in Round 3. Includes branch-wise closing ranks, budget-based college options, fee trends in private and deemed universities, and realistic admission chances after percentile reduction.

NEET PG 2025: Why Cut-off Was Revised & Vacant Seats

After completion of Round 1 and Round 2 NEET PG 2025 counselling, nearly 9,000 postgraduate medical seats remained vacant across Government, Deemed Universities, Clinical and Non-Clinical branches. This unusually high vacancy forced the authorities to intervene to avoid large-scale seat wastage in the 2025–26 academic session.

To address this issue, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), in consultation with the National Medical Commission (NMC), approved a major reduction in the qualifying percentile for NEET PG 2025 before Round 3 counselling. The revised eligibility significantly expands the pool of candidates who can participate in further rounds.

Revised NEET PG 2025 Qualifying Percentile

Under the revised norms, the qualifying percentile has been reduced to historically low levels. This change applies only to counselling eligibility and does not affect NEET PG ranks.

NEET PG 2024 Qualifying Percentile – Category-wise

In NEET PG 2024, one of the lowest cut-offs was seen in Rajasthan, where a candidate got admission in the Dermatology (MD DVL) branch at a rank of around 1,94,825. However, this seat was available only with a very high fee, and the total cost was reported to be around ₹4 crore. This shows that after percentile reduction, clinical branches can be available at lower ranks, but usually at a much higher budget.

Last Closing Rank – NEET PG 2025 Round 2 (Clinical Branches)

NEET PG 2025 Deemed Universities Cutoff – Round 2

The table below shows the branch-wise closing rank cutoff for Deemed Universities after NEET PG 2025 Round 2 counselling. These cutoffs are indicative and may vary in subsequent rounds.

Why Was the NEET PG 2025 Qualifying Percentile Reduced?

The NEET PG 2025 qualifying percentile was reduced by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and in consultation with the National Medical Commission (NMC). The cutoff was lowered because a very large number of postgraduate medical seats remained vacant after Round 2 counselling.

After Round 2, more than 18,000 PG seats across India (including around 9,000 All India Quota seats) were still unfilled. Officials explained that leaving these seats empty is a serious problem because it wastes valuable medical training seats and reduces the number of specialist doctors needed in hospitals.

Many seats remained vacant due to students not joining after allotment, late approval of new seats, very high fees in private and deemed colleges, and low interest in non-clinical branches like Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology, and Microbiology. Some students also avoid colleges in remote areas due to location or infrastructure concerns.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) requested the government to take action to prevent seat wastage. Authorities clarified that this step does not reduce academic standards, as all eligible candidates are already qualified MBBS doctors. Admissions are still done strictly by NEET PG rank and counselling rules. The percentile reduction simply allows more students to participate in Round 3 and helps fill vacant seats.

NEET PG Percentile vs Budget Options

In addition, qualified candidates with NRI sponsorship can take NRI quota seats in Deemed Universities and private colleges across Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh.