NEET PG 2024 Counselling: IMA writes to Health Ministry, says ‘delay in process causing immense distress…’

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Tuesday has written to written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda about the delayed NEET PG 2024 counselling process. In its letter, IMA said that “the delay in the counselling process is causing immense distress to thousands of NEET PG aspirants across the country.”

In the letter, the IMA also urged the Ministry to explore interim measures ensuring the counselling process to commence, “ensuring that the interest of both students and healthcare system are safeguard.”

It added, “We write to bring to your kind attention the growing concerns and uncertainty surrounding the delay in the NEET PG 2024 counselling process, which is currently held up due to an ongoing case in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”

“Candidates, who have worked tirelessly to qualify for postgraduate medical seats, are facing prolonged uncertainty about their future due to the judicial proceedings. This situation is also impacting the functioning of healthcare institutions, as the timely induction of postgraduate students is crucial to ensure the availability of medical professionals in hospitals and medical colleges.”

Furthermore, IMA highlighted that several state counselling committees are also in dilemma over awarding of incentive marks to in-service candidates due to non-disclosure of marks this year. “Therefore, we request a declaration of a normalised score to ensure smooth conduction of state quota counselling too,” IMA added.

NEET UG-2024 paper leak case update

On October 7, CBI filed third chargesheet in the NEET paper theft case in Patna, before the Special Judge Court for CBI, Patna. This chargesheet names 21 accused individuals. They are charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the central agency said in a statement. The investigation revealed that the NEET UG 2024 question paper was stolen from the control room of OASIS School in Hazaribagh on May 5. The theft occurred after the trunks containing the question papers arrived from the bank vault.