Cabinet approves phase-3 medical expansion: 10,000 MBBS and PG seats to be added

The government is seeking to make it easier for students in India to pursue medicine within the country instead of going abroad. Every year, more than 20 lakh students take the NEET exam, but the number of available seats is far smaller. On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved the addition of 10,023 new medical seats in government colleges, including 5,023 MBBS and 5,000 postgraduate seats. The expansion will cost ₹15,034 crore and will be completed in three years. This decision is part of the government’s broader plan to add 75,000 medical seats in five years, an announcement first made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this year’s budget.

In earlier phases of the scheme, the Centre supported the creation of nearly 5,000 MBBS seats in 83 colleges and over 4,000 postgraduate seats in 72 colleges at a cost of ₹7,470 crore. Another 4,000 seats were added in 65 colleges with an outlay of ₹4,478 crore in the second phase. India now has about 1.2 lakh MBBS seats and 74,306 postgraduate seats available. This is almost double the capacity from 2014, when just over 51,000 MBBS and 31,000 postgraduate seats were available. With more than 20 lakh students appearing for the NEET examination every year, the push to expand medical education has been seen as crucial.

The government has launched several initiatives to expand medical education in the country, including setting up new medical colleges alongside existing district hospitals, increasing seats in current colleges, and establishing new AIIMS institutions. Officials have also pointed out that the move is aimed at ensuring more Indian students pursue medicine within the country, particularly after many faced difficulties abroad. Courses in China were disrupted by the pandemic, students in the Philippines ran into recognition issues with India’s regulatory system, and the war in Ukraine forced thousands to abandon their medical education midway.

The rapid increase in medical seats has, however, brought fresh challenges. One of the biggest hurdles has been a shortage of faculty in several colleges. The National Medical Commission, the regulator for medical education, has tried to address this by monitoring attendance through Aadhaar-based biometric systems and live video feeds to curb the practice of “ghost faculty.”

To further ease the crunch, the government has allowed doctors holding Diplomate of National Board (DNB) qualifications to take up faculty positions and has also raised the maximum age limit for teaching posts. Affordability has been another concern. While many of the new seats have come up in private medical colleges, the cost of studying in these institutions remains prohibitively high. The NMC attempted to regulate fees in 2022, but the move has not yet been effectively implemented, leaving students to shoulder heavy financial burdens.