Inside NEET PG Mess: Missing Transparency, Flawed Scores & Backdoor Admissions

NEET PG answer key - understanding the latest controversy

On Aug 29, 2025, NBEMS for the first time in its history, released the NEET PG answer key. This very much anticipated event turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments. The answer key had just the question IDs and the correct options in an excel format. Students expected to avail the real questions with their answers. Instead this format meant they needed to correlate the question IDs with the options making the measuring process time consuming and cumbersome.

NEET PG Answer Key 2025 - Sample

The second part of the issue is much larger. The exam is in online mode which means the students have no physical paper to check with. Remembering the 200 questions asked in the NEET PG exam would be a next to impossible task. Remembering the answers marked would also be a challenge. This meant the students had no means to raise any objections mainly because the questions and answers marked were not available.

This makes the release of the NEET answer key a routine event with no substance considering that students had no means to check and figure out any wrong questions. In fact it serves no purpose to anybody.

NEET PG over the years - Issues in transparency and reform

The demand for reform and transparency in the NEET PG exam is not something new. It has been asked for since inception. However, the demand for transparency and reform in NEET PG exam peaked in 2024, when the major confusions arose:

• Repeated postponements: Originally scheduled for March 3, NEET PG 2024 was first postponed to June 23 and then August 11, 2024.

• Last-minute format changes: Just 3 days before the exam, on August 8, 2024, NBEMS announced a two-shift format (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM) and a normalisation process borrowed from the AIIMS INI CET exam, thereby sparking concerns about fairness.

• Rank inflation and discrepancies: Analysis by Careers360 revealed 2,185 candidates scored above the 99th percentile, a sharp rise from previous years, with only 1,400 unique percentiles for over 2 lakh candidates, suggesting “rank inflation.” Second-shift candidates reported significant gaps between their expected and actual scores, as unofficial coaching keys indicated higher marks than official percentiles and ranks.

These challenges, combined with not having raw scores, question papers, or answer keys for comparison increased the demand for reforms. In May 2025, two Supreme Court petitions resulted in getting a single-shift NEET PG 2025 to promote fairness, but the transparency issues remain unresolved.

NEET PG admissions controversy

NEET PG exam controversies are not limited to the answer key, result or marks. Even the admissions granted on the basis of NEET PG scores lack transparency making them questionable.

Analysis of 2023 and 2024 admission data by Careers360 uncovered alarming trends:

• Lowered Cutoffs: Initially set at the 50th percentile, NEET PG cutoffs were reduced to 0% in 2023 and 5% in 2024 to fill non-clinical seats in private and deemed colleges. This allowed candidates with minimal performance levels to secure postgraduate seats.

This raises serious concerns over the quality of the doctors that would come out of the process. NEET PG is primarily conducted to select doctors who have sound knowledge of the subjects. Reducing the qualifying cutoff to practically nil devoids the basis and purpose of the NEET PG exam thereby reducing it to a mockery and an administrative factor.

NEET PG 2023: Qualified with Zero or Negative marks

In 2023, 13 candidates with negative marks (as low as -40 out of 800) and 14 with zero marks qualified for NEET PG. Some even secured MD seats in colleges like Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and MGM Medical College. In 2024, 25 candidates with ranks over 200,000 gained admission to non-clinical fields like Biochemistry and Physiology.

Zero marks but still qualified NEET PG 2023

List of students with negative marks

This situation is worse than zero marks because it means that NEET PG was more of a formality than a serious entrance exam meant to select good quality doctors that would contribute to the health care system of the country.

NEET PG - The dire need for reforms and transparency

The lack of transparency, lowering of the qualifying standards will only damage the future of healthcare in India. If a postgraduate seat can be secured with almost nil or worse negative performance in the entrance exam, it can only mean one thing. NEET PG is a mere formality. It also sends mixed signals to the medical student community that the capacity to pay high fees overrules the capacity for high performance.

This bodes no good for the general population as it raises serious questions on the quality of doctors passing out in specialisations and their treatment capabilities.

NEET PG - Need of the hour reforms

Considering the many issues plaguing NEET PG exam, some of the key reform suggestions are as follows -

• Mandatory full disclosure: NBEMS should make the NEET PG question papers, response sheets, answer keys, and raw scores available before declaring the results.

• NEET PG answer key challenge: Just like other exams, where the candidates are allowed to challenge the answer key, NBEMS should also allow a challenge window to sideline any controversies and disputes.

• Standardised processes: NBEMS should prohibit any last-minute changes to the exam and stick to the single-shift format, with a transparent normalisation process.

• Standard qualifying cutoff: The qualifying percentile criteria should be kept to 50th percentile as is the norm with any exam. This will ensure a quality to the largest postgraduate medical exam in India.

If NBEMS is intent on being open and fair, it first needs to bring in these reforms and ensure transparency and quality to not just the NEET PG exam but also the admission process. This is a much needed step to maintain the quality of India’s medical education system. Future doctors should have an exam process that values hard work and makes sure that only skilled professionals will influence the future of healthcare.