₹1 crore barrier: How India's middle-class students are losing the MBBS battle

Produced by: Manoj Kumar

Millionaire Doctors

Private medical colleges in India now charge an eye-watering ₹1 crore or more for MBBS, turning medicine into a luxury only the wealthy can afford, leaving ordinary families crushed by debt.

NEET Nightmare

With 22.7 lakh aspirants fighting for just 55,000 affordable government medical seats, India’s toughest entrance exam has become a ruthless lottery, offering less than a 3% chance of success.

Medical Exodus

Skyrocketing private college fees force thousands of bright Indian students to seek affordable medical education abroad, triggering a talent drain that could cost India its future healthcare leaders.

AIIMS Mirage

Premier institutes like AIIMS offer MBBS at astonishingly low fees (₹2,000/year), but with cutoffs above the 98th percentile, these elite colleges remain heartbreakingly out of reach for most students.

Coaching Cartel

Families spend ₹1–₹5 lakh on NEET coaching alone, feeding an industry built on desperation and dreams, while many still fail to secure a medical seat despite massive financial sacrifices.

Hidden Quotas

Opaque management and NRI quotas at private medical colleges allow wealthier candidates to bypass merit-based admissions, undermining fairness and fueling resentment among deserving aspirants.

Post-MBBS Trap

Even after securing a coveted MBBS seat, students face yet another brutal competition for limited postgraduate MD seats, plunging them into a relentless cycle of exams, anxiety, and financial strain.

Affordable Illusion

Government medical colleges promise low-cost education (under ₹5 lakh total), but their impossibly high entrance scores mean affordable medicine remains an empty promise for most Indian students.

Regulatory Chaos

Rapid, unchecked expansion of medical colleges has compromised educational quality, leading to inadequate infrastructure and raising serious concerns about the future readiness of India's doctors.