By Admin 
Lakhs of students in the country dream of making a career in the medical field. It has been believed for a long time that to become a doctor, it is necessary to take Biology in 11th and 12th. If a student chose Maths (PCM) after 10th, then the path to the medical line was considered almost closed for him. For this reason, many students either chose Biology under pressure or later regretted that they took the wrong stream, but now this situation has changed.
National Medical Commission (NMC) has made a major change in the eligibility rules for NEET UG 2026. According to the new rules, now students studying Maths in 12th can also move ahead on the path of becoming doctors. This decision has brought relief to lakhs of students who had chosen PCM stream but now want to come into the medical field.
What is the new rule?
Earlier, for the medical entrance examination, it was necessary that the student had studied Biology as a main subject in class 11th and 12th. Students without Biology were not considered eligible to take the NEET exam. Now NMC has eased this condition. According to the new rule, if a student has studied Physics, Chemistry and Maths (PCM) in 12th, then he can pass Biology or Biotechnology as an additional subject from a recognized board, and after that he will be eligible to appear for the medical entrance examination, that is, now there is no need to repeat the entire 11th-12th with Biology. Just passing Biology as an additional subject will be enough.
How to become eligible for NEET?
For admission to medical course, it is necessary to pass NEET-UG. According to the new rule, if a student has passed Biology as an additional subject after 12th, then he can appear for the NEET exam. After successful in the examination, he can take admission in MBBS, BDS and other medical courses in medical colleges in India or abroad. With this, students preparing for engineering can also move towards medicine.
Changing stream made easy
This decision is especially beneficial for those students who had chosen PCM stream after 10th in haste, lack of information or due to family pressure. Earlier, if such students wanted to come into the medical field, they had to repeat the entire 11th and 12th with Biology. This would take him an extra year or two. Now by passing the examination of just one additional subject they can become eligible for medical. This will save both time and effort. Also, students can now keep both engineering and medical options open. Some necessary conditions for medical admission will still remain applicable. Like the minimum age of the student should be 17 years by 31st December of the year of admission.
How many marks are required?
The conditions related to 12th marks for appearing in NEET exam are also fixed. General category students should have at least 50 percent marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB). This limit is 40 percent for OBC, SC and ST category students. Minimum 45 percent marks are required for Disabled (PwD) category. If Biology has been taken as an additional subject, its marks will also be added to the eligibility.
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