NEET UG quotas and reservation in all-India counselling

Reservation in all-India counselling is not one rule applied everywhere. It changes sharply depending on which quota a seat belongs to, and the difference between AIQ and Deemed Universities surprises a lot of candidates.

15% All India Quota

Central government reservation policy applies to AIQ seats:

Eligibility for AIQ is simple: qualify NEET UG, meet NMC norms, and there is no domicile requirement. Note the OBC list that matters is the central one, not your state list - a caste on a state OBC list but not the central list will not be accepted here.

Deemed Universities: no category reservation

There is no OBC, SC, ST, PwD or EWS reservation in Deemed Universities. Every candidate competes on open merit. Some Deemed Universities do have Jain Minority or Muslim Minority seats, and 15% of Deemed University seats are allocated to NRI candidates under the Supreme Court's directions. If you plan to apply under a minority category, verify your eligibility for it before applying, not after.

Seats that are domicile-free

These open seats carry no state domicile requirement, which is what makes all-India counselling worth entering even if your rank is mediocre for your home state:

• 15% All India Quota MBBS and BDS seats in state government colleges
• 100% of MBBS and BDS seats at BHU (open)
• 100% of MBBS seats at all AIIMS across India (open)
• JIPMER open seats at Puducherry and Karaikal
• AMU open seats
• 15% AIQ seats of DU and I.P. University institutes - VMMC, ABVIMS and ESIC Dental
• Jamia Millia Islamia open seats, Faculty of Dentistry
• 15% All India Quota seats of ESIC

NRI and OCI candidates

NRI eligibility follows the principles the Supreme Court set out in Anshul Tomar vs. State of M.P. A candidate qualifies where a parent is an NRI ordinarily residing abroad, and also where a first-degree relation is - which the court read to include a real brother or sister, not only the mother or father.

OCI cardholders are treated at par with Indian citizens following Anushka Rengunthwar & Ors. vs Union of India. They are eligible for UR (General) category seats as well as NRI seats in MCC counselling.

The Round 3 conversion algorithm

Reserved seats left unfilled are not wasted. In Round 3, once every eligible candidate in a category has been exhausted, seats convert along a fixed ladder. This is worth understanding, because it is how open-category candidates sometimes pick up seats that started out reserved.