New Delhi, Feb 13: India has added 48,563 MBBS seats and 29,080 postgraduate medical seats between the academic years 2020–21 and 2025–26, the government informed Parliament, citing data from the National Medical Commission (NMC). In addition, the Centre has approved the creation of 10,023 more medical seats under Centrally Sponsored Schemes in government colleges from the financial year 2025–26 to 2028–29.
The expansion is aimed at narrowing gaps in the healthcare workforce, particularly in underserved regions, and improving the doctor-population ratio across states. The government said the steady rise in medical seats, along with strengthened infrastructure and faculty, has made domestic medical education more accessible to Indian students.
As the apex regulator of medical education, the NMC has notified several key regulations to maintain and enhance standards. These include the Minimum Standards Requirements (MSR), the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER), 2023, the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations (MSMER-2023), and the Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum Guidelines, 2024. The framework is intended to ensure quality, uniformity and integrity in medical training across the country. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, provided the details in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
