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This increase is part of a broader strategy to increase access to medical education in India.
With the addition of 41 new medical colleges, the total number of medical institutions in the country has also increased to 816. According to NMC chief Dr Abhijat Sheth, out of 170 applications received for expansion of undergraduate (UG) seats, including 41 from government colleges and 129 from private institutions, a total of 10,650 MBBS seats have been approved.
This will increase the total number of MBBS seats to 1,37,600 for the 2024-25 academic year, including seats in Institutes of National Importance (INIs).
For postgraduate (PG) courses, NMC has received over 3,500 applications for new and renewed seats.
Dr Sheth said the commission expects an increase of about 5,000 PG seats, taking the total to 67,000 PG seats across the country. This year there will be a total increase of about 15,000 in both UG and PG seats.
Although there has been some delay in the final approval process and counselling, officials have assured that these processes will be completed within the stipulated timeline.
A blueprint detailing the schedule of accreditation, examinations and seat matrix approval for the upcoming academic year will be published soon. Additionally, the portal for 2025-26 applications is scheduled to open in early November.
In particular, Dr. Sheth highlighted that this year marked the first time in recent history that all appeals against Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) decisions were resolved without any court intervention.
In an effort to enhance the quality of medical education, Dr Sheth also announced that the NMC is exploring the integration of clinical research into the mainstream medical curriculum.
Plans for collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are underway to strengthen research infrastructure and promote clinical research in medical education.
NMC’s efforts are seen as a step towards improving medical education capacity in the country, in line with the government’s vision of expanding healthcare infrastructure and addressing the growing demand for medical professionals.