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Journalism of Courage
Despite a significant 39 per cent increase in MBBS seats over the past few years, a considerable number of undergraduate medical seats remain vacant across India, data from the National Medical Commission (NMC) reveals. The data was presented in the Lok Sabha on August 1 by Anupriya Patel, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The unstarred question was asked by a member of the Telugu Desam Party, Putta Mahesh Kumar.
| Academic year | Vacant UG seats (Excluding AIIMS & JIPMER) |
| 2021-22 | 2012 |
| 2022-23 | 4146 |
| 2023-24 | 2959 |
| 2024-25 | 2849 |
The number of MBBS seats rose from 83,275 in 2020–21 to 1,15,900 by 2024–25; however, the number of vacant UG seats (excluding AIIMS and JIPMER) peaked at 4,146 in 2022–23, before witnessing a gradual decline to 2,849 in 2024–25.
The government attributes this expansion to the establishment of new medical colleges and improvements in infrastructure and faculty availability. To ensure quality, the Minimum Standard Requirement Regulations, 2023, have been introduced by NMC. These regulations outline essential standards regarding infrastructure, clinical materials, faculty, and necessary facilities required for establishing and maintaining medical colleges.
The government data also showed the number of medical seats in India across the country in 2020-21 and 2024-25. UP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat top the list.
| S.No. | State/UT | MBBS Seats (2020-21) | MBBS Seats (2024-25) |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 100 | 114 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 5210 | 6585 |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 50 | 100 |
| 4 | Assam | 1050 | 1700 |
| 5 | Bihar | 2140 | 2995 |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 150 | 150 |
| 7 | Chhattisgarh | 1345 | 2105 |
| 8 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 150 | 177 |
| 9 | Delhi | 1422 | 1346 |
| 10 | Goa | 180 | 200 |
| 11 | Gujarat | 5700 | 7000 |
| 12 | Haryana | 1660 | 2185 |
| 13 | Himachal Pradesh | 920 | 920 |
| 14 | Jammu & Kashmir | 1135 | 1385 |
| 15 | Jharkhand | 780 | 1055 |
| 16 | Karnataka | 9345 | 12194 |
| 17 | Kerala | 4105 | 4705 |
| 18 | Madhya Pradesh | 3585 | 4900 |
| 19 | Maharashtra | 9000 | 11844 |
| 20 | Manipur | 225 | 525 |
| 21 | Meghalaya | 50 | 150 |
| 22 | Mizoram | 100 | 100 |
| 23 | Nagaland | 0 | 100 |
| 24 | Orissa | 1950 | 2675 |
| 25 | Puducherry | 1530 | 1873 |
| 26 | Punjab | 1425 | 1699 |
| 27 | Rajasthan | 4200 | 6279 |
| 28 | Sikkim | 50 | 150 |
| 29 | Tamil Nadu | 8000 | 12000 |
| 30 | Telangana | 5240 | 8915 |
| 31 | Tripura | 225 | 400 |
| 32 | Uttar Pradesh | 7428 | 12325 |
| 33 | Uttarakhand | 825 | 1350 |
| 34 | West Bengal | 4000 | 5699 |
In the Lok Sabha, the government has also mentioned the steps they have taken to increase the medical seats in colleges and institutes in the country.
As mentioned in the data, under the centrally sponsored scheme for establishing new medical colleges, district and referral hospitals are being upgraded, particularly in underserved and aspirational districts. Out of the 157 approved medical colleges under this scheme, 131 are already functional.
In addition, efforts are underway to enhance the capacity of existing state and central government medical colleges through a separate centrally sponsored scheme. This aims at strengthening infrastructure and increasing the number of MBBS and postgraduate (PG) seats.
Furthermore, under the upgradation of the government medical colleges by the construction of Super Speciality Blocks as part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), 75 projects have been approved, of which 71 have been completed.
Under the central sector scheme for establishing new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), 22 AIIMS have been approved, and undergraduate courses have already commenced in 19 of them.
