NEET PG Counselling Leaves 4,400 PG Seats Vacant Last Year

Out of a total of 64,059 seats, as many as 4,400 seats were vacant after NEET PG counselling.

Over 4,000 PG medical seats went vacant last year. (Representative Image.)

In the academic year 2022-23, a significant number of postgraduate medical seats in the country remained unfilled after the completion of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test postgraduate (NEET-PG) counselling. Out of a total of 64,059 seats, as many as 4,400 seats were vacant, indicating an increase of 17.5% compared to the previous year. In the preceding academic year 2021-22, there were 3,744 vacant seats out of 60,202 PG medical seats across various medical colleges. These statistics were shared by the health ministry in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

During the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, the Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar, presented data on the number of total and vacant undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical seats over the past three years.

According to the analysis of health ministry data, the probability of securing an undergraduate (UG) medical seat or MBBS seat has remained relatively constant, ranging from 5% to 6% between the academic years 2020-21 to 2023-24. Over this period, the number of MBBS seats has seen a consistent increase, rising from 83,275 seats in 2020-21 to 107,948 seats in 2023-24. This increase in seats has led to a rise in the number of candidates appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) each year.

In terms of vacant MBBS seats, the data reveals a fluctuating trend. In the academic year 2020-21, there were 273 vacant MBBS seats. This number increased by 19.4% to 326 in 2021-22, but then decreased by 19.9% to 261 in 2022-23.

Regarding postgraduate (PG) medical seats, there has also been a steady growth in their number, going from 55,495 seats in 2020-21 to 67,802 seats in 2022-23.

Examining the number of vacant PG seats after the NEET PG counselling, there has been some variation in recent years. In 2020-21, there were 4,614 vacant PG seats. This number reduced to 3,744 in 2021-22, but then increased to 4,400 in 2022-23.