NEET SS 2025 Cutoff Reduced to 30th Percentile to Fill Vacant Super-Speciality Seats

The Central Government has officially informed the Supreme Court of its decision to lower the qualifying cutoff for the NEET SS 2025 examination. The threshold will be reduced from the 50th percentile to the 30th percentile specifically for the upcoming Special Stray Vacancy Round of counselling. This policy adjustment aims to address the significant number of super-speciality medical seats that remained unfilled following the conclusion of the second round of the admission process.

By implementing this reduction, authorities intend to ensure that the available medical training capacity across the country is fully utilised. The move is expected to bring more than 6,000 additional candidates into the eligibility pool for the final round of seat allocation. This intervention comes in response to concerns regarding the high volume of vacant positions in prestigious super-speciality programmes.

Details of Vacant Seats and Eligibility Criteria

According to the information provided to the Supreme Court, there are currently 1,857 super-speciality seats that remain vacant. This figure includes 1,094 DM/MCh seats and 763 DNB-SS seats. The reduction to the 30th percentile is designed to facilitate the filling of these specific vacancies during the Special Stray Vacancy Round.

While the reduction in the cutoff percentile offers a new opportunity for many medical professionals, there are strict limitations regarding participation. Candidates who have already secured and joined a seat in any of the previous rounds of counselling will not be permitted to upgrade or switch their current seats during this Special Stray Vacancy Round. The revised cutoff criteria apply exclusively to this final round and do not have any retrospective effect on the results or admissions processed in earlier stages of the counselling schedule.