NEET PG 2025: The Cut-Off Just Changed: Everything You Need to Know

You studied for months. Maybe years. You gave up sleep, social life, sometimes even your own mental peace, all for that one shot at a PG seat. And then the government changed the cut-off after the results were out.

If you're confused, frustrated, or just don't know what to think right now, that's completely valid. Let's break this down.

The NEET PG 2025 exam was held on August 3, 2025. Around 2.42 lakh students appeared. After the results came out in August, about 1.28 lakh candidates qualified for counselling under the original cut-off criteria.

Then, on January 13, 2026, months after results were declared, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) issued a new notification slashing the qualifying cut-off percentiles. The reason? Over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats across the country were still vacant after two rounds of counselling. The government didn't want those seats to go empty.

Here's what the new cut-offs look like:

A score of minus 40 out of 800 now qualifies under the reserved category. And because of this change, 95,913 additional candidates became eligible, taking the total from 1.28 lakh to over 2.24 lakh.

NBEMS, the body that conducts the NEET PG exam, has told the Supreme Court of India that it had no role in deciding to lower the cut-off. According to their affidavit, the decision was taken by the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, along with the National Medical Commission (NMC). NBEMS was informed about this on January 9, 2026, and in compliance, they published the revised results on January 13.

In other words, the exam board conducted the exam and declared the results. The government ministry then told them to revise the cut-off. NBEMS followed the instruction.

The Union Minister of State for Health, Anupriya Patel, explained in Parliament that the qualifying percentile was reduced "to ensure that the precious PG medical seats do not remain vacant." She also mentioned that similar steps had been taken in previous academic years to maximise seat utilisation.

After two rounds of counselling, around 18,000 seats, including over 5,000 government seats, were still unfilled. The intent, as the government sees it, was to make sure India's postgraduate medical training capacity doesn't go to waste.

Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the cut-off reduction.

The petitioners, including doctors and social workers, argue that changing eligibility rules after results are declared is unfair to students who prepared under the original criteria. They've raised concerns about patient safety, saying that candidates with very low or negative scores in a medical entrance exam shouldn't be training as future surgeons or specialists.

The Supreme Court itself expressed surprise, stating: "We were stunned to see why this method was adopted... This is about standards. The question is whether those standards are being compromised."

The court has asked the government and NBEMS to explain their rationale, and the case is being actively examined. The matter was listed for hearing on February 23, 2026.

On the other side, the Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a similar challenge, observing that lowering eligibility for counselling doesn't reduce merit, because actual seat allotment is still based on rank within the expanded pool, and candidates still have to complete their course and training to earn the degree.

If you are a newly eligible candidate due to the revised cut-off, you may now participate in the third round of NEET PG 2025 counselling, provided the Supreme Court does not stay or reverse this decision. Keep a close eye on official notifications from NBEMS and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).

If you are a candidate who already qualified under the original cut-off, your rank and eligibility remain unchanged. The expanded pool means more competition in counselling, but seat allotment is still merit-based within each category.

Important: The Supreme Court case is ongoing. Any order from the court could affect the counselling process. Do not take any major decision based on assumptions. Follow only official sources.

The competitive medical exam world is brutal. That's not an exaggeration. You know it better than anyone. The years of sacrifice, the pressure from every direction, the mental weight of feeling like one exam decides your worth, none of that is small, and none of it should be dismissed.

Whatever your score this cycle, you are not defined by a percentile. The doctors who came out of this system and are serving patients today were once sitting exactly where you are, confused, tired, and trying to figure out what comes next.

If you qualified under the revised cut-off and are getting a seat, take it. Show up. Work hard. You still have a full residency ahead of you to prove yourself.

If you didn't get what you hoped for, this is not the end of your story. 

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, rely only on these official sources:

Avoid making decisions based on rumours, WhatsApp forwards, or unverified posts. The situation is still evolving legally, and official notifications are the only reliable source.