NEET PG Counselling To Start From Jan 12: Union Health Minister After Supreme Court's Order

The announcement comes after the Supreme Court gave its nod for the resumption of medical counselling for NEET-PG admissions for the year 2021-22

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya (File Photo)

New Delhi: After a huge delay in the counselling of students for NEET-PG admissions, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the process will commence from January 12, 2022. 

The announcement comes after the Supreme Court gave its nod for the resumption of medical counselling for NEET-PG admissions for the year 2021-22 and upheld the validity of 27 per cent OBC quota.

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The beginning of the counselling process will bring relief to several doctors waiting for admissions to postgraduate courses.

On Friday, a bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna, which had for two consecutive days heard the matter on the applicability of Rs 8 lakh annual income criteria for determination of economically weaker section (EWS), passed an interim order, saying "there is an urgent need to commence the process of counselling".

"Counselling on the basis of NEET-PG 2021 and NEET- UG 2021 shall be conducted by giving effect to the reservation as provided by the notice dated July 29, 2021, including the 27 per cent reservation for the OBC (other backward class) category and 10 per cent reservation for EWS category in the AIQ (All India Quota) seats," the bench said, as mentioned in a PTI report.

The apex court passed the interim order on a batch of pleas filed by doctors challenging a July 29, 2021, notice of the Centre and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) providing 27 per cent reservation for OBC and 10 per cent for EWS in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-PG) admissions for medical courses for the academic year 2021-22.

The decision by the Supreme Court and the announcement by Mansukh Mandaviya is a relief for the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA), which had recently protested over the delay in starting of NEET-PG counselling. It has also moved the top court saying there is an urgent need to start the admission process.

It had said that every year approximately 45,000 candidates are selected as post graduate (PG) doctors through the NEET-PG and delay in counselling has led to a situation where no junior doctors have been inducted 2021.

Second and third-year PG doctors are handling patients and are facing increased workload due to the Covid pandemic, FORDA had said.

It had called off its strike on December 31 after the government assured that its demands would be looked into.

(With PTI inputs)