MD Respiratory Medicine Cutoff & Colleges: NEET-PG 2026

The MD Respiratory Medicine cutoff in NEET-PG 2026 is the first thing every aspiring pulmonologist is checking now that NBEMS declared the result on 24 September 2026. MD Respiratory Medicine — the same three-year clinical degree colleges also list as MD Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases, MD Pulmonary Medicine or simply 'TB & Chest' — sits in a sweet spot: it is a genuine bedside, ICU-facing clinical branch with fast-rising demand, yet its closing ranks are usually more reachable than the marquee branches like Radiodiagnosis, Dermatology or General Medicine. This guide breaks down where the seats are, what an MD pulmonary medicine college costs, how competitive the pulmonology closing rank tends to be, and the career that follows — and shows you the one tool that turns all of this into your personalised list.

What is the MD Respiratory Medicine cutoff in NEET-PG 2026?

There are two different 'cutoffs' people mean, so separate them. First, the NEET-PG 2026 qualifying cutoff — the minimum /720 score simply to be counselling-eligible. Second, the admission (closing-rank) cutoff — the last rank at which an MD Respiratory Medicine seat was actually filled in a given college, quota and round. Qualifying only opens the door; the closing rank decides whether you walk through it. For a clinical branch like Respiratory Medicine, the closing rank moves every round as candidates upgrade, so it is never a single fixed number — it is a band that differs by category, by quota (All India vs state), and by college type (government, private, deemed, DNB).

*These bands are indicative only — they reflect how MD Respiratory / TB & Chest has broadly behaved across past MCC AIQ rounds, not a promise for 2026. For reference, the NEET-PG 2026 qualifying cutoffs were 262/720 for General and EWS, 244 for General-PwBD, and 226 for SC, ST and OBC (including their PwBD sub-categories). Your real closing-rank position depends on your exact rank, the seats on offer, and the round — which is precisely what a predictor computes for you, seat by seat, instead of a vague band.

Is MD Pulmonary Medicine hard to get? How competitive is it?

MD Pulmonary Medicine is best described as a mid-competitiveness clinical branch. It is genuinely clinical — you manage asthma, COPD, tuberculosis, interstitial lung disease, sleep apnoea, lung cancer and, critically, the ventilator and the ICU — so it is far more sought-after than non-clinical or para-clinical branches. But because the top-tier branches (Radiology, Dermatology, General Medicine, Paediatrics) soak up the very best ranks first, respiratory medicine typically stays within reach for solid mid-range rankers, especially in reserved categories and via DNB. Several factors decide exactly where your pulmonology closing rank lands.

• Seat pool: a broad base of MD Respiratory/TB & Chest seats exists across many government colleges plus private, deemed and DNB hospitals — a wider base than many boutique branches; see the live seat count for your rank in the predictor.
• Category & quota: your effective closing rank differs sharply between All India Quota and your home-state quota, and across General/OBC/SC/ST/EWS/PwBD.
• College type: a government seat closes far tighter than a deemed-university seat, which trades a higher rank for a higher fee.
• Round & upgrades: seats reshuffle every round as candidates move up — an out-of-reach seat in Round 1 can open in a later round or stray vacancy.
• Post-COVID demand: rising respiratory disease burden has lifted interest in the branch, gently firming up ranks year on year.

Which colleges offer MD Respiratory Medicine (TB & Chest)?

MD Respiratory Medicine is offered across government, private and deemed medical colleges, alongside DNB Respiratory Medicine at accredited teaching hospitals. A few institutions are especially associated with chest medicine and are worth knowing by name when you build your preference order.

• Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI), University of Delhi — a dedicated postgraduate chest-diseases institute.
• Madras Medical College, Chennai and other long-established government colleges with strong TB & Respiratory Diseases departments.
• Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak (Haryana) and other large government teaching hospitals with respiratory units.
• UPUMS Saifai, GMC Haldwani, GSVM Medical College Kanpur and similar state government colleges offering MD Pulmonary Medicine seats.
• DNB Respiratory Medicine at large private and trust teaching hospitals — an MD-equivalent route that also runs through MCC counselling.

How much are MD Respiratory Medicine fees and is there a stipend?

Fees for an MD pulmonary medicine college swing enormously by seat type. Government seats are the cheapest by a wide margin; deemed universities are the most expensive and can be many times higher for the same degree. Because the exact figure changes per college, per quota and even per management/NRI category, you should always verify a specific number rather than budget off a generic average. Beyond tuition, factor in the extras.

• Tuition: government indicative bands sit very low; state private is several lakh a year; deemed can reach tens of lakh a year.
• Stipend: government and most DNB seats pay a monthly PG stipend that rises across years 1–3 — it partly offsets cost and matters a lot at private/deemed seats.
• Bond: many state government seats carry a compulsory service bond (a set number of years or a monetary penalty) — read it before you lock a choice.
• Hostel, caution deposit and university/exam charges are usually billed on top of tuition.
• NRI / management categories at private and deemed colleges carry their own, higher fee schedules.

AIQ or state quota: where will you find respiratory seats?

NEET-PG counselling is split down the middle. Fifty percent of government seats go into the All India Quota, run centrally by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) at mcc.nic.in, and are open pan-India regardless of your domicile. The other fifty percent stay in the state quota, run by each state's own authority, where domicile and state reservation rules apply — and where your home-state advantage can dramatically lower the rank you need for an MD Respiratory Medicine seat. Deemed universities and DNB seats are handled through MCC; private and state government seats through the state. All of it is multi-round.

• AIQ (MCC): pan-India, no domicile — best for chasing a specific institute or a fresh government seat outside your state.
• State quota: domicile-linked, often a gentler closing rank for locals — frequently your strongest shot at a government pulmonary seat.
• Play both: a smart candidate maps AIQ and their home state together, then adds nearby states where they may still qualify.
• Multi-round reality: don't judge by Round 1 alone — track how respiratory seats open across mop-up and stray-vacancy rounds.

What is the scope, career and salary after MD Pulmonary Medicine?

The scope after MD Respiratory Medicine is on a clear upward curve. Air pollution, tobacco, an ageing population, a stubborn tuberculosis burden and the long tail of post-COVID lung disease have all pushed respiratory illness — asthma, COPD, ILD, sleep-disordered breathing, lung cancer — up the national health agenda. Pulmonologists are needed in medical-college faculty, corporate and government hospitals, ICUs and critical care, sleep labs, and private consultancy. Public salary references put fresh MD consultants roughly in the mid-single-digit to low-double-digit lakhs per annum, with experienced consultants in metros earning considerably more; treat all such figures as broad, city- and setting-dependent indicators, not guarantees.

• Clinical consultant / pulmonologist in hospitals, chest clinics and ICUs.
• Critical care and mechanical ventilation — respiratory training is a natural gateway to intensive care roles.
• Academia: assistant professor and upward in medical colleges (DNB from 500+ bed hospitals is recognised as MD-equivalent for many teaching posts).
• Super-specialisation via NEET-SS: DM Pulmonary Medicine / Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine (a separate exam after your MD/DNB).
• Sleep medicine, interventional pulmonology (bronchoscopy, EBUS) and pulmonary rehabilitation as growing sub-fields.

How to build your MD respiratory choice list before Round 1

The candidates who convert a mid-range rank into a good respiratory seat are the ones who walk into counselling with a ready, ranked choice list — not the ones deciding live on the portal. Build it as a safe–target–reach ladder: 'safe' seats where your rank comfortably clears past closing trends, 'target' seats that are a realistic match, and a few 'reach' seats worth a shot if upgrades fall your way. Cover both AIQ and your state, mix government value with DNB and private backups, and check the bond and fee on every single choice before you lock it. The fastest way to draft that ladder accurately is to let the predictor rank your options for you.

MD Respiratory Medicine NEET-PG 2026: FAQs

Bottom line: MD Respiratory Medicine is one of the smartest picks for a mid-range NEET-PG 2026 ranker — a real clinical branch with a rising career curve and closing ranks that stay reachable, especially through state quota and DNB. But the difference between a good seat and a missed one is walking into counselling with an accurate, personalised choice list. Put your rank into the predictor, see exactly which pulmonary seats you can win, and build that list today.