DNB vs MD/MS 2026 Round 1: DNB Radiology closed at a median 2,924, MD at 792

In NEET PG 2026 Round 1, the typical DNB (Diplomate of National Board) Radio Diagnosis seat in the General category closed at rank 2,924. The typical All India Quota (AIQ) MD Radio Diagnosis seat closed at 792. The same pattern holds in every large branch: DNB seats close later than MD/MS seats, but the gap is far smaller than the gap between AIQ and deemed seats.

A later closing rank means a seat was easier to get. So for the same branch, DNB seats stayed open for candidates further down the merit list.

How we compared

We used the Round 1 closing ranks in our seat data, which come from MCC's Round 1 allotment result.

• DNB side: seats in the DNB Post MBBS quota, General (GEN) category. 2,830 DNB General listings at 1,056 hospitals had a Round 1 closing rank.
• MD/MS side: AIQ seats in the General category for the matching MD or MS branch. DNB Community Medicine is matched with MD Community Medicine (SPM).
• Per branch: we took the median closing rank on each side, so half the listings closed earlier and half later. We kept only branches with at least 10 listings on both sides, which leaves 17 branches.

The gap, branch by branch

Branch	AIQ MD/MS listings	AIQ median closing rank	DNB listings	DNB median closing rank	DNB vs AIQ
Radio Diagnosis	116	792	209	2,924	3.7x
Dermatology	85	1,378	19	2,911	2.1x
General Medicine	186	1,495	428	6,809	4.6x
Paediatrics	178	4,813	254	11,991	2.5x
OBG	186	6,456	200	13,951	2.2x
General Surgery	193	6,951	267	19,019	2.7x
TB and Respiratory Medicine	71	7,397	81	12,207	1.7x
Orthopaedics	159	8,145	267	25,454	3.1x
Emergency Medicine	28	8,773	138	20,227	2.3x
Psychiatry	93	9,147	19	14,282	1.6x
Radiation Oncology	48	9,234	69	15,129	1.6x
Ophthalmology	123	11,766	133	19,517	1.7x
ENT	127	12,656	57	20,601	1.6x
Anaesthesiology	202	16,990	370	28,858	1.7x
Pathology	174	30,945	67	43,520	1.4x
Immunohaematology (IHBT)	22	31,015	15	42,911	1.4x
Microbiology	135	56,292	21	62,738	1.1x

The gap is widest in General Medicine, Radiology and Orthopaedics. These are also the branches with the most DNB listings, from 209 to 428 each, so many DNB seats sit well down the list. In the non-clinical branches the medians are close: in Microbiology the typical DNB seat closed only about 6,400 ranks after the typical MD seat.

Dermatology and Psychiatry have only 19 DNB listings each, so their medians rest on few seats.

Where DNB and MD/MS overlap

Unlike deemed seats, DNB seats often closed inside the range of AIQ MD/MS seats.

• Radio Diagnosis: the last AIQ MD seat closed at 3,058. 110 of 209 DNB listings closed at or before that rank, the earliest at 232.
• General Medicine: the last AIQ MD seat closed at 4,703. 93 of 428 DNB listings closed at or before it, the earliest at 338.
• Ophthalmology: 21 of 133 DNB listings closed earlier than the AIQ median of 11,766, more than in any other branch.
• Orthopaedics was the clearest split: no DNB listing closed before the AIQ median of 8,145, and the earliest DNB seat closed at 9,859.

So the top DNB hospitals in a branch can be as hard to get as a mid-ranked AIQ college. The median hides that spread. The live table below lists the DNB Radiology seats that closed earliest.

Fees and stipends

Every DNB listing that has a fee in our data shows the same amount: ₹1,25,000 a year (4,442 of 4,970 DNB listings; the rest have no fee listed). For AIQ MD/MS seats the median listed annual fee was ₹40,000 or less in each of the 17 branches.

Stipends point the other way. The median first-year DNB stipend was lower than the AIQ MD/MS median in 15 of the 17 branches. In Radio Diagnosis it was ₹61,634 a month against ₹81,126. The two exceptions are Dermatology (₹1,00,800 against ₹75,398) and Microbiology (₹94,000 against ₹81,126), both with about 20 DNB listings. Our fees, stipend and bond page has the figures for each AIQ college, and our stipend analysis compares stipends by college type.

What it means for Round 2

• Look at both lists for your branch. The DNB cutoffs and AIQ cutoffs pages show every seat with its Round 1 closing rank.
• Round 2 choice filling is open. MCC has opened Round 2 choice filling. The seat matrix page shows the Round 1 seats and allotments.
• Round 1 is only a guide. Closing ranks usually move later in Round 2, but not by the same amount for every seat.

Here are the DNB branches by median Round 1 closing rank:

All ranks here are NEET PG All India Ranks from 2026 Round 1. A later closing rank means the seat was easier to get.