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NEW DELHI: To prevent thousands of postgraduate medical seats from going to waste, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has again allowed NEET-PG 2025 candidates to apply for conversion of nationality status from Indian to Non-Resident Indian (NRI) ahead of the third and final round of counselling.Conversion from Indian to NRI status is tightly regulated. Only blood relatives up to second-degree relations can sponsor a candidate, with mandatory affidavits, proof of relationship and evidence of financial capacity through NRI bank accounts. Applications are vetted by third-party agencies, and officials said most are rejected due to incomplete or invalid documentation. Even after eligibility expansion, many NRI seats remain vacant. Unfilled seats are eventually converted back to non-NRI seats and offered to general candidates, ensuring they are not wasted.Officials stressed the move does not create new seats, expand quotas or alter merit lists. “This is only about widening eligibility to fill seats that already exist,” an official said. “The aim is to prevent wastage of PG seats, not to change rankings or increase numbers.”The provision is activated every year before specific counselling rounds.
