NMC Adds 6,850 New MBBS Seats for 2025-26 Academic Year

• NMC approves 6,850 new MBBS seats for 2025-26, totaling 123,700.
• New seats across 10 private, 13 government colleges; 2,000 on hold.
• Aims to meet WHO’s 1:1,000 doctor ratio, boosts NEET-UG prospects.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced the approval of 6,850 new MBBS seats for the 2025-26 academic year, increasing medical undergraduate intake in India by 123,700 from 117,750, according to Business Standard.

The expansion supports the Government’s plan to increase the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats by 75,000 over the next five years, to meet the standard of one doctor per 1,000 people as recommended by the World Health Organization, compared to India’s current ratio of one doctor per 1,263.

Based on the forthcoming seat matrix from the NMC, there are 10 new private medical colleges with 1,200 seats; 28 existing private medical colleges with added seats of 1,515; 32 existing government medical colleges with added seats of 1,080; and 13 new government medical colleges with approved seats of 1,050.

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Around 2,000 seats are also kept on hold as a result of court cases, supernumerary seat creation, or other non-conforming seating arrangements. This scheme is part of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement in the February 2025 Budget on 10,000 new medical seats for students.

The effort seeks to improve admission prospects for the country’s over 1.23 million students who have qualified for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2025 admission process, which is still continuing. The expansion of medical seats bolsters India’s medical educational capacity to meet the burgeoning demand for potential health care professionals in a nation of 1.4 billion citizens.