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    NEET PG 2025 Counselling: ‘Poor’ Medical Aspirants Paying Crores?

    NEET PG 2025 Counselling: ‘Poor’ Medical Aspirants Paying Crores?

    Bhanu PratapUpdated on 09 Dec 2025, 11:45 AM IST

    The entire thought process for introducing the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category was to ensure that premium education was accessible to those who could not afford it. However, in the latest NEET PG Counselling outcomes, there have been certain admissions that paint a very different picture of the whole process.

    This Story also Contains

    1. Who Is Considered EWS?
    2. The Numbers Behind the Contradiction
    3. EWS Candidates Allotted Seats in Deemed Universities
    4. What Does It Mean?
    5. When ‘Poverty’ Becomes a Privilege
    6. Conclusion
    NEET PG 2025 Counselling: ‘Poor’ Medical Aspirants Paying Crores?
    NEET PG Counselling

    There have been EWS candidates who have been allotted seats in medical colleges where the fees are touching Rs. 2.8 crores for a single seat. Several admissions have exceeded Rs. 1 crores.

    For a category that was introduced for families that earn less than Rs. 8 lakhs a year, the difference between the policy intent and reality is quite different and unsettling.

    Who Is Considered EWS?

    The eligibility criteria for a candidate to be considered in the EWS category are:

    1765260817523

    The eligibility criteria is meant to filter out candidates from well-off households and provide an opportunity to the genuinely underprivileged students. However, the NEET PG data suggest that in practice, the policy is failing!

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    The Numbers Behind the Contradiction

    The motive behind the EWS quota is to make higher education affordable and accessible for students who come from underprivileged backgrounds. However, the NEET PG Admission Data clearly shows that there is wealth behind a poverty certificate. There is a troubling issue at hand: students who are officially classified as ‘economically weak’, are being allotted seats in medical colleges where the fee is in crores.

    • 147 EWS candidates were allotted seats in deemed universities, out of which

    • 1 student received a seat with a fee above Rs. 2 crore

    • 76 students were allotted seats costing above Rs. 1crore

    • 137 students were allotted seats costing above Rs. 50 lakhs

    • 146 students were allotted seats costing above Rs. 10 lakhs

    • 1 student received a seat with a fee above Rs. 10 lakhs

    EWS Candidates Allotted Seats in Deemed Universities

    The table below reveals an extreme mismatch between the EWS eligibility and affordability. Although these candidates are considered ‘Economically Weak’, they have secured PG seats in medical colleges where the fee range is between Rs. 1.5 crores to Rs. 2.28 crores; an amount that is far beyond the economic capability of a low-income household.

    Rank

    Allotted Institute

    Course

    Course Fee

    47428

    Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

    M.D. (Radio- Diagnosis)

    Rs. 2.28 Cr

    91992

    Dr D Y Patil Medical College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

    M.S. (Orthopaedics)

    Rs. 1.87 Cr

    50139

    Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur, Karnataka

    M.D. (Obst. And Gynae)/Ms (Obstetrics And Gynaecology)

    Rs. 1.80 Cr

    73098

    Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur, Karnataka

    M.D. (Paediatrics)

    Rs. 1.80 Cr

    82200

    Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra

    M.S. (Orthopaedics)

    Rs. 1.65 Cr

    52130

    Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

    M.D. (Radio- Diagnosis)

    Rs. 1.65 Cr

    90824

    Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry

    M.S. (Orthopaedics)

    Rs.1.5 Cr

    73533

    Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka

    M.S. (Orthopaedics)

    Rs. 1.5 Cr

    48635

    Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

    M.D. (General Medicine)

    Rs. 1.5 Cr

    55666

    Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

    M.D. (Obst. And Gynae)/Ms (Obstetrics

    And Gynaecology)

    Rs. 1.5 Cr

    Observation: If we analyse the table, we can clearly see that EWS candidates with low ranks are being allotted medical seats that are costing anything between Rs. 1.5 crores to Rs. 2.38 crores. This signifies not only a gross misuse of the EWS certificates but also a poor EWS verification process.

    What Does It Mean?

    EWS reservation was meant to provide equal opportunities to the underprivileged, but NEET Medical PG admission data shows it is failing to achieve its intended purpose. A genuinely poor student does not get the seat; instead, a student who is ‘poor on paper’ gets the seat and pays the high fee (in this case, crores of rupees) for admission.

    When ‘Poverty’ Becomes a Privilege

    The issue is not about rich students entering medical education; it is the fact that they enter as poor students. The EWS quota was meant to help, but instead, it seems it has further alienated the genuinely poor student by taking away the opportunity and the means to have a quality life.

    Conclusion

    NEET PG establishes the fact that there is a mismatch between what the EWS reservation intended and what the outcome is like. Seats that were supposed to be for the economically weak were filled by those who are paying the fee, which is in crores, exposing a flawed system of verification and enforcement. Unless there are stricter checks in balance and the transparency of the entire admission procedure, the EWS quota will continue to fail the very students it was created to support.

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