NEET PG Cut Off Score: A latest notification from the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is in the news regarding admission in NEET-PG. The notification has started a debate on social media. According to this revised notification of January 13, the government has decided to reduce the cut-off for all categories for the third round of counselling. According to this, those candidates of SC, ST, OBC who have got zero percentile/minus 40 marks will also be able to participate in the counseling for admission in MD, MS. This latest notification is not a guarantee of admission.
Well, it is for the government to decide whom it will give admission to and who it will not? But, many questions have started being raised on this issue. For example, how will admission be done in NEET PG despite minus marking? How is percentile calculated? Now will even those who get minus 40 really be able to do MD and MS? When and how does the situation of minus marking arise and why is there an uproar? Like some other questions, sequential answers will be found here.
1- Question: What is percentile, how is it different from percentage?
answer: Percentile is a comparative rank-based scale. It tells what percentage of candidates are below you. Percentage tells what percentage of total marks you have got in the exam. Percentile tells what percentage of candidates are behind you. Let us also consider this as an example. If your percentile is 70, it generally means that you scored better than 70% of the candidates, which also means that about 30% of the candidates are ahead of you. Percentile is not a decision of good or bad, it is just for comparison.
2- Question: What does it mean to make the cut-off zero percentile?
answer: Zero percentile cut-off generally means that the minimum percentile requirement to pass/qualify in the exam has been brought down significantly i.e. the 10th / 30th / 40th / 50th percentile threshold for qualification is no longer there or reduced. Theoretically, the candidate with the lowest percentile can also qualify.
But it is important to understand that being eligible and getting a seat are two different things. Being eligible means that you can participate in counselling. You will get a seat only when your rank, merit, option, seat availability, category, college conditions etc. match.
3- Question: According to the new notification, what is the new cut-off, what was it earlier?
answer: According to the government notification, the revised qualifying percentile and score (Out of 800) for Round 3 counseling are as follows.
This change is said to have come into effect after the Health Ministry’s letter dated January 9, 2026, and is related to the third round of counseling for the 2025-26 academic session.
4- Question: How is the percentile of NEET PG calculated?
answer: A common way to calculate percentile is something like this.
- Suppose there are 1,00,000 (one lakh) candidates in an examination and 55,000 candidates are less than your score, then your percentile will be 55.Here’s the way to calculate it: 55,000/1,00,000 × 100 = 55 percentile
- This may also include things like ties in the actual system, rank-rules, data cleaning, sometimes shift/difficulty of paper.But remember this much to understand.Percentile = indication of your position, not just your marks.
5- Question: What does 0 percentile mean?
answer: No, it is not necessary at all. 0 percentile does not mean 0 number.The 0 percentile often means that there is no one (or very few) who score lower than you—meaning you are at the bottom.
Now imagine, if some year the paper becomes difficult and many people get low or negative scores, then the lowest score can be 0 percentile. Whether its score is 5, 0 or in minus. Therefore, it is not right to consider 0 percentile as 0 marks.
6- Question: How are the numbers minus 40 arrived at?
Answer: In any exam like NEET PG, questions are often asked on MCQ pattern. Meaning, there will be four answers written next to the question.
-+4 marks on correct answer
-1 mark for wrong answer
-0 marks on unattempted questions
Minus score is created when wrong answers significantly exceed the correct answers.
You can understand something like this as an example. A few hundred questions were asked.
You got 10 questions correct: 10 × 4 = +40
You got 80 questions wrong: 80 × (-1) = -80
You skipped 10 questions: 0 points
Its score will be +40 – 80 = -40
That means we ourselves are responsible for the minus. This happens due to large number of mistakes. This is the reason why teachers forbid using puns without thinking, especially in exams where there is negative marking. If you are not confident about the answer then it is better not to answer. The risk of negative scores is reduced.
This is the notification
New notification.
7- Question: Who will benefit more from reducing the cut-off?
Answer: In this change, every group has got some relief, but the biggest change is to go to 0 percentile (cut-off score -40) for SC/ST/OBC. For General/EWS also the cut-off has increased from 50th to 7th percentile and score has increased from 276 to 103. This is also a big change. This means that many candidates who were earlier left out of counseling due to cut-off can now appear in Round 3. But the seat will be available only when there are vacant seats and the candidates participate in the counseling properly.
NEET PG Admission System
8- Question: Even if someone has K-40, how is MD/MS possible?
Answer: Here it is important to understand the word possible correctly. A candidate with -40 will get MD/MS seat only if he fulfills some other necessary conditions.
- The cut-off/eligibility is set very low, such as 0 percentile
- Seats are remaining vacant in counselling, especially in some colleges/branches/state/quota.
- Many candidates ranked above that do not take seats, drop them or have problems with their eligibility and documents.
- Candidates do not register, choice filling, security deposit etc. at the right time in counselling.
- All the conditions like internship, registration, degree, documents etc. should be fulfilled.
- The important thing is that being eligible does not guarantee getting a seat. Medical PG admission is done through merit-counselling—in which those with better ranks get the first chance.
9- Question: Then what is the purpose of reducing the cut-off?
Answer: Generally decisions like reducing the cut-off or making it 0 percentile are taken when there is a possibility of seats remaining vacant. Even after several rounds of counselling, admission is not possible on all the seats. The system wants that the available PG seats should not go vacant and there should be no shortage of doctors in hospitals and training systems. The story in simple language is that the qualifying threshold is lowered so that more people can come for counseling and fill the seats but the seats are still filled in the order of rank.
10- Question: What is the relationship between percentile cut-off, category cut-off and rank?
Answer: It can be understood like this.
- Cut-off Percentile: Who can sit for counselling? That means eligibility.
- Rank/Merit: Who will get the chance to choose their seat first in counselling?
- Category/Quota: Who can claim which seat? (All India Quota/State quota, UR/OBC/SC/ST/EWS, PwD etc.)
Even if the cut-off becomes 0 percentile, the line of seat selection will still be decided by rank. That means the person with -40 will be at the end of the line. He will get a seat only if the people ahead of him do not take the seat or there are specific seats left vacant.
11- Question: Despite minus marking, can applying tukka ever be a profitable deal?
answer: This is completely situation dependent, but as a general rule if you are 50-50 between two options, the expected profit/loss calculation may be different when you make a guess. If you do not know at all and are choosing randomly among the four options, then your score often goes towards loss in negative marking. So the strategy should generally be to solve only those questions in which you are confident of arriving at the correct answer through logic; Blind guessing can increase the negative mark and create a situation like -40.
12- Question: What precautions should be taken?
Answer: You will get the benefit of relaxation like 0 percentile only if you follow the process correctly. Keep in mind: Do counseling registration on time. Keep documents ready, MBBS marksheet, degree, internship completion, registration, category, PWD certificate (if applicable), photo/ID etc. Be realistic in filling choices. Fill the options as per your rank; Keep both safe and dream. Understand the rounds: Round 1, Round 2, Mop-up, Stray Vacancy—the rules for each round may be different. Fees, Bonds, Stipend, College Rules Fees and bonds are different for private, deemed, state colleges—check first. The most important thing is that if it doesn’t happen this time, then improve your preparation and exam strategy for the next time – because even if you get eligibility, a good branch and a good college usually gets you at a better rank.
Eligibility at zero percentile or minus score does not mean that everyone will get a seat—it means that the door to counseling may open to more people, and seats will still be available based on rank, choice, and availability.
13- Why was there an uproar after the notification?
There is an uproar on social media after this notification. On one hand, social media users say that by implementing this rule, there is a preparation to give admission to ineligible candidates. Users say that you may come from any background. There is no reason for reservation at PG level except economic grounds. Admission should be based on merit only. Some users also say that this is very disturbing. Those who have made the policy will rarely get themselves treated by such doctors, instead choosing elite facilities. The government just wants to fill the seats by any means.
Also read: What are the flaws in NEET PG pattern! Why are candidates not able to score?