Health Ministry extends tenure of outgoing PG resident doctors amid NEET PG counselling delay: Report
New Delhi: Due to the continuous delay in the commencement of the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2025 counselling, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has extended the tenure of PG residents of the outgoing batch.
Education Times has reported that to reduce the impact of the delayed counselling process, the MoHFW has asked all the central postgraduate institutes of medical education and research to extend the tenure of PG residents of the outgoing batch 2022-2025 till the fresh batch of resident doctors join the medical colleges.
Explaining the reason behind the extension of the tenure of the final year batch of PG students, an official from the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) told Education Times that the decision has been taken to reduce the workload on existing batches until the new batch joins after counselling
Also Read: Doctors Urge Reopening of NEET PG 2025 Registration Portal as MCC Extends Choice Filling
"The final-year batch is completing its term this month, but the new batch has not joined yet. That is why the ministry has allowed institutions to temporarily extend the release of final-year residents by six-seven months, so that patient care and departmental work do not suffer. The counselling process is still ongoing — it should start properly by next week or within a few days. As the counselling rounds finish, residents will begin reporting to their respective institutes," the official told Education Times.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a similar decision to extend the tenure of the outgoing batch PG students was taken during the pandemic as well. During the second wave of the COVID pandemic, the PG resident doctors and Final year DNB trainees had to face an extension of their services.
However, soon after the students started complaining of not getting stipend or not being promoted even after completion of their tenures. Some of the institutes were alleged for holding the documents of the students and refusing to relieve them as well.
Ultimately, NMC took cognisance of the issue and mandated that not paying a stipend to the residents for their service and refusing to relieve them by holding their documents after completion of their tenure was "Illegal".
The Commission had also decided that after the final year examinations were held and the results were declared, the successful MD/MS and DM/M.Ch candidates would be designated as Senior Residents and Assistant Professors, respectively, and be paid accordingly.
MCC to hold meeting with NMC, NBE to Discuss Concluding NEET PG Seat Matrix Revision
Meanwhile, the official from MCC has further informed Education Times that the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will soon hold a meeting with the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to discuss how soon the revision of PG seat matrix can be concluded.
"MCC will soon hold a meeting with NMC, NBEMS officials and other stakeholders to decide how soon can we close the revision of seat matrix. Details of the meetings will be released on the website," the official said.
Due to the information received from the Apex Medical Commission regarding the changes in the PG medical seats and NBE for withdrawal of 169 DNB seats after the beginning of round-1 of PG counselling, the seat matrix for the NEET PG counselling will be revised.
"The delay has been caused by the sudden addition of MD/MS seats. It is being done for the benefit of students so that more students can get a seat of their choice. It is expected that NMC is adding more clinical seats to the matrix. However, only the NMC can specify which institutions, and which subjects, are getting additional seats. Some of the DNB seats have been reduced due to the rule that a college cannot run both MD/MS and DNB courses in the same speciality simultaneously. For example, if a college that already had DNB Medicine seats has been allotted with MD Medicine seats, then the DNB seats in Medicine will be discontinued," the official further told the Daily.
This year, there was a significant delay in the commencement of the NEET PG 2025 AIQ counselling. Even though the exam was conducted on August 3, 2025, and the results were declared on August 19.
After a delay of more than 2 months, the Medical Counselling Committee commenced the registration process for NEET PG 2025 counselling last month. Also, it released the information Bulletin & counselling scheme for the candidates registering for the NEET PG 2025 counselling.
Then the MCC announced the tentative schedule of counselling, as per which, the seat allotment process for NEET PG 2025 round 1 counselling was scheduled to commence from November 6 and the results were supposed to be declared on 8th November, 2025.
However, recently, through a notice dated 06.11.2025, MCC informed all the candidates that the competent authority has decided to extend the Choice-Filling of Round-1 of PG Counselling 2025 till further notice, as the seat matrix has to be revised, due to information received from the National Medical Commission (NMC) for changes in PG seats and the National Board of Examinations (NBE) for withdrawal of 169 PG DNB seats after the start of Round-1 of PG Counselling.
Doctors are upset with the delay in the commencement of NEET PG 2025 counselling. Dr. Meet Ghonia, the National General Secretary of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) wrote on X, "Why timeline isn't set for addition or removal of seats? 3 months after results aren't enough for this process? How many private medical colleges are going to be benefitted by last minute seats addition is itself a question!
Also Read: NEET PG Counselling delay leaves doctors in Limbo
