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NEET Merit List: NMC Revises Regulations, Physics Marks to Get Priority Over Biology in Case of Tie

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has made a decision to revise the procedure for determining rankings of candidates who have the same NEET score.
 
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has decided to revise the process for determining ranks of aspirants having an identical NEET score, prioritising marks obtained in Physics, followed by Chemistry and Biology. This is unlike the current practice of giving priority to marks obtained in Biology, followed by Chemistry and then Physics. According to the Graduate Medical Education Regulations-2023 issued recently, if the subject marks do not resolve the tie, then draw of lots using computers will be conducted to draw the merit list. There would be no human intervention in the draw of lots. The new regulations, notified on June 2, are likely to be implemented from next year. The National Testing Agency, which conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical courses, and the National Medical Commission (NMC) will be deliberating on the issue further, sources said. ”In case of tie in marks of the students appearing for NEET-UG, the respective marks obtained in Physics, followed by Chemistry and further followed by Biology in the NEET UG shall be considered; Provided if the tie were to continue, then draw of lots by using the computer, with no human intervention, the eligible candidates shall be selected,” according to the regulations. The NEET-UG results were declared on June 13 this year. According to the existing guidelines, if two or more candidates obtain equal marks/percentile scores, the tie-breaker rule is followed to decide their ranks. A candidate with higher marks in Biology is ranked above the rest. In case of identical marks in Biology, the same rule is applied for Chemistry, followed by Physics. If the scores still remain identical, the elder candidate gets the higher rank. According to the new regulations, students pursuing MBBS course need to complete it within nine years from the date of admission, while they will get only four attempts to clear the first year. The NMC has also stated there shall be a common counselling for admissions to graduate courses at all medical institutions in the country on the basis of the NEET-UG merit list. ”Under no circumstances the student shall be allowed more than four (04) attempts for first year (First Professional MBBS) and no student shall be allowed to continue undergraduate medical course after nine (09) years from the date of admission into the course,” the NMC regulations stated.  The student admitted into a graduate medical education programme shall not be deemed to have completed his graduation until he completes his rotating medical internship as per Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Regulations, 2021. ”Without prejudice to anything stated in the present regulations or other NMC regulations, there shall be common counselling for admission to graduate courses in medicine for all medical institutions in India based on the merit list of the NEET-UG,” the notification of June 2 stated. Counselling shall entirely be based on the seat matrix provided by NMC, provided the common counselling may have multiple rounds as may be necessary, it stated.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has made a decision to revise the procedure for determining rankings of candidates who have the same NEET score. Under the new guidelines, priority will be given to marks obtained in Physics, followed by Chemistry and Biology. This marks a departure from the current practice, which gives precedence to Biology marks, followed by Chemistry and then Physics. The Graduate Medical Education Regulations-2023, which were recently issued, state that if subject marks fail to resolve the tie, a computerized lottery system will be used to determine the merit list. The draw of lots will be conducted without any human intervention. The new regulations, set to be implemented from next year, are currently under discussion by the National Testing Agency and the NMC, the two bodies responsible for conducting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for undergraduate medical courses.

The regulations state, "In the event of a tie in NEET-UG marks among students, the marks obtained in Physics, followed by Chemistry and Biology, shall be considered. If the tie persists, a computerized draw of lots will be conducted, with no human involvement, to select the eligible candidates."

The NEET-UG results for this year were announced on June 13. As per the current guidelines, when two or more candidates achieve the same marks or percentile scores, a tie-breaker rule is followed to determine their rankings. The candidate with higher marks in Biology is given a higher rank. If the Biology marks are also identical, the same rule is applied for Chemistry, followed by Physics. If the tie persists, the older candidate is awarded the higher rank.

According to the new regulations, students pursuing an MBBS course must complete it within nine years from the date of admission. They will only have four attempts to clear the first year. The NMC has also specified that there will be a centralized counseling process for admission to graduate medical courses in all institutions across the country based on the NEET-UG merit list.

The NMC regulations state, "Under no circumstances shall a student be allowed more than four attempts for the first year (First Professional MBBS), and no student shall be allowed to continue the undergraduate medical course after nine years from the date of admission." Additionally, a student admitted to a graduate medical education program will not be considered a graduate until they complete the compulsory rotating medical internship as per the 2021 Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Regulations.

The notification issued on June 2 emphasizes, "Without prejudice to any other NMC regulations, there shall be a common counseling process for admission to graduate medicine courses in all medical institutions in India, based on the NEET-UG merit list." The counseling will be conducted using the seat matrix provided by the NMC, and multiple rounds may be held as necessary.