Medical aspirants upset over postponement of NEET-PG exams

NEET-PG exams were to be held in January this year but were postponed to April and now again to August.

3 min readPuneUpdated: May 5, 2021 10:55 AM IST

AIIMS, AIIMS entrance exam, AIIMS postgraduate entrance, INI-CET, when is INI-CET, INI-CET final date, ABVP, NSUI, medical exam news, education news

Candidates can download their admit cards on July 15. (Representational Photo/File)

The Centre’s decision to postpone the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) has angered several students who are pursuing internship in various hospitals in the state. Delaying the examination will extend their anxiety, said several doctors, while final year MBBS students expressed displeasure over the move to utilise their services for Covid-19 duties.

NEET-PG exams were to be held in January this year but were postponed to April and now again to August. According to Dr Chinmay Akre, state president of Indian Medical Association-Medical Students Network, postponement of NEET-PG by four months is disheartening and discouraging for medical aspirants.

“This is exploiting the effort and time of all MBBS pass-outs who are preparing for NEET-PG for the past few months. A further delay in holding the examination is sheer mismanagement, resulting in severe loss of time for young doctors. This has also led to a disturbance in the psyche of those doctors who are the future of medical sciences,” Akre said.

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While young doctors understand that this is an emergency situation, postponing the examination is not the solution, he added.

Sohel Inamdar, regional coordinator of Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) for Maharashtra, said students are upset over this decision. There was no reason to postpone the examination as this will delay the process of getting doctors into the system, he said.

Restricting final year PGs to conclude their scheduled study only means delay in sending out specialist doctors, several doctors said, adding that recruiting young doctors without providing adequate resources is not going to help much.

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According to Ashish, a PG student from a Mumbai-based government medical college, the least the government could have done was to defer the bonded service.

“Examinations should have been held in January when Covid cases were few. As part of our internship, we are involved in Covid duties and then have to apply for a government bond service before the NEET-PG exam. We do not mind the bond service but this means posting at other places and not much time for studies. At this rate, our ranking could suffer. Also, our stipend is Rs 11,000 per month unlike our counterparts elsewhere,” he said.

Dr J A Jayalal, president of IMA (national), said the Centre has taken a retrograde decision to postpone the NEET-PG examination. “Postponement by eight months means we are missing almost a year for the postgraduate doctors to join and serve. The government is willing to conduct panchayat elections but not PG admissions,” he said.

Dr Ravi Wankhedkar , former national president of IMA, said this decision will lead to more shortage of doctors. “It will also add to the burden of these doctors, who are physically and mentally fatigued. We need to have conducted the NEET-PG examination at the earliest to bring in doctors in the system,” he said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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