MBBS seats surge to 1.29 lakh, 19 states get new medical colleges in 2025-26

New Delhi: India has witnessed the largest single-year expansion of MBBS seats with the total reaching to 1,29,026 for the 2025-26 academic session. As per the final seat matrix released by the National Medical Commission (NMC), a total of 11,276 new MBBS seats have been added this year.

The expansion includes seats in both new medical colleges and existing institutions. Out of the new seats, 3,300 have been approved in newly established medical colleges. A total of 19 states and Union Territories have received approval for these colleges in 2025.

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Rajasthan leads with six new medical colleges adding 500 MBBS seats in cities like Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Kota. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with four colleges each and 400 and 300 seats respectively. States like Bihar, Kerala and West Bengal have three new colleges each while other states including Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh have one or two new institutions.

Among states, Karnataka now has the highest number of MBBS seats at 13,944, followed closely by Tamil Nadu (13,050), Uttar Pradesh (13,425) and Maharashtra (12,824).

The increase in seats is largely due to expansions in existing colleges along with the creation of new ones. The NMC updated the seat matrix after the Union Cabinet approved 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats under the third phase of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

However, some colleges have faced seat withdrawals or conditional approvals due to ongoing legal issues. For instance, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi lost 150 seats due to a pending court case. Other colleges in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh have seat increases on hold pending court or CBI cases. Additionally, Government Medical College, Jammu has added one supernumerary seat following a high court order.