India's NEET-UG 2026 cutoff rises sharply, tightening medical college entry

The National Testing Agency reported that the NEET-UG 2026 cut‑off marks for MBBS admissions are expected to increase by roughly 30‑40 points across all reservation categories. A surge in high‑scoring candidates—19 students scored between 701 and 720, and more than 1,300 scored between 651 and 700—has driven the projected open‑category cutoff to about 642 marks, up from 686 the previous year. Backward‑category cutoffs are also set to rise from 578 to around 629 marks.

Overall, 1,999,895 candidates sat the exam, with 1,121,185 qualifying, a drop in both participants and qualifiers compared with earlier years. The National Medical Commission has expanded available MBBS seats to 136,939 across 823 colleges. Educationists warned that the higher cut‑offs make competition for government medical seats intense, with scores above 550 now needed for admission.

Tamil Nadu saw a modest decline in examinees but still placed 12 students among the top 138 All‑India ranks. The NTA fixed the basic qualifying threshold at 213 marks for the general category and 177 for OBC, SC and ST candidates.