Centre cuts NEET-SS percentile to 30%

The Centre has decided to lower the qualifying percentile for NEET-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) seats from 50 to 30, in an effort to fill the 1,857 vacant seats that remain after the second round of counselling. Many of these positions are in specialized medical and surgical fields. The government outlined this plan in a note filed before the Supreme Court, stating that this move aims to prevent the wastage of available training capacity.

According to the Additional Solicitor General, Aishwarya Bhati, the reduced percentile will apply to the Special Stray Vacancy Round and is expected to attract approximately 6,000 eligible candidates, which is roughly three times the number of vacant seats. This decision comes in response to a plea challenging the Supreme Court's earlier order to reconsider the Centre's refusal to lower the NEET-SS cut-off, particularly concerning the large number of unfilled seats each year.

Additionally, 40 in-service seats in Tamil Nadu, which were previously allocated to the state, will be returned to Tamil Nadu for a seven-day local Stray Vacancy Round before being added to the national pool for the Special Stray Vacancy Round.