India Approves 43 New Medical Colleges for 2025–26, Adds 11,682 MBBS Seats: Government

In a significant step toward expanding medical education in India, the central government has approved 43 new medical colleges for the academic year 2025–26. Alongside the new institutions, the country has also added 11,682 MBBS seats and 8,967 postgraduate (PG) medical seats, according to information shared in the Rajya Sabha.
The details were provided by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel in a written reply to a question in Parliament.
The expansion is expected to create more opportunities for students pursuing medical careers while also strengthening the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha on March 10, Anupriya Patel stated that 43 new medical colleges have been approved across India for the 2025–26 academic session.
Data from the National Medical Commission (NMC) indicates that along with these new institutions, thousands of additional seats have been created in medical programmes across the country.
The approved seat expansion includes:

• 11,682 additional MBBS seats
• 8,967 new postgraduate (PG) medical seats

These numbers include seats across government medical colleges, private institutions, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and other institutes of national importance.

According to the government, the National Medical Commission conducts an annual process to examine applications from institutions seeking permission to establish new medical colleges or increase undergraduate and postgraduate seats.
Medical institutions submit applications online to the NMC, which then evaluates them based on infrastructure, faculty availability, hospital facilities and academic standards.
Following detailed inspections and assessments, the NMC issues:

• Letter of Permission (LoP) for approved institutions
• Letter of Disapproval (LoD) for institutions that do not meet the required standards

The establishment and approval of new medical colleges are governed by several regulatory frameworks introduced by the NMC.
These include:

• Medical Institutions (Establishment, Assessment and Rating) Regulations, 2023
• Undergraduate Minimum Standard Requirements (UGMSR), 2023
• Postgraduate Minimum Standard Requirements (PGMSR), 2023

These regulations ensure that newly approved institutions meet the required standards related to infrastructure, faculty strength, hospital capacity and academic quality before receiving permission to operate.

The government has been working to expand India’s medical education capacity to address the shortage of healthcare professionals.
According to the Health Ministry, increasing the number of medical colleges and seats will help produce more trained doctors, which is essential for improving healthcare services across the country.
The expansion is also expected to benefit students who face intense competition due to the limited availability of MBBS seats in India.

The central government is also implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) aimed at establishing new medical colleges linked with existing district or referral hospitals.
The scheme focuses particularly on:

• Underdeveloped regions
• Aspirational districts
• Areas where no government or private medical college currently exists

Under the initiative, funding is shared between the central and state governments.
The funding pattern includes:

• 90:10 ratio for North Eastern and special category states
• 60:40 ratio for other states

Under this centrally sponsored scheme, the government has already approved 157 new medical colleges in three phases.
The total approved cost of these projects stands at ₹41,332.41 crore.
According to Anupriya Patel, out of the central government’s share of ₹26,715.84 crore, about ₹23,246.10 crore has already been released.

The expansion of medical colleges is expected to improve access to medical education while strengthening healthcare services across the country.
By increasing both MBBS and postgraduate seats, the government aims to create a larger pool of trained doctors, particularly in regions that currently face shortages of medical professionals.
For aspiring medical students in India, the addition of new colleges and thousands of seats could significantly improve opportunities in the coming years.