NEET-UG counselling to begin in 3rd week of July, Centre tells Supreme Court

12 Jul, 2024

The NEET-UG counseling for undergraduate medical seats will take place in four phases, beginning in the third week of July, according to the government.

In its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, which is reviewing multiple petitions, including those requesting the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam due to an alleged paper leak, the government has stated that the candidacy of any student found to be involved in any malpractice will be revoked at any stage during the counseling process or even afterward.

NEET-UG counselling is the procedure for assigning seats to successful candidates based on their exam scores. For all-India quota seats, the Medical Counselling Committee, established under the Ministry of Health, manages the counselling process. For state quota seats, the respective state counselling committees handle the process. Candidates must list their preferred medical colleges, and seats are allotted according to their scores. The government has stated in an affidavit that candidates can change their seat preferences during the first and second rounds of counselling based on the options they select. The affidavit also mentions that the third round is anticipated to commence in the second week of September. The government stated, “If a candidate’s selection is canceled after the third round, the available seats can still be allocated in the subsequent rounds.

However, candidates who have already secured seats in earlier rounds will not be eligible to participate in the following rounds. There are around 1.20 lakh undergraduate medical seats available in government and private medical colleges throughout the country. This year, over 23 lakh students took the NEET-UG exam, which was conducted on May 5. The exam results were released on June 4.