# NMC grants MBBS students extra mercy attempt, 10-year cap stays 2026-10-16T06:57:09+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The National Medical Commission has granted MBBS students admitted from the 2019-20 academic year onwards one additional mercy attempt to clear the First Professional examination, taking the total to five attempts. The decision, approved at the NMC's 18th meeting on 23 September and notified on 15 October, is a one-time transitional measure for pending cases, following representations citing disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic, health issues and personal difficulties. The mercy attempt is available even to students who have crossed the prescribed four-year period for completing the First Professional course, provided their admission remains valid. However, the overall duration for completing the MBBS course, including the compulsory internship, cannot exceed ten years from the date of admission. Students who have already used a fifth attempt under an earlier NMC decision or court order will not be eligible for a sixth attempt. The NMC clarified the relaxation should not be treated as a precedent for future batches. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both outlets reported the NMC's one-time mercy attempt virtually identically, reproducing the notice's conditions without critical interrogation. Times Now led with the relief angle, ‘extra mercy attempt’ and ‘major relief’, while Deccan Herald structured its piece around eligibility and earlier rules, reading more like a reference guide than a news brief. Neither outlet questioned why a one-time measure had already been extended twice (2019-20 in May 2023, 2020-21 in December 2023) before this latest version covering 2019-20 onwards. The coverage is uniform straight reporting that faithfully mirrors the commission's framing of the decision as transitional and non-precedential. The unexamined gap is whether repeated one-time measures amount to a de facto expansion of attempts, a point neither source explores. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Led with relief framing, no critical context on repeated extensions - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Structured as eligibility explainer, reproduced NMC wording verbatim This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Covid-19, education, MBBS, National Medical Commission Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nmc-grants-mbbs-students-extra-mercy-attempt-10-year-cap-stays/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nmc-grants-mbbs-students-extra-mercy-attempt-10-year-cap-stays/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/