Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has written to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, seeking urgent intervention to authorise more NEET-PG examination centres in Kerala, after aspirants from the state reported being unable to select test cities within Kerala due to an immediate exhaustion of available slots.
Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha, flagged concerns that the current situation has left medical aspirants distressed and potentially forced to travel outside the state to appear for the crucial postgraduate medical entrance test.
In his letter, Tharoor said that the booking portal for NEET-PG 2025 reopened briefly, during which test centre seats in Kerala were “exhausted within minutes.” He criticised the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for restricting the number of centres despite having access to data on applicant numbers from each state.
"It is unfair to restrict the number of centres in the state and put the candidates through distress, inconvenience, and financial burden by forcing them to travel to other states for the exam," Tharoor stated.
He called on Minister Nadda to ensure that additional centres are authorised in Kerala without delay so that local candidates are not disadvantaged.
The NEET-PG exam is a national-level qualifying test for postgraduate medical education in India, and the sudden unavailability of exam centres within Kerala has triggered concern among students, parents, and educators in the state.
The Health Ministry and NBEMS have not yet issued an official response to the appeal.
