NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday extended the cut-off date for MBBS aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship from June 30 to August 11.
This is the second time the ministry has extended the internship cut-off date.
Earlier, on January 13, the cut-off date was extended from March 31 to June 30 by the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for the purpose of applying for the NEET PG-2023 examination.
In a tweet, the ministry said, “Considering the future of more than 13,000 MBBS students across 5 States/UTs who were not eligible for #NEET PG 2023 exam due to delayed internship, MoHFW has decided to extend last date of completion of an internship for eligibility to 11th Aug 2023.”
Apart from the NEET PG2023 internship cut-off deadline extension, the ministry also extended the internship eligibility date for NEET MDS 2023 to June 30, 2023.
“More than 3000 BDS students across States/UTs were not eligible for #NEET MDS 2023 exam due to the delayed internship. To benefit them, MoHFW has decided to extend the last date of completion of the internship for eligibility to 30th June 2023. Wishing all candidates the very best,” the tweet said.
However, the ministry has only announced revised NEET eligibility criteria and not the exam date.
NEET PG 2023 is scheduled for March 5.
Despite a series of protests, including social media campaigns, by NEET PG aspirants and several doctors' associations to postpone the exams, the government has not relented.
On Tuesday, NEET-PG aspirants and many doctors’ associations protested at Jantar Mantar demanding the postponement of the exams.
According to Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman, of FAIMA Doctors Association, the students want an extension of the exam by two to three weeks to reduce the gap between the result declaration and the counselling process.
“We want the exam to be postponed to May-June,” he said.
As per the National Board of Examinations, the NEET PG 2023 results will be out by March 31, and counselling will begin in July 2023.
FAIMA had earlier written to the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, saying that 10,000 NEET PG aspirants will be ineligible for the exams. Following this, the internship deadline was extended to June 30.
In a circular on Tuesday, NBEMS said, "In continuation of NBEMS notice dated January 13 and pursuant to the directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare... the cut-off date for completion of an internship for the purpose of eligibility for NEET-PG 2023 has been further extended to August 11.”
The notice added that the students completing their mandatory internship from July 1 to August 11 are now eligible to apply to take the exam. They can fill out the forms which will be released on February 9 to February 12, provided that they fulfil all other eligibility criteria.
NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post Graduate) is a national-level entrance exam for admission to postgraduate medical courses such as MS, MD, and PG Diploma courses.