Maharashtra NEET PG 2026: All MD/MS Institutional Quota Seats to be Filled Online via CET Cell
Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026: The Government of Maharashtra has officially eliminated offline, institutional-level admission rounds for postgraduate medical and dental courses (MD/MS/MDS) starting in the 2026–27 academic year. Under the newly notified Maharashtra Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission) Rules, 2026, all seats including management, institutional, and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quotas will be filled strictly through centralized online counseling conducted by the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell.
Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026: The Government of Maharashtra has formally abolished the offline, institution-level admission processes for the postgraduate medical and dental courses (MD/MS/MDS), with effect from the academic year 2026-27. The recent notification of Maharashtra Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission) Rules, 2026 will see all the available seats, which include the management, institutional, and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quotas, being allocated through centralized online counseling process carried out by the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell.
The new policy abolishes direct institution level admission procedures and will see even the final stray vacancy rounds being conducted through the official portal at cetcell.mahacet.org. Further, the eligibility criteria have been expanded for the institutional quota seats, and now includes non-Maharashtra domicile holders, state domicile holders having completed the MBBS course outside the state, and those possessing medical degrees from abroad. Besides, the new rules also prescribe stringent compliance requirements, where the students must go for full documentation before the registration period ends, failing which a heavy penalty of debarnment for two years from state level admissions would be imposed on the candidates.
Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026: Key Changes
Below are the k changes by the Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026:
| Feature | New Policy & Rules (2026 Onward) |
| Conducting Authority | State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, Maharashtra |
| Official Portal | cetcell.mahacet.org / mahacet.org |
| Institutional Round Status | Completely Scrapped (No offline campus-level rounds) |
| Quota Coverage | State Quota, Management/Institutional Quota & NRI Quota |
| Stray Vacancy Round | Conducted 100% Online by CET Cell |
| Notified Legislation | Maharashtra Professional Educational Institutions Rules, 2026 (Notified Oct 5, 2026) |
Maharashtra NEET PG Counselling 2026: Key Highlights & Policy Impact
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Abolition of Campus-level Allotment Process: The private medical and dental colleges will not conduct separate manual offline rounds of their respective campus levels anymore.
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Online Stray Vacancy Rounds: Even the last rounds of stray vacancies will be conducted online by the CET cell to ensure no seat trading or any other form of opaque allocation.
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Higher Degree of Transparency: According to Hasan Mushrif, Medical Education Minister, the process is being undertaken to make sure that there is an equitable and merit-based admission process.
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Criteria and Penalties: Criteria of eligibility for seats under institutional quotas have been widened, whereas strict administrative penalties await those who fail to report online allotments.
Siddhi Sharma is an education journalist at Jagran Josh. A Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from IP University, she brings sharp newsroom instincts developed during her previous stint at Zee News. At Jagran Josh, Siddhi specializes in decoding the educational updates. Her coverage is highly exam-centric, ranging from curated news blogs for competitive exams to crucial school board and university news. Combining her strong media foundations with a research-driven approach, she creates reliable, high-utility content that helps students and aspirants stay ahead of the curve. Her writing is factual, engaging, and tailored to meet the fast-paced needs of modern learners and exam aspirants.
