“Not Our Decision”: NBEMS Distances Itself from Negative NEET PG Score

In a major development during the ongoing Supreme Court hearings over the controversial NEET-PG 2025 cut-off reduction, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has officially washed its hands of the policy decision.

In an affidavit submitted to the apex court, the NBEMS clarified that it had absolutely “no role” in drastically lowering the qualifying percentiles. The board emphasized that its mandate is strictly operational—limited entirely to conducting the examination, compiling the scores, and handing the raw results over to the counseling authorities.

Who Made the Call?

According to the NBEMS filing, the highly debated decision, which saw cut-offs plummet to 103 for the General category and minus 40 (-40) for SC/ST/OBC candidates, rests entirely with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), and the National Medical Commission (NMC).

This affidavit shifts the entire burden of defending the policy onto the Central Government. During the latest hearings, the Supreme Court bench heavily scrutinized the Centre, calling the near-zero cut-offs a “serious issue” that threatens to dilute the quality of postgraduate medical education and compromise patient safety.

With the NBEMS stepping out of the line of fire, all eyes are now on how the Health Ministry will legally justify admitting candidates with negative scores to the Supreme Court.