INI-CET seat or NEET-PG seat: the rules for holding and leaving each

Last updated 20 Oct 2026 · Reviewed by Dr. Rajiv Marechal
INI-CET rules are from AIIMS New Delhi’s own documents. MCC rules are from MCC’s NEET-PG Counselling 2026 Information Bulletin, as explained in our MCC rules guide. Not legal advice. FindMyBranch is not part of AIIMS or MCC.

INI-CET and NEET-PG are two separate counsellings. AIIMS New Delhi allots the INI-CET seats at the AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER, NIMHANS and SCTIMST. MCC allots All India Quota seats from NEET-PG, and each state allots its own. They run on their own dates, and they can overlap. INI-CET rounds start soon after its result: the January 2027 result is expected on 7 November 2026, so its rounds can start in November. AIIMS gives the dates in its seat allocation notice.

The INI-CET documents say very little about seats from other counsellings, apart from one rule, below. Our MCC guide, from MCC’s 2026 bulletin, says only that the INI-CET institutes are not part of MCC counselling. So what you need is each side’s own rules: what it takes to hold a seat, and what it costs to leave it.

Got your rank? See which seats closed near it.

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1. The one INI-CET rule about other PG seats

AIIMS’s prospectus (January 2027 and July 2026) says that candidates who have already done, or are pursuing, an MD, MS, MDS, DM, MCh or MD (Hospital Administration) in any subject at the time of seat allocation will not be considered for admission. A confirmed INI-CET seat is given only after you sign an undertaking to that effect and deposit all your originals. A false undertaking cancels your candidature.

The prospectus does not say when a seat you have joined through MCC or a state starts to count as “pursuing”. If you have joined, or are about to join, a PG seat before INI-CET seat allocation, ask AIIMS through the query section of your MyPage before you rely on an INI-CET seat.

2. Your originals can only be in one place

Where	What happens to your original certificates
Reporting to an INI-CET seat (Rounds 1 and 2)	You hand over the originals, or self-attested copies with a ₹3 lakh demand draft. The originals must follow within five days, or the admission is cancelled and the ₹3 lakh is forfeited.
INI-CET Open Round	The July 2026 result asks for the originals with one set of copies, and names no draft option.
After an AIIMS seat is confirmed	AIIMS keeps the originals until the course ends, unless you deposit ₹3 lakh, whether or not you join. JIPMER keeps them until you finish or are relieved.
Joining an MCC seat	You join in person with your originals. A letter saying your originals are kept at another college is not accepted.

So before you report anywhere, decide which seat gets your originals. Getting them back from an AIIMS before the course ends needs a ₹3 lakh deposit.

3. What leaving costs, side by side

Stage	INI-CET (AIIMS documents)	MCC (2026 bulletin)
A first-round seat you do not want	No option to refuse it. Not joining the Round 1 seat, or the seat you are moved up to, costs ₹3 lakh.	Free exit: not joining a Round 1 seat keeps your deposit.
A second-round seat you do not join	Held a Round 1 seat with Option 2? The ₹3 lakh draft is forfeited, or your originals come back only after you pay ₹3 lakh. Only the Open Round is left.	You lose your security deposit.
Later rounds	Open Round: you deposit ₹3 lakh to take part, and lose it if you do not join. A new Open Round seat means your old INI-CET seat is treated as resigned, with that institute’s penalty.	A joined Round 3 seat is final: no upgrade, no resigning. Not joining a Round 3 seat costs the deposit and ends your MCC rounds. The stray round is only for people holding no seat.
Leaving after joining	Each institute’s own penalty: ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh at AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER and NIMHANS, by how long you stayed; a ₹50 lakh bond at SCTIMST.	Charges a college takes when you resign are that college’s own rules.

MCC’s security deposit (2026 bulletin) is ₹25,000 for All India Quota UR or EWS, ₹10,000 for SC, ST, OBC or PwD, and ₹2,00,000 for deemed universities. Details: NEET-PG free exit and security deposit and leaving an INI-CET seat.

4. Moving up in INI-CET locks you in

If you move up to a better INI-CET seat in a later round, the Open Round included, you must complete the course at the new institute. Time at the earlier seat does not count towards it.

5. Questions to settle before you act

Does a seat you have joined count as “pursuing” a PG course for AIIMS? Ask AIIMS in writing.
Where are your originals now, and what does it cost to get them back in time?
Which round is each seat from? An INI-CET Round 1 seat and an MCC Round 1 seat carry very different exit costs.
Add it up: the total you would pay to leave each seat, at each date that is coming.
Check the dates on both sides. INI-CET round dates are announced by AIIMS separately for each session; MCC’s are on the counselling calendar.

A state seat in the picture too? MCC and the states share lists of who has joined where. See MCC seat vs state seat.

Compare the two seats on what they closed at. Check your INI-CET rank against every AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER, NIMHANS and SCTIMST seat, and your NEET-PG rank in the NEET-PG predictor.

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Sources

INI-CET rules are from the January 2027 and July 2026 sessions’ documents and the July 2025 Open Round brochure; MCC rules are from its 2026 bulletin. Both can change each year.