Maharashtra NEET PG 2026: New Admission Rules for Medical, Dental Courses Announced

The Maharashtra government has introduced significant changes to postgraduate medical and dental admissions for the 2026 academic year, discontinuing the institutional-level admission round and bringing all seats under a centralised online counselling system. Under the revised framework, admissions to seats reserved under the institutional quota and the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota will also be conducted through the online admission process managed by the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell. According to a report published on mahasamvad. in, the changes are intended to improve transparency and ensure a more structured admission process.

The state government notified the Maharashtra Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission) Rules, 2026, on October 5, 2026. The regulations govern admissions to the first year of full-time professional postgraduate medical and dental courses in the state. Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif said the revised rules seek to make admissions more transparent and focused on merit and quality.

Under the new admission framework, vacant seats remaining after the regular counselling process will also be filled through online stray vacancy rounds conducted by the Maharashtra CET Cell. The decision eliminates the institutional-level admission round and brings the process of filling vacant seats under the centralised online system. The government has also broadened the eligibility criteria for institutional quota seats in private medical and dental colleges, allowing a wider range of candidates to compete for these seats under the revised rules.

One of the key changes in the 2026 admission regulations concerns eligibility for institutional quota seats in private medical and dental colleges. Candidates who hold a Maharashtra domicile certificate will now be eligible to apply for these seats even if they have completed their qualifying degree from an educational institution located outside the state. This provision expands opportunities for Maharashtra-domiciled candidates who pursued their qualifying education elsewhere.

The revised rules also permit candidates from outside Maharashtra and individuals holding foreign medical degrees to apply for institutional quota seats in private colleges, as reported by mahasamvad.in.

The revised regulations also introduce a significant consequence for candidates who fail to join their allotted seats during the final round of the Centralised Admission Process (CAP). If a candidate does not report to or join the allotted seat in the final CAP round, resulting in the seat remaining vacant, the candidate will be barred from participating in admissions for the subsequent two years.

The provision aims to discourage candidates from leaving allotted seats unoccupied at the final stage of counselling, thereby helping prevent seats from remaining vacant after the admission process has concluded. The same restriction is already applicable to undergraduate medical admissions through NEET UG in Maharashtra and will now extend to postgraduate medical and dental admissions under the revised regulations.

Candidates participating in the counselling process should therefore consider their admission choices carefully and ensure that they can comply with the reporting and joining requirements if allotted a seat in the final CAP round. Failure to join an allotted seat, where it results in a vacancy, could affect their eligibility for admission over the following two years.