NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026 (OUT): Latest Changes, Marking Scheme & Subject-wise Weightage

NEET PG exam pattern 2026 was revised and released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on July 1, 2026. The total number of questions has been revised to 180 from 200 in 2026. Correspondingly, the total marks have been reduced from 800 to 720.

• The exam will be conducted online or in the computer-based format in a single shift, and the language of the paper will be English only.
• Questions will be based on the subjects taught during the MBBS curriculum issued by the National Medical Commission: pre-clinical, para-clinical, and clinical subjects. Based on previous years’ trends, more than 60% of the NEET PG paper will have questions from subjects like General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Pathology, Social & Preventive Medicine, Pharmacology, and Microbiology.

NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026 Highlights

Related Links

• NEET PG 2026

• NEET PG Eligibility Criteria 2026

NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026: Key details

• The NEET PG 2026 exam will be conducted by the NBEMS in the online Computer-Based-Test mode.
• The exam will be conducted in a single day (August 30, 2026) and in a single shift over a duration of 3 hours and 30 minutes.
• There has been a reduction in the number of questions, and now 180 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in total will be asked in NEET PG 2026.
• The maximum marks for NEET PG 2026 is 720.
• The question paper will be divided into 5 sections, and each section will have a fixed time limit of 42 minutes.
• 36 questions will be asked from each section.
• Each question will be of the Multiple-Choice-Question type and have 4 answer options, out of which you must select the correct/ best/ most appropriate response or answer.

Changes in NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026

The NEET PG 2026 exam pattern has been revised compared with NEET PG 2025. The most notable change is the reduction in the number of questions from 200 to 180. As a result, the maximum marks have also decreased from 800 to 720. The paper continues to follow the same multiple-choice format, with +4 marks for a correct answer and -1 mark for an incorrect answer.

The key changes in the NEET PG 2026 exam pattern are:

NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026 Section-wise

NBEMS does not dedicate any particular section to a specific MBBS subject, and questions from Pre-Clinical, Para-Clinical, and Clinical subjects will be distributed across the 5 sections.

• 180 MCQs from all 19 MBBS subjects will be divided into 5 groups (Group A to E)
• All questions in the NEET PG 2026 question paper will carry equal marks. 4 marks are allotted to each question.
• The 5 groups (Groups A-E) will be strictly time-bound. There is a sectional time limit of 42 minutes.
• The next group will be locked by the CBT interface, and you will not be able to move to the next section until the 42-minute time slot allotted for that particular section expires.
• After the 42-minute sectional time limit is over, you will not be allowed to return to that section and review its questions. Reviewing the questions and modifying answers are only allowed within a group’s 42-minute window, and not after the allotted time for that section is completed.
• Once the allotted time of the previous section expires, questions of the next section will start automatically.

Find the group-wise detailed NEET PG exam pattern 2026 below.

NEET PG Marking Scheme 2026

The NEET PG 2026 exam will comprise 180 multiple-choice questions to be completed within 3 hours and 30 minutes. Each question will have 4 answer options, among which only one is correct. You must select the most appropriate response from the 4 response options provided for each question.

There is one uniform NEET PG marking scheme across all five groups. No bonus marking, partial scoring, or differential weightage between subjects will exist in the NEET PG 2026 exam. The allocation of marks for each MCQ will be done in the following manner:

• 4 marks will be awarded for every correct response.
• There is a negative marking of 1 mark for every incorrect answer.
• No marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.

Note:

Your NEET PG net score will be based on both correct and incorrect attempts.

• If you have answered all 180 questions correctly and got no answers incorrect, your net score will be 720.
• If you have answered 150 questions correctly, got 20 answers incorrect, and left 10 questions unattempted, your net score will be 580.
• If you have answered 120 questions correctly, got 30 answers incorrect, and left 30 questions unattempted, your net score will be 450.
• If 100 responses are correct, 50 responses are incorrect, and 30 questions are unattempted, your net score will be 350.

NEET PG 2026 Subject-wise Weightage

The NEET PG 2026 syllabus covers the subjects taught in the MBBS curriculum, including Pre-Clinical, Para-Clinical and Clinical subjects. However, NBEMS does not release a fixed subject-wise question distribution for the exam. The number of questions from each subject can vary from one year to another.

Based on the NEET PG previous-year question papers and observed trends, Clinical subjects generally account for the largest share of questions, followed by Para-Clinical and Pre-Clinical subjects. The expected subject-wise weightage below can help candidates identify the topics that require greater focus during preparation.

NEET PG 2026 Subject-wise Weightage

Read: NEET PG Syllabus

NEET PG Question Types 2026

The NEET PG 2026 question paper will consist of 180 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs). Each question will have four options, with candidates required to select the single correct or most appropriate answer. The paper will not include descriptive, numerical, integer-type, or multiple-select questions. The question paper will be available only in English.

NEET PG 2026 Question Format

Types of Questions Asked in NEET PG

Although all questions follow the single-correct-answer MCQ format, the way questions are framed can vary across subjects. Candidates can expect the following question formats:

• Clinical Vignettes: Medicine, Surgery, OBG and other clinical subjects may include patient-based scenarios requiring diagnosis, investigation, or selection of the appropriate treatment.
• Image-based Questions: Questions may use clinical images such as histopathology slides, ECGs, X-rays, fundus images and dermatological lesions.
• Drug-based Clinical Questions: Pharmacology and Medicine may test the mechanism of action, indications, adverse effects or clinical application of a drug or the appropriate drug of choice.
• Except/Not True Questions: Questions may ask candidates to identify the statement that is incorrect or does not apply to a given condition, particularly in subjects such as Anatomy, Pathology and Community Medicine.

Also Read: Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG

NEET PG Exam Pattern 2026 FAQs