Govt Reduces Cut-off Percentile for Admission via NEET by 15%; 18,000 Students to Benefit

JP Nadda, the Union Health Minister, announced on Twitter that the government of India would lower the NEET cut-offs by 15% to benefit 18,000 medical students.

New Delhi/27.04.2018: Friday brings some great news for all the medical students who will be appearing in the upcoming NEET 2018 exam. JP Nadda, the Union Health Minister, announced on Twitter that the government of India would lower the NEET cut-offs by 15% to benefit 18,000 medical students. This move would help students to get into their preferred medical colleges for PG and SS courses.

Adding more to the statement, the minister said, “This will improve the chances of filling up PG seats and minimising wastage of seats.” According to regulations, to take admission in any PG programme, "it shall be necessary for a candidate to obtain a minimum of marks at 50th percentile" in NEET PG.

It has come to the fore that this is not new for the government to make changes to the cut-off criteria. Last year in June, the ministry had lowered the percentile by 7.5%. This step was taken after an insignificant number of aspirants scored the minimum marks for admissions to postgraduate courses.

What Is the Minimum Percentage for SC/ST Aspirants?

For SC/ST/OBC category candidates, the minimum score stands at the 40^th percentile. For PWD (Persons with Disabilities), it is stagnant at the 45^th percentile.

This is a great move to fill up all the postgraduate seats. The minister also added, “This is a significant step towards strengthening the medical sector and indicates the priority given by the government to the health sector. We are making sure that there is adequate manpower for providing quality health services.”