Hyderabad: With diagnostic centres mushrooming across India, has the profession of a radiologist become a commercial venture?
Doctors and patients alike across India are asking this question as the new academic rules for 2025-26 by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) reduced the qualifying cut-off percentile to zero—and even as low as minus 40 marks—for specific rounds of counselling.
This means that aspirants who scored less than or even negative marks in the exam can be eligible for admission into specialised PG education.
Why is a radiologist’s title sought after?
A senior radiologist, on condition of anonymity, said, “How can negative or zero marks have merit? Why allow a candidate with negative marks to fill the seats?”
The demand for radiologists in India is high due to the increasing number of diagnostic centres across every nook and corner of urban India.
For these centres to function smoothly, a qualified radiologist is important. The radiologist’s signature is important on the scans and reports of diagnostic centres. This signature is the final word in the patient’s treatment and currently, there is a shortage of radiologists.
To meet this gap, the new rules are being seen as an attempt to fill the demand.
Another radiologist in Hyderabad explained, “The present rules of the board show that they are supporting the business of diagnostic centres. There is a shortage of radiologists, but by bending rules, there is more harm than good.”
Radiology is a ‘royal’ branch
Due to these changes, radiology is now considered a ‘royal’ branch. This is because, in the commercial calculations, the return on investment is very high.
With the culture of evidence-based medicine, diagnosis is a must for every patient who walks into any clinic or hospital. To certify the disease, radiologists are an important and integral part of the medical system in the present times.
Due to these changes, the price of the radiology seat in a medical college has also seen a major change, explained senior Indian Medical Association (IMA) doctors in Telangana.
Rs 1.5 to Rs 3 crore per seat
Radiology seat is the highest paid seat in the post-graduate section, explained a senior IMA doctor from Telangana IMA.
A senior doctor who is supervising the post-graduate admissions across India explained, “In private medical colleges in Rajasthan and Karnataka, Telangana, an MD Radiology seat is allegedly costing Rs 1.5 to Rs 3 crore. Seats which are reserved for Non-Resident Indians are converted into management quota in the later rounds and are being bought at more than Rs 3 crore, whatever may be the NEET score.”
Counselling of students
The most striking finding in recent counselling data is the irony involving the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
Reports indicate that over 140 candidates who initially applied under the EWS category (intended for families earning less than Rs 8 lakh/year) ultimately secured seats in NRI and management quotas where fees exceed Rs 1 crore.
“The recent counselling has been an eye-opener of sorts. There is always a lot of talk about how reservations are taking away the merit seats. But no one is talking about those who purchase seats. Why? There is a false assumption created in society that reservations are taking away seats from those who are meritorious. But what about those who purchase seats and become doctors? Who is going to talk about them?” explained a senior IMA doctor.
The results of the rounds of counselling have shown a deeper reality, and there is very little public debate on the same.
‘Are these tests really necessary?’
Who is going to pay for the investments in doctors? This is a question that is often asked, and there is only one answer: the patient.
Are all tests necessary, and do they really need to be done? These doubts are always there in the minds of the relatives and the patient. A routine check-up may not require a detailed diagnosis, but patients in severe and critical cases can’t avoid extensive tests and diagnosis. But how can one know which tests are necessary?
Common important questions asked concerning prescribed tests include:
– Why are doctors ordering excessive CT and MRI scans?
– Why are corporate hospitals always favouring doctors who are generating high-revenue?
– Why are meritorious students who can’t afford medical fees forced to go abroad to pursue studies and set up their practice there?
With merit and bedside practice being a key component of the medical profession, IMA doctors are calling out these commercial-based systems as they find that the gap in the Indian medical healthcare is widening due to these practices.
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