New Delhi: A 12-member expert committee has recommended replacing the percentile-based qualifying system for NEET-PG and NEET-Super Speciality (SS) counselling with a rank-based merit system, in a report submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 3.
The committee was constituted on the Supreme Court’s direction and headed by the Director General of Health Services. It told the court that the National Medical Commission (NMC) has given in-principle approval to the proposal for both NEET-PG and NEET-SS. The new system is proposed to start from 2027.
The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s decision to sharply lower the qualifying percentile cut-offs for NEET-PG 2025. Under that decision, the cut-off was reduced to zero percentile to fill vacant seats, and candidates from reserved categories with as low as minus 40 marks out of 800 became eligible for admission. The petitioners argue that this dilutes merit and risks patient safety. The Centre had defended the cut, saying NEET-PG is a merit-ranking tool for allocating limited seats rather than a test of minimum competence, which is established by the MBBS degree.
Under the current system, eligibility depends on a candidate’s score relative to all test-takers, which forced repeated percentile cuts when seats stayed empty. A rank-based system assigns each candidate a fixed rank, allowing counselling bodies to set predictable rank limits for each round and fill seats in an orderly way while keeping an academic floor. The panel said the sanctity of national competitive examinations must be preserved.
To deal with vacancies without lowering standards, the committee also proposed lower tuition fees for pre-clinical and para-clinical branches such as Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, which often go unfilled. It recommended direct online sharing of rank data between the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) and state counselling bodies. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) told the panel that several changes introduced in the 2026-27 counselling process aim to reduce delays and inconvenience to candidates.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe took the report on record and directed that copies be given to all counsel so that responses can be filed. Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, appearing for one of the petitioners, questioned whether moving from percentiles to ranks would make a difference. The court gave the petitioners time to respond and adjourned the matter.
with inputs from media outlets