New Delhi, Feb. 24 -- The Supreme Court on Monday said the Union government will have to satisfy it that the drastic reduction in the qualifying percentile for NEET-PG 2025 counselling -- "virtually bringing it to zero", does not compromise the quality of medical education in the country. "You will have to satisfy us that this drastic reduction in the cut-off, virtually bringing it to zero, does not affect the quality of the education. We are concerned about the quality of the medical education," a bench of justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe told the Centre's counsel. The court issued formal notices on a batch of petitions challenging the reduction in cut-off and posted the matter for hearing next week. Senior advocates Pinki Anand, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and DS Naidu appeared for the petitioners, while Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati represented the Centre. In its affidavit filed before the court, the Union government has defended the decision to lower the qualifying percentile, arguing that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) is not meant to certify minimum clinical competence. "NEET-PG is not to certify minimum competence which stands established by the MBBS qualification itself of the candidates but to generate an inter se merit list for allocation of limited postgraduate seats. The NEET-PG scores are a function of relative performance and examination design which cannot be construed as determinative of clinical incompetence," the affidavit stated. The Centre emphasised that all candidates appearing for NEET-PG are already qualified MBBS doctors who have completed 4.5 years of academic training across multiple medical specialties, followed by a compulsory one-year rotating internship. To obtain the MBBS degree, candidates must secure at least 50% marks separately in theory and practical examinations. Addressing apprehensions relating to patient safety, the affidavit contended that postgraduate training is a supervised process. "Candidates are already licensed practitioners. They are entitled to practice independently. During postgraduate training candidates function under constant supervision of senior faculty and specialists," it states....