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    NEET PG 2026 DNB: Top 10 Most & Least Competitive Branches With Closing Ranks

    NEET PG 2026 DNB: Top 10 Most & Least Competitive Branches With Closing Ranks

    Ujjwal KirtiUpdated on 05 Oct 2026, 05:26 PM IST

    NEET PG 2026 counselling is about to begin, and qualified candidates are checking which course and college they can get with their NEET PG 2026 rank. While most aspirants target MD/MS seats, DNB (Diplomate of National Board) courses, awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), are a major postgraduate option that many candidates also choose based on their NEET PG score. Based on last year's NEET PG counselling trends, candidates can get an idea about the 10 most and least competitive DNB courses.

    This Story also Contains

    1. NEET PG DNB Top 10 Most and Least Competitive Branches: Full Video
    2. NEET PG 2026: Candidates Registered Vs Appeared
    3. NEET PG 2026 Seat Matrix: Effect of Seat Increase
    4. NEET PG 2026 Score Range vs Number of Candidates
    5. NEET PG: Top 10 Most Competitive DNB Courses
    6. NEET PG: Top 10 Least Competitive DNB Courses
    7. What Should Candidates Do Before NEET PG 2026 Counselling?
    NEET PG 2026 DNB: Top 10 Most & Least Competitive Branches With Closing Ranks
    NEET PG 2026 DNB: Top 10 Most & Least Competitive Branches With Closing Ranks

    Qualified candidates, as per the NEET PG 2026 result have to register and complete the choice filling for the final seat allotment. The final seat allotment is done based on factors such as category, preferred branch, NEET PG cutoff, seat availability, and choice preference. To check the top 10 most and least competitive DNB courses based on last year's highest closing ranks, along with the score vs rank breakdown and seat matrix, read the full article below.

    NEET PG DNB Top 10 Most and Least Competitive Branches: Full Video

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    NEET PG 2026: Candidates Registered Vs Appeared

    Candidates appearing for the NEET PG 2026 counselling can check the previous years’ comparison between how many students registered vs appeared for the exam in the table below.

    Previous Years’ NEET PG Statistics

    Particulars

    NEET PG 2025

    NEET PG 2026

    Candidates registered

    2.42 lakh

    2.73 lakh

    Candidates appeared

    2.30 lakh

    2.65 lakh

    Candidates qualified

    1.28 lakh

    Yet to be updated

    NEET PG 2026 Seat Matrix: Effect of Seat Increase

    With NEET PG seats increasing, candidates appearing for NEET PG counselling for DNB courses have a better chance to secure a medical college seat. Since the official NEET PG 2026 seat matrix is usually released closer to the counselling rounds, the previous year's NEET PG seat matrix helps candidates plan for choice filing.

    Previous Years’ NEET PG Seat Matrix: Category-wise

    State

    2024

    2025

    Growth

    Growth %

    Private/Deemed

    22868

    28620

    5,752

    25.15%

    Govt.

    27108

    29780

    2,672

    9.86%

    Total

    49976

    58400

    8,424

    16.86%

    NEET PG 2026 Score Range vs Number of Candidates

    The final allotment of the NEET PG DNB course and college is based on the marks secured by the candidate in the NEET PG exam. As per the previous year’s trends, NEET PG marks ranging between 201 and 300 had a total of 71,305 candidates, which is the highest. In a band of candidates, a few marks can shift the NEET PG rank by thousands of places. Check the NEET PG score range vs number of candidates in the table below.

    NEET PG 2026 Score Range vs Number of Candidates

    Score Range

    Candidates

    Rank Range

    601–700

    100

    1 – 100

    501–600

    11,727

    101 – 11,827

    401–500

    39,324

    11,828 – 51,151

    301–400

    56,399

    51,152 – 107,550

    201–300

    71,305

    107,551 – 178,856

    101–200

    67,029

    178,857 – 245,885

    1–100

    19,817

    245,886 – 265,702

    -59–0

    258

    265,703 – 265,960

    NEET PG: Top 10 Most Competitive DNB Courses

    Based on last year’s NEET PG statistics, DNB Nuclear Medicine was the toughest at rank 5,763, followed by Dermatology and Radiodiagnosis. The popular clinical branches (General Medicine, OBG, Pediatrics) closed between ranks 19,784 and 23,857. Check the NEET PG Top 10 Most competitive branches in the table below.

    Top 10 Most Competitive DNB Courses

    No.

    Branch

    Highest Closing Rank (GEN)

    1

    DNB Nuclear Medicine

    5,763

    2

    DNB Dermatology

    7,881

    3

    DNB Radio Diagnosis

    12,303

    4

    DNB General Medicine

    19,784

    5

    DNB OBG

    23,378

    6

    DNB Paediatrics

    23,857

    7

    DNB TB & Respiratory Disease

    24,004

    8

    DNB Geriatrics

    24,774

    9

    DNB Plastic Surgery (6 yr)

    25,195

    10

    DNB Psychiatry

    26,494

    NEET PG: Top 10 Least Competitive DNB Courses

    If we talk about the top 10 least competitive DNB courses in NEET PG counselling is mostly the non-clinical or para-clinical branches that close at much higher ranks, so candidates with higher NEET PG 2026 ranks have better chances here. Last year, DNB Biochemistry and DNB Anatomy had almost identical closing ranks and the least competition of all.

    Top 10 Least Competitive DNB Courses

    No.

    Branch

    Highest Closing Rank (GEN)

    1

    DNB Biochemistry

    1,80,849

    2

    DNB Anatomy

    1,80,299

    3

    DNB Physiology

    1,56,942

    4

    DNB Microbiology

    1,39,101

    5

    DNB Community Medicine

    1,05,319

    6

    DNB Pharmacology

    93,485

    7

    DNB Pathology

    89,798

    8

    DNB Forensic Medicine

    82,026

    9

    DNB IHBT

    75,408

    10

    DNB Health Administration

    69,478

    What Should Candidates Do Before NEET PG 2026 Counselling?

    NEET PG closing ranks change every year with the number of candidates appearing for the counselling, seat matrix and choice-filling patterns, so candidates must take last year's data for reference purposes only. A branch with a higher cut-off is not automatically the better choice. DNB training quality depends on the hospital's caseload and clinical exposure.

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    Questions related to NEET PG

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to NEET PG ?

    Hello Student,

    If you are looking for information about NEET PG 2025 DNB seat allotment and the fees payable at the allotted college or hospital, DNB seats are allotted through the respective counselling process based on your rank, category, choice of speciality, and seat availability.

    For the 2025 session, the

    Dear Student, with a NEET PG 2026 rank of 6,600 in the EWS category, your options should be assessed using the relevant counselling year's college-wise closing ranks, category-wise seats and counselling round. Please also confirm whether you are applying through the applicable All India counselling route or another quota. That

    Hello, with a NEET PG rank of 11,000, your chances of getting MS ENT at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram depend on your category, state quota, counselling round and previous year’s closing rank. You can check the cutoff details here: https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/kerala-neet-pg-cut-off

    Dear Student, with a NEET PG rank of 8,571, you can explore DNB Pediatrics options through the relevant counselling process. If Bangalore is your preferred location, it would be useful to compare the available hospitals on factors such as patient load, paediatric case exposure, teaching environment, stipend, bond conditions and

    Hello, with a NEET PG 2026 AIR of 57,213, the available branch options will depend on your category, state, counselling quota and preferred type of college. You can check possible branches and colleges based on your rank using the NEET PG College Predictor: https://medicine.careers360.com/neet-pg-college-predictor