Karnataka NEET-PG counselling (KEA): who can apply, rounds, fees, bond

Karnataka fills its own state-quota PG medical seats (MD, MS and Diploma) through a separate counselling run by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA). It is called PGET counselling. It is different from MCC counselling, which fills the All India Quota seats. You can register for both. See MCC seat vs state seat for how the two fit together.

Which rank is used

KEA uses your NEET-PG All India Rank (AIR). There is no separate Karnataka rank; every KEA allotment list prints the All India Rank next to each seat. So a closing rank from a Karnataka list can be compared straight with your own AIR.

Who can take government seats

Under the Karnataka PG entrance and admission rules, you must be an Indian citizen and one of these:

• you passed MBBS from a college in Karnataka, or
• you passed MBBS anywhere in India and studied in Karnataka for 10 years (1st to 12th standard), or
• you fit one of the other clauses in KEA’s eligibility rules (for example, some children of central or state government employees).

Some seats in private colleges are open to any Indian MBBS graduate (KEA marks these “OPN”). Their other general private-quota seats (“GMP”) are only for candidates who studied 10 years (1st to 12th standard) in Karnataka; a Karnataka MBBS alone does not open them. Private colleges also have minority seats and NRI seats with their own rules.

Reserved seats

Karnataka has its own categories (Category 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, SC and ST, with rural and other sub-quotas), a Kalyana Karnataka reservation for candidates from that region (Article 371(j)), and a separate quota for in-service doctors with its own lists. The exact category you belong to is decided by the certificates KEA asks for, not by your NEET-PG category.

Rounds

In 2025 KEA ran Round 1, Round 2, Round 3 (the mop-up round), a stray round and an extended stray round. In 2024 there was also a second stray round, and in 2023 a special stray round. Each round has its own allotment list and its own joining dates, so read the round notice each time.

Fees (2025-26)

The fee is set per year, for each college and course. At government colleges in 2025-26 it was about ₹40,900 for pre-clinical subjects, ₹68,400 for para-clinical subjects and ₹1,23,400 for clinical subjects. Private college fees vary by college and seat type: in 2025-26 a government-quota seat in a clinical subject at a private college was about ₹7.8 lakh a year, while a management seat in a clinical subject was mostly ₹35 lakh to ₹1.1 crore, and up to about ₹1.6 crore, a year. KEA publishes the full fee list with each round.

Service bond and stipend

Every candidate signs a service bond (after PG you must work for the government, or pay a penalty) when joining. KEA’s own documents ask for a rural service bond and a 3-year service undertaking, both on stamp paper. The penalty is set in KEA’s bond circular, and we have not confirmed the amount from it, so it is not quoted here. Read the circular and your allotment letter before you join.

Seats at ESIC medical colleges in Karnataka are ESIC’s own seats, so their bond terms are ESIC’s, not the state’s. Ask the college for the current terms before you choose one.

The PG stipend (monthly pay during PG) at Karnataka government colleges is about ₹56,250, ₹62,500 and ₹68,750 a month in the first, second and third year (Medical Education Department order of 23 August 2024). See every state side by side in NEET-PG stipend and bond, state by state.

What to do next

• Register on KEA for the state round and on MCC for the All India Quota if you want both.
• Keep your Karnataka study certificates and category certificates ready; see the documents checklist.
• Watch the counselling calendar and get free notice alerts.
• Use the free NEET-PG college predictor to see which seats your rank reached in past years.

Karnataka closing ranks, college by college, are on the Karnataka closing-rank page and in the college predictor. FindMyBranch is not part of KEA or any government body.