NEET-UG counselling to begin from Jan 19, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

New Delhi, Jan 13: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET UG Counselling 2021 will begin on January 19, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said on Twitter.

"Dear Students, Counseling for NEET-UG is being started by MCC from 19th January. You all are the future of this country and I hope that all of you will serve the people and get ahead in your career," he tweeted.

The NEET-PG exam was held on September 11, 2021, after being rescheduled twice in January and April that year. Its results were declared in the last week of September 2021, following which students for nearly 45,000 postgraduate seats had been waiting for the counselling to begin.

Resident doctors of various medical colleges across the entire country last month held protests and boycotted work demanding expedition of the counselling, as they were overburdened with work due to inadequate workforce.

The Supreme Court on January 7, paved the way for starting the stalled NEET-PG 2021 counselling process. A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna, which had for two consecutive days heard the matter on applicability of Rs 8 lakh annual income criteria for determination of economically weaker section (EWS), passed an interim order, saying "there is an urgent need to commence the process of counselling".

Counselling on the basis of NEET-PG 2021 and NEET- UG 2021 shall be conducted by giving effect to the reservation as provided by the notice dated July 29, 2021, including the 27% reservation for the OBC (other backward class) category and 10% reservation for EWS category in the AIQ (All India Quota) seats," the bench said.