NEET-PG
The single entrance test for MD, MS, PG Diploma and post-MBBS DNB/DrNB seats across India (except INI-CET institutes such as AIIMS, JIPMER and PGIMER). Ranks drive MCC All India Quota and state PG counselling.
Eligibility
An MBBS degree (or provisional pass certificate) recognised under the NMC Act, with permanent or provisional registration with NMC/a State Medical Council. The one-year compulsory rotating internship must be completed by the cut-off date notified for that year (30 September 2026 for the 2026 cycle). There is no age limit and no cap on attempts.
Age limit: No age limit
Exam pattern
Computer-based test in a single shift of 3 hours 30 minutes. From 2026 the paper has 180 multiple-choice questions (down from 200) for 720 marks, split into five time-bound sections of 36 questions each; you cannot return to a section once its time is over. Each correct answer earns +4 and each wrong answer costs −1. The 2026 qualifying cut-off was 262/720 for General/EWS, 244/720 for General-PwBD and 226/720 for SC/ST/OBC.
Syllabus at a glance
All 19 subjects of the MBBS curriculum as prescribed by NMC: pre-clinical (Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry), para-clinical (Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine) and clinical subjects (Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Anaesthesia, Radiology). Community Medicine, Medicine, Surgery and OBG carry the largest share, and image-based and clinical-vignette questions are common.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| NEET-PG 2026 MCC counselling rounds (All India Quota) | Nov-Dec 2026 (in progress) | expected |
| NEET-PG 2027 tentative schedule announced | Jan-Feb 2027 (expected) | expected |
| NEET-PG 2027 information bulletin and registration | Jun-Jul 2027 (expected) | tba |
| NEET-PG 2027 exam | Aug 2027 (expected) | tba |
| NEET-PG 2027 result | Sep 2027 (expected) | tba |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine by K. Park
- Review of Pharmacology by Gobind Rai Garg and Sparsh Gupta
- Review of Pathology and Genetics by Sparsh Gupta and Gobind Rai Garg
- Review of Preventive and Social Medicine by Vivek Jain
- Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease by Kumar, Abbas and Aster
- Essentials of Medical Pharmacology by K.D. Tripathi
How toppers play it
- Because the five sections are separately timed (36 questions each), practise on a timer of about 42 minutes per section; time saved in one section cannot be used in another.
- Prioritise Community Medicine, Medicine, Surgery, OBG and Pathology; together they carry well over a third of the paper.
- With −1 for a wrong answer, guess only when you can eliminate at least two options, and remember that the qualifying cut-off is a raw score (262/720 for General in 2026).
- Build an image bank (radiographs, specimens, instruments, skin lesions, fundus photos) as NEET-PG asks many image-based questions.
- Run at least two full revisions of a concise question bank plus 15-20 grand tests in the final three months, and analyse every wrong answer.