The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged the Union Health Ministry to reduce the NEET PG 2023 cut-off percentile by up to 30 per cent so that most of the seats can be filled in both clinical and non-clinical branches.
This will ensure that a significant number of aspiring doctors can enroll for postgraduate programmes in various medical colleges across the country and not a single postgraduate seat goes vacant, the IMA said in its letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
"We should not forget that during previous Covid waves, when the country was in a state of emergency and people were dying, the doctors left their homes and served the nation fervently.
“The time has come for the administration to recognize them for their selfless service by reducing the cutoff marks for NEET-PG 2023," it said.
"As a result of high cutoff scores, aspiring medical students will not only be prevented from entering post graduation but will also be compelled to travel overseas to pursue their dream field of post graduation, further depleting the medical manpower pool in India. We cannot afford to lose these precious gems in such a time when the country needs a full-blown medical army to protect citizens," the doctors' body said.
The safety and well-being of the people of our country hinges on ensuring that adequate medical staff is available so that there is no shortage of human resources within the medical profession, said the association.