The National Medical Commission (NMC) is considering a major change to how students qualify for NEET-UG. Instead of the current percentile system, a fixed percentage of marks may decide who gets to compete for an MBBS or BDS seat. The proposal is under review. Nothing is confirmed yet.
What the NMC Proposal Actually Says
Three things to know right now:
- A formal proposal has been submitted to the NMC to replace the percentile-based NEET-UG qualifying system with a fixed percentage cutoff based on marks out of 720.
- The proposal was put forward by Dr. Aruna Vanikar, ex-president of the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB).
- No final decision has been made. The NMC NEET-UG reform is still under consideration.
Percentile vs Percentage in NEET-UG: What Changes for You
This is the part that directly affects every student preparing for NEET-UG 2026.
| Factor | Current System (Percentile) | Proposed System (Percentage) |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying basis | Relative rank in the cohort | Fixed marks out of 720 |
| General category cutoff | 50th percentile (137 marks) | Fixed % threshold (not yet declared) |
| OBC / SC / ST cutoff | 40th percentile | Separate fixed % threshold (TBD) |
| Does the cutoff move each year? | Yes - shifts with exam difficulty | No - stays constant |
| Students qualifying per year | 10 lakh | Expected to fall |
Right now, if everyone scores poorly in a given year, the qualifying mark drops with the cohort. A percentage-based NEET-UG cutoff removes that cushion. You must cross a fixed number, no matter what.
Why NMC Is Pushing for This Change
The concern is straightforward. The current system allows students with genuinely low marks to qualify in years when the exam is tough and the overall cohort performs poorly. Dr. Vanikar put it plainly: a student should meet a minimum knowledge standard to enter a medical college, not simply outscore the bottom half of a weak year.
Two things make this push more urgent right now:
- NEET-PG zero percentile crisis (January 2026): The government slashed NEET-PG qualifying cutoffs to zero percentile, making even negative-scoring candidates eligible for MD and MS seats. The Supreme Court flagged this directly, stating its primary concern was the adverse effect on medical education quality in India.
- The broken pipeline argument: If the entry bar at UG level stays low, and then the PG bar collapses too, the quality of practicing doctors degrades at both ends. The NMC UGMEB standards proposal is an attempt to fix the UG entry point before that happens.
The Other Side: Concerns Students and Educators Must Know
This change is not without serious risks. Three groups could be hurt.
Reserved category students SC, ST, and OBC students currently qualify at the 40th percentile. Many come from rural schools with weaker science infrastructure and no access to expensive coaching. A fixed percentage cutoff for reserved categories that does not account for this gap punishes systemic disadvantage, not lack of ability. The Constitution protects reservations for a reason.
Exam difficulty and normalization NEET-UG is conducted across multiple shifts. Scores are already normalized to adjust for difficulty differences between papers. A fixed 50% cutoff on a hard-paper year is not the same challenge as 50% on an easy-paper year. Applying a rigid NEET-UG percentage threshold on top of an already-normalized score creates a compounded distortion.
Private medical college seat vacancies - this is the exact structural problem that caused the NEET-PG zero percentile decision. When cutoffs rise sharply, fewer students qualify, seats go vacant, and private colleges lose revenue. If the MBBS seat eligibility bar is raised without expanding the preparation pipeline, the system may repeat the same crisis it is trying to solve - just in the opposite direction.
The Scale: 26 Lakh Aspirants, 1.25 Lakh Seats
The numbers show how high the stakes are.
- 26 lakh+ students expected to register for NTA NEET-UG 2026 (exam date: May 3, 2026).
- 10 lakh students currently qualify each year under the percentile system.
- 97,293 MBBS seats and 27,868 BDS seats available across India.
- 1,205 AIIMS MBBS seats and 200 JIPMER MBBS seats additionally.
- The current qualifying score sits near 137 out of 720. A competitive government college score sits above 600 out of 720.
That gap between 137 and 600 is the core of the debate. The qualifying bar today does almost no filtering for medical competence. It simply confirms that a student showed up and attempted the paper.
What This Means Right Now - and How to Prepare
No rule has changed yet. But the direction is clear. Here is what students and their mentors should do.
- Watch NMC and NTA official channels closely. Any confirmed change to the NEET-UG 2026 eligibility criteria will be notified there first. Do not act on rumor.
- Prepare for higher absolute scores regardless. Whether or not this proposal passes, the long-term trend in NEET-UG cutoff changes is upward. Students aiming for 137 to "just qualify" are building on sand.
- This signals a directional shift. NMC is shifting towards competency based entry. Students, coaches, and school educators should treat this as a permanent change in expectations, even if this specific proposal takes time.
