Medical Seats Increased? Centre Confirms Major Expansion in Parliament

Medical Seats Increased?: Responding to a question in Parliament on whether the government has increased medical seats in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirmed that thousands of new medical seats have been approved for the academic year 2025-26. The information was shared by Anupriya Patel in a written reply in Parliament.

According to the reply, the government has approved 11,682 additional MBBS seats and 8,967 postgraduate (PG) medical seats for the 2025-2026 academic session. These approvals have been granted based on recommendations from the National Medical Commission, which oversees medical education and the establishment of new colleges in the country.

43 New Medical Colleges Approved

Along with increasing the number of seats, the government has also approved the establishment of 43 new medical colleges across the country. The expansion aims to strengthen medical education infrastructure and ensure a steady supply of trained doctors for India’s growing healthcare needs.

The addition of new colleges will naturally increase the number of available seats in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses.

State-wise MBBS Seats Approved in A.Y. 2025-26

Sl. No.	State / UT	Total Seats Approved in A.Y. 2025-26
1	Andhra Pradesh	430
2	Assam	325
3	Bihar	550
4	Chhattisgarh	250
5	Delhi	50
6	Gujarat	375
7	Haryana	525
8	Himachal Pradesh	50
9	Jammu & Kashmir	329
10	Jharkhand	200
11	Karnataka	1550
12	Kerala	700
13	Madhya Pradesh	525
14	Maharashtra	980
15	Meghalaya	50
16	Odisha	300
17	Pondicherry	43
18	Punjab	200
19	Rajasthan	825
20	Tamil Nadu	1050
21	Telangana	475
22	Tripura	50
23	Uttar Pradesh	950
24	Uttarakhand	100
25	West Bengal	800

State-wise PG Seats Approved in A.Y. 2025-26

Sl. No.	State/UT	Grand Total
1	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	13
2	Andhra Pradesh	506
3	Arunachal Pradesh	23
4	Assam	50
5	Bihar	238
6	Chhattisgarh	139
7	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	20
8	Delhi	58
9	Goa	3
10	Gujarat	690
11	Haryana	218
12	Himachal Pradesh	36
13	Jammu & Kashmir	144
14	Jharkhand	16
15	Karnataka	1391
16	Kerala	168
17	Madhya Pradesh	524
18	Maharashtra	686
19	Manipur	12
20	Mizoram	10
21	Odisha	297
22	Pondicherry	78
23	Punjab	135
24	Rajasthan	479
25	Tamil Nadu	951
26	Telangana	591
27	Tripura	16
28	Uttar Pradesh	1089
29	Uttarakhand	162
30	West Bengal	224

Why the Government Is Expanding Medical Seats

The government stated that the expansion is part of its ongoing efforts to improve healthcare access and address the shortage of medical professionals in several regions of the country. Increasing medical seats also helps accommodate the large number of students who appear for NEET UG every year.

With lakhs of aspirants competing for limited seats, the approval of new medical colleges and additional seats is expected to gradually improve opportunities for students seeking admission to MBBS and PG medical programs.

Medical Education Expansion in Recent Years

The Centre also highlighted that the number of medical colleges and seats has grown significantly in the past decade. The expansion has been supported through various government schemes aimed at upgrading district hospitals into medical colleges and strengthening medical education infrastructure.

What This Means for Aspirants

For students preparing for NEET and other medical entrance examinations, the approval of new colleges and thousands of additional seats for 2025-26 could mean more opportunities to secure admission in medical programs in the coming years.

Conclusion:

In response to the Parliament query, the government confirmed that medical seats have indeed been increased, with approvals for 43 new medical colleges and over 20,000 additional MBBS and PG seats, marking another step toward expanding India’s medical education capacity.

However, questions still remain regarding the quality of education.