Karnataka ends MBBS counselling with 191 seats vacant; DME asks NMC to lower NEET percentile

Karnataka's NEET UG 2026 admission process closed on Monday 26 October 2026 with 191 MBBS seats still vacant, Medical Dialogues reported on 27 October, citing the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA). After the second stray vacancy round on 25 October, 273 medical seats were unfilled; KEA then ran two extra allotment rounds on 26 October that placed 84 more candidates, and all BDS seats were filled. The report described it as the first time in five years that the state has been left with unfilled medical seats.

The state's Directorate of Medical Education has written to the National Medical Commission asking it to lower the NEET UG qualifying percentile from 50 by a few points so more candidates become eligible, DME Director Sujatha Rathod said; the letter was sent the previous Thursday and no NMC response has been reported. KEA's seat position published after the stray vacancy round, in a notice dated 23 October, listed 335 remaining seats across 25 entries, with listed fees ranging from Rs 22.25 lakh at Srinivasa Institute of Medical Research Centre, Mangalore, to Rs 45 lakh at Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore. A Times of India report cited by Medical Dialogues named high management-quota fees as among the main reasons seats stayed empty. KEA Executive Director H Prasanna said further rounds will be held only if the Medical Counselling Committee permits.

Check cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea for any further round.