After MCC reforms on NEET admissions, Doctors' body urges centre to implement 'One nation, One Counselling' system
New Delhi: While appreciating the recent student-friendly reforms introduced in the NEET UG counselling process following the review chaired by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, a doctors' body has urged the Union Government to implement a 'One Nation, One Counselling' system through a single national counselling portal for all medical admissions.
In a letter addressed to Nadda, the United Doctors Front (UDF) welcomed the recent changes introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The organisation praised measures such as one-time physical reporting, the Freeze/Float option with online document verification, the online resignation facility, and complete digitisation of NRI category admissions, saying these reforms would reduce travel, expenses and stress for lakhs of medical aspirants and their families.
Medical Dialogues had reported that ahead of the NEET UG counselling session, which is expected to begin shortly, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday reviewed the preparations for NEET UG Counselling 2026 and the readiness of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) for a seamless, transparent and technology-enabled counselling process.
Among the key changes are one-time physical reporting, online document verification, an online resignation facility, complete digitisation of the NRI admission process, expansion of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) assessment centres from 16 to 61, and strengthened cybersecurity and grievance redressal mechanisms. The reforms are intended to reduce the need for repeated physical visits, streamline counselling procedures and ensure a more transparent and efficient admission process.
However, UDF said the next major reform should be the introduction of a unified national counselling system for NEET-UG admissions.
According to the association, NEET-qualified candidates currently have to participate separately in the All India Quota (AIQ) counselling conducted by MCC and multiple state counselling processes. Each counselling authority has different schedules, registration portals, fees, security deposits, document verification procedures and reporting timelines, making the admission process complicated and costly for students.
UDF also pointed out that the existing system unintentionally encourages seat blocking. Because counselling is conducted independently by different authorities on different timelines, candidates often hold seats simultaneously in the All India Quota and one or more State processes (especially in States with open eligibility). This leads to artificial scarcity, delayed upgradation, repeated reshuffling, avoidable vacancies and prolonged uncertainty for thousands of deserving candidates.
To address these issues, UDF proposed the establishment of a Single National Counselling Portal under the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) that integrates the All India Quota, State Quotas, Central Universities, Deemed Universities and all participating medical institutions into one unified framework, while fully respecting State-specific domicile criteria and reservation policies.
Under such a system, every candidate would register only once through a single national portal, submit one comprehensive preference list covering all eligible institutions and quotas, undergo document verification only once, be allotted seats strictly on merit and applicable reservation rules; and be permitted to hold only one seat at any given time, thereby effectively eliminating seat blocking.
The association said that the implementation of One Nation, One Counselling would eliminate multiple seat holding and prevent seat blocking, improve seat utilisation and minimise vacant seats and reduce overall counselling timelines and expedite admissions. It will also eliminate duplication of registrations, document verification and counselling fees, reduce administrative burden on counselling authorities, enhance transparency, fairness and public confidence; and significantly reduce stress, uncertainty and financial burden on students and families.
"A similar unified admission mechanism has already demonstrated its effectiveness in technical education. Extending the same principle to medical admissions would be a landmark reform fully aligned with the vision of Digital India, Ease of Living, Maximum Governance – Minimum Government, and a truly merit-based national medical education system. The United Doctors Front once again congratulates the Ministry for the recent counselling reforms and sincerely hopes that the Government will consider this next logical reform towards building a truly transparent, efficient and merit-based national medical admission system," the letter by UDF Chairperson Dr Lakshya Mittal mentioned.
