NEET-PG Counselling for medical admissions to begin from Wednesday

The announcement follows the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that ended the deadlock over the entrance to medical colleges by clearing new quotas.

Over 45,000 junior doctors can now get into the workforce after counselling, which comes as India battles a spike in Covid cases fuelled by the Omicron variant.

"NEET-PG counseling is being started by MCC (Medical Counselling Committee) from January 12, 2022, following the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, as assured by the Ministry of Health to the resident doctors. This will give more strength to the country in the fight against Corona. My best wishes to all the candidates," the minister tweeted in Hindi.

NEET-PG is an entrance exam for medical students for admission to over 100 private and government colleges.

Those who qualify are given 'counselling' - they are allocated seats in universities and colleges based on marks and selected specialisation and can work under senior colleagues' supervision.

The counselling was slated to start last October but was delayed after petitions were filed against a government notification that said seat reservation for OBC (Other Backward Classes) and EWS examinees. Because of this, nearly 45,000 junior doctors could not be admitted last year, pressurizing those already attending to patients in the midst of the pandemic.

Resident doctors in many states, including Delhi, took to the streets to protest over the delay in the counselling process.

Paving the way for medical admissions after a four-month delay, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed 27 percent reservation for OBC and 10 percent quota for students from poor families, and said that the counselling must begin in "national interest".