This is a single, isolated case and is not a generalisation yet it speaks volumes about how decisions made by the governments and the beauracracy combined are high-handed and far away from the real hardships faced by the students.

There is a certain degree of differentiation in India between Govt Medical Colleges and Private ones (unless it's KMC) and these differences are born from the influx of students with higher merit into govt colleges and of lower ranking ones in private colleges. The difference is also based on the fact that govt hospitals witness a greater patient inflow than private ones.

In NEET 2017, In the state of Uttarakhand the last seat alloted to a General category student was at a score of 525 in Govt Doon Medical College.

Those who couldn't score the requisite for a govt medical seat were alloted private medical colleges, given they were able to pay the humongouse amount of fees for a private MBBS degree.

Now

A is a student who took the NEET exam and scored 550/720 marks and secured admission in MBBS at Govt Doon Medical College, a state govt run medical college .

B is a student who took the NEET exam and scored 400/720 marks and secured admission in MBBS at a private college under Subharti University, Dehradun. The college was established the same year with permission from MCI .

Fast forward 1 year.

B's private medical college is inspected by the MCI and due to various faults and irregularities in the administration and college, this time the MCI decides to shut down the college. And thus the college is shut.

The students from the private medical college file a case in the court and the Supreme Court gives a verdict to the Uttarakhand Govt to take the college under its wing.

A few verdicts later the State govt is directed to admit the students in the state's 3 govt medical colleges.

The private college’s students previous NEET scores ( remember scores even lesser than 400) are made into a merit list and they are alloted the govt medical colleges. Thus these students from the private college take admissions in the govt colleges.

Now B studies with A .

And A wonders the following things

A could have applied to Subharti private medical college the same year when he decided to instead takea drop and go to Kota Factory to prepare for a govt seat. Had he had contacted Dr Strange… he would have known better and taken admission in Subahrti private medical college and later on made his way into the govt medical college. Yay !
A and B had a friend C who scored 500 and since was not able to get admission in Govt college left the dream of pursuing medicine altogether as his parents couldn't afford the exorbitant private medical college fees
A also wonders how all the rules of NEET were mended smoothly and students transferred from a private college to a govt one in a snap of the fingers. ( Thanos was right!)
A wonders What really is Merit ? Is Merit even required ? What essentially makes a Doctor in this country ? Maybe, definitely not Merit.
I am A. And I am grappling with questions about my merit, about the merit of students who didnt make the cutoff for the govt seat but will still be taking a degree from my medical college and am really really wondering if any of it matters.