Paper status

NEET PG · 2021

NEET PG 2021: Exam, Result, Cut-offs & Paper Status

NEET PG 2021 was deferred, set for 18 April 2021, postponed three days before because of COVID-19, and finally held on 11 September 2021. It cut the paper from 300 to 200 questions, so scores were out of 800. We found no public release of the question paper by NBEMS.

Timeline Cut-offs

Overview

What happened in NEET PG 2021

NBE announced a provisional schedule for NEET PG 2021 on 16 September 2020, then deferred it on 31 October 2020 after the National Medical Commission said the conduct of the exam was being considered by its UG and PG Boards. On 14 January 2021 NBE set the exam for 18 April 2021, for candidates completing internship by 30 June 2021.

The information bulletin cut the paper from 300 questions, as in 2019 and 2020, to 200, with the same 3 hours 30 minutes and 25% negative marking, so the maximum score fell from 1,200 to 800. On 9 April NBE said it had decided not to defer the exam despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, and added protective measures at test centres. Six days later, on 15 April, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare directed that the 18 April exam be postponed.

On 13 July 2021 NBEMS rescheduled the exam to 11 September 2021, from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM, with 175,063 applications registered. In August it reopened registration after the National Medical Commission extended the internship cut-off to 30 September 2021, and let registered candidates change their category after a government decision on OBC and EWS reservation in All India quota seats.

Scores and qualifying cut-offs were declared on 28 September 2021 and ranks on 1 October. The qualifying percentiles were lowered on 12 March 2022.

Labels used on this page: Official = an NBE/NBEMS document; Reported = a news report; Unverified = not confirmed in either. Eligibility, the general marking scheme and preparation guidance are on the NEET PG previous year papers page.

Timeline

NEET PG 2021 timeline

Official notices for NEET PG 2021, in date order
DateEventSource
16 Sep 2020Provisional schedule for NEET PG 2021 announcedOfficial — as referred to in NBE notice, 31 Oct 2020
31 Oct 2020Schedule deferred: the National Medical Commission said its UG and PG Boards were considering the conduct of NEET PG 2021Official — NBE notice, 31 Oct 2020
14 Jan 2021Exam set for 18 April 2021; open to candidates completing internship by 30 June 2021Official — NBE notice, 14 Jan 2021
9 Apr 2021NBE decides not to defer the 18 April exam and adds COVID-19 measures at test centresOfficial — NBE notice, 9 Apr 2021
15 Apr 2021Exam due on 18 April postponed on directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, because of COVID-19Official — NBE notice, 15 Apr 2021
13 Jul 2021Rescheduled to 11 September 2021, 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM; 175,063 applications registered; earlier admit cards voidOfficial — NBEMS notice, 13 Jul 2021
6 Aug 2021Registration window (16–20 August) for candidates completing internship by 30 September 2021, and a category edit window after the OBC and EWS reservation decisionOfficial — NBEMS notice, 6 Aug 2021
3 Sep 2021Fresh admit cards to be issued on 6 September 2021Official — NBEMS notice, 3 Sep 2021
11 Sep 2021Exam heldOfficial — NBEMS notices, 13 Jul and 3 Sep 2021
28 Sep 2021Scores and qualifying cut-offs declaredOfficial — NBEMS notice, 28 Sep 2021
1 Oct 2021Ranks declaredOfficial — NBEMS notice, 1 Oct 2021
8 Oct 2021Individual scorecards available from this dateOfficial — NBEMS notice, 12 Oct 2021
8 Jan 2022Merit list for All India 50% quota seats declaredOfficial — NBEMS notice, 8 Jan 2022
12 Mar 2022Qualifying percentiles loweredOfficial — NBEMS notice, 12 Mar 2022

The 11 September 2021 date is the scheduled date given in NBEMS's notices; NBEMS's later notices refer to the result of that exam.

Exam overview

NEET PG 2021 examination overview

Key facts about how NEET PG 2021 was run
ItemNEET PG 2021Source
Conducting bodyNational Board of Examinations (notices from mid-2021 are issued as NBEMS)Official — NBE / NBEMS notices
Admission sessionMD / MS / PG Diploma, Post MBBS DNB and NBEMS Diploma, 2021 sessionOfficial — NBEMS notice, 1 Oct 2021
Mode and timingComputer-based, single session, 11 September 2021, 9:00 AM to 12:30 PMOfficial — bulletin; NBEMS notice, 13 Jul 2021
Applications registered175,063Official — NBEMS notice, 13 Jul 2021
Internship cut-off30 June 2021 in the bulletin; extended to 30 September 2021 by the National Medical Commission (decision of 24 May 2021)Official — bulletin; NBEMS notice, 6 Aug 2021
COVID-19 measuresTest centres in the candidate's own state where possible, staggered entry, temperature checks and isolation labs, compulsory face masksOfficial — NBE notice, 9 Apr 2021

Exam pattern

NEET PG 2021 exam pattern

2021 kept the 3 hours 30 minutes and the marking scheme of 2019 and 2020, but cut the paper from 300 to 200 questions.

NEET PG 2021 scheme of examination
ItemNEET PG 2021Source
Questions200 single-correct MCQs, English onlyOfficial — NEET-PG 2021 Information Bulletin
Duration3 hours 30 minutesOfficial — NEET-PG 2021 Information Bulletin
Marking+4 for a correct answer, −1 (25%) for an incorrect answer, 0 for an unattempted questionOfficial — NEET-PG 2021 Information Bulletin
Maximum marks800Official — NBEMS notice, 28 Sep 2021 (cut-offs out of 800)
Parts or time-bound sectionsNone given in the 2021 bulletin (2019 and 2020 had Parts A, B and C; time-bound sections came in 2024)Official — 2019, 2020 and 2021 bulletins; NBEMS notice, 4 May 2024
Subject-wise distributionNone given in the 2021 bulletinOfficial — NEET-PG 2021 Information Bulletin

Results

NEET PG 2021 qualifying cut-offs

Maximum marks were 800. The original cut-offs came with the scores on 28 September 2021; the revised cut-offs came on 12 March 2022, on a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare letter of the same date, and ranks did not change. These are qualifying cut-offs, not counselling closing ranks.

Original and revised NEET PG 2021 qualifying cut-offs by category
CategoryQualifying cut-off (28 Sep 2021)Revised qualifying cut-off (12 Mar 2022)
General (UR/EWS)50th percentile = 30235th percentile = 247
UR-PwD45th percentile = 28330th percentile = 229
SC/ST/OBC (including PwD of SC/ST/OBC)40th percentile = 26525th percentile = 210

Sources: NBEMS notices of 28 September 2021 and 12 March 2022 (Official). The March 2022 notice labels the third row "SC/ST/OBC"; it repeats the original 40th percentile and score of 265, so it refers to the same category. For how qualifying cut-offs differ from MCC closing ranks, see the main NEET PG previous year papers page.

Paper status

NEET PG 2021 paper and answer key status

Nothing from NEET PG 2021 is available to download as far as we could find. Revisable does not offer recall-based versions.

  • None found

    Complete question paper

    The 2021 bulletin (clause 9.7) describes the exam content as confidential and proprietary, and we found no public release of the paper in NBEMS's notices. That is not proof that it was never released.

    Not available — no public release found in NBEMS's records.

  • None found

    Answer key

    We found no NEET PG 2021 answer key among NBEMS's notices.

    Not available — none found.

  • None found

    Question-wise record in candidate login

    NBEMS first announced question-wise records (question IDs, correct option, the candidate's response and score) for NEET PG 2025. We found none for 2021.

    Not available — first announced for NEET PG 2025.

Preparation insights

What NEET PG 2021 changed for later candidates

  1. The 200-question paper started here

    NEET PG kept 200 questions from 2021 to 2025, and 2026 cut it again to 180. Scores before 2021 are out of 1,200 and cannot be compared directly with later scores out of 800 or 720.

  2. The exam month is not fixed

    NEET PG was held in early January in 2019 and 2020, in September in 2021, in May in 2022, in March in 2023 and in August from 2024 to 2026. Check the current NBEMS notices rather than planning around a usual month.

FAQ

NEET PG 2021: frequently asked questions

When was NEET PG 2021 held?

On 11 September 2021, from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. It had been set for 18 April 2021 and was postponed on 15 April; NBEMS announced the new date on 13 July 2021.

Why was NEET PG 2021 postponed?

NBE's notice of 15 April 2021 says the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare directed the postponement in light of the COVID-19 situation and for the safety and well-being of students. Six days earlier NBE had said it would go ahead with added COVID-19 precautions.

How many questions were in NEET PG 2021?

200 multiple choice questions in 3 hours 30 minutes, according to the NEET-PG 2021 Information Bulletin, down from 300 questions in 2019 and 2020. With 4 marks per correct answer and 1 deducted per wrong answer, the maximum was 800.

What were the NEET PG 2021 qualifying cut-offs?

Out of 800, announced on 28 September 2021: 302 for General (UR/EWS) at the 50th percentile, 283 for UR-PwD at the 45th, and 265 for SC/ST/OBC at the 40th. On 12 March 2022 they were lowered to 247 (35th percentile), 229 (30th) and 210 (25th).

Was the internship cut-off extended for NEET PG 2021?

Yes. The bulletin required internship to be completed by 30 June 2021. NBEMS's notice of 6 August 2021 says the National Medical Commission extended this to 30 September 2021, and opened a registration window from 16 to 20 August 2021 for candidates completing internship in that period.

Is the NEET PG 2021 question paper available?

Not officially, as far as we could find. The 2021 bulletin describes exam content as confidential and proprietary, and we found no public release of the paper or an answer key in NBEMS's notices. Revisable does not publish or link to recall-based versions.

References

References for NEET PG 2021

Year-wise

NEET PG exams by year

  1. 2015 AIPGMEE 2015 Reported only · paper status unverified
  2. 2016 AIPGMEE 2016 Reported only · paper status unverified
  3. 2017 NEET PG 2017 Reported only · paper status unverified
  4. 2018 NEET PG 2018 Period page 2018–2020
  5. 2019 NEET PG 2019 Period page 2018–2020
  6. 2020 NEET PG 2020 Period page 2018–2020
  7. 2021 NEET PG 2021 Exam guide · no public paper found
  8. 2022 NEET PG 2022 Exam guide · no public paper found
  9. 2023 NEET PG 2023 Exam guide · no public paper found
  10. 2024 NEET PG 2024 Exam guide · no public paper found
  11. 2025 NEET PG 2025 Exam guide · no public paper found
  12. 2026 NEET PG 2026 Exam guide · no public paper found

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