In the last four years, MBBS seats have increased by 39% in India-from 83,275 in 2020-21 to 1,15,900 in 2024-25. But the matter of concern is that every year thousands of seats are still remaining vacant. According to data presented in Parliament by Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel, 2,849 graduate medical seats remained vacant in just 2024-25. The biggest growth in vacancies was recorded in 2022-23, when 4,146 seats (except AIIMS and Zipmar) remained vacant. Since then, this number has decreased, but has not disappeared.
Which states are ahead in MBBS seats?
Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat are among the top states of MBBS seats. These states were ahead in both 2020-21 and 2024-25. For example, the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh increased from 7,428 to 12,325 and Tamil Nadu increased from 8,000 to 12,000.
What is the reason for this growth?
The government is working hard to improve medical education throughout India. New medical colleges have been opened in the disadvantaged areas, many of which have been opened under the centrally sponsored scheme. Of the approved 157 new colleges, 131 are already running.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) also introduced minimum standard requirement regulations in 2023. These rules ensure that new colleges will have to meet the minimum infrastructure, faculty and clinical norms before getting the green signal. Apart from new institutions, old states and central medical colleges are also being advanced to increase MBBS and postgraduate admission. Its purpose is to meet the increasing need of qualified doctors in India and also ensure that no seat is wasted.
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