The Hon’ble Supreme Court has finally given its approval to resume NEET PG 2021 for the 2022-23 academic session. The medical admission will now begin after being delayed for four-month due to increasing cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the approval, the Supreme Court has cleared the 27% reservation criteria for OBC (other backward classes) and 10% for EWS (economically weaker sections) categories for admission through NEET PG 2021.

The decision has provided relief to doctors who have been working in the front line in times of pandemic. With this decision, over 45,000 junior doctors can join the workforce and help India fight against the Covid-19. 

The counselling session for NEET PG students was expected to start from October 2021. However, NEET PG 2021 counselling was postponed until SC decides on OBC, EWS reservation validity.

NEET PG 2021 Counselling: INR 8 Lakh Income Criteria Set for Poor Families 

As per the hearing held on Friday, January 07, 2022, Supreme Court has approved INR 8 lakh income criteria for students from poor families. The decision will be implemented for NEET PG Admission process for academic session 2022-23. 

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While talking about the decision made, the government stated that the INR 8 lakh income criteria set for poor families are in compliance with Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution. The decision was made after due deliberation by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

As for the oppositions who are not satisfied with the decision, a detailed hearing on the same will be held subject to petitions filed. 

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Opposing the decision, Justice Chandrachud said, "You must have some demographic or socio-economic data. You can't just pluck the 8 million figure out of thin air". 

The opposition was made due to the fact that families with agricultural land of five acres or more, irrespective of income, are not included in the criteria. The revised criteria only include the INR 8 lakh annual income ceiling, the government further added. 

NEET PG 2021 Counselling: Admission to Resume with Existing Criteria

The government demanded the court to give the approval to resume NEET PG Counselling 2022 in accordance with the existing reservation criteria. To delay the counselling will only cause more trouble for both the government and resident doctors. 

In support of the demands, the Government said that at this time, when the NEET PG Admission 2022 and allocation of colleges are still ongoing, changing the existing reservation criteria will only lead to more complications. 

Adding to the suggestions, the government stated that the supreme court can make changes to existing NEET Reservation Criteria to identify EWS beneficiaries and introduce the same from session 2022-23. However, now is not the time to make such important changes in the criteria. 

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On Thursday, January 06, 2022, the court began the final discussion on NEET PG Admission 2022. During the session, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that the confusion needs to be dispelled regarding criteria, which said to be "would change the rules of the game midway". 

Adding to the discussion, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar stated that if the Supreme Court decided to change the EWS reservation in NEET's All-India Quota for the 2022 session, the criteria for income should be kept at INR 2.5 lakh for students. 

The bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna said, "We have been hearing this matter for two days, we must start counselling in the national interest".

NEET PG 2022 Counselling: How to Apply Online?

Candidates who have registered for NEET PG 2021 counselling session which were earlier scheduled to start from October 2021 can now apply for the revised process by following the step by step guide mentioned below: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of the Medical Counselling Committee, MCC at mcc.nic.in.

Step 2: Click on the registration tab from the homepage and enter the details required with care. 

Step 3: Pay the NEET PG Counselling 2021-22 fee through net banking, credit card, or debit card and click on submit. 

Step 4: On the next page, the choice filling option will appear. Choose your preferred course and colleges from the MCC list. 

Step 5: After entering the details, review your application to avoid any errors and click on submit to complete your NEET PG Counselling 2021-22 registration process. 

NEET PG Counselling 2022: Documents Required

• NEET Score Card with Rank
• NEET 2021 Admit Card
• Class 10 Marksheet or certificate for DOB proof
• Class 12 Marksheet
• Any photo ID proof like Aadhar Card, PAN card, Driving License, etc.
• Colored passport-sized photographs (Ideally 8-10)
• Caste certificate and PwD certificate, if applicable

After the release of the Supreme Court's verdict on January 07, 2021, the Medical Counselling Committee will release a complete counselling schedule on its official website at mcc.nic.in. Students are advised to keep a tab on the council's website for the latest counselling updates.

About NEET PG 2021 Counselling 

National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Post-Graduate), NEET-PG is a national level entrance examination that will be conducted to offer medical course admission seats to eligible and selected candidates. 

Based on the NEET PG 2022 Result, students are offered admission seats to various government and private medical universities, colleges, and educational institutes. 

Also Check: NEET PG Cut Off 2021 (Released), Category Wise Cut off, Previous Year's Cut off & Percentile