**Executive Summary**
The National Medical Commission (NMC) announced increases in MBBS and PG seats between Academic Year (AY) 2020-21 and 2025-26, with 48,563 new MBBS seats and 29,080 new PG seats. The government has also approved the addition of 10,023 medical seats under centrally sponsored schemes from FY 2025-26 to 2028-29. These efforts aim to improve the doctor-population ratio and access to medical education. Regulations including MSR, GMER 2023, MSMER-2023 and CBME 2024 were introduced to uphold standards in medical education.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Increase in Medical Seats:**
* MBBS seats increased by 48,563 between AY 2020-21 and 2025-26.
* The year-wise increase is detailed in the Annexure.
* PG seats increased by 29,080 between AY 2020-21 and 2025-26.
* The year-wise increase is detailed in the Annexure.
* The government approved an additional 10,023 medical seats under centrally sponsored schemes from FY 2025-26 to 2028-29.
* **Regulatory Measures:**
* The NMC has notified various regulations to maintain the quality of medical education.
* Regulations include:
* Minimum Standards Requirement (MSR).
* Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER), 2023.
* Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (MSMER-2023).
* Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum Guidelines 2024.
* These regulations are designed to uphold the integrity and quality of medical education and training.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Indian Students**
* **Impact:** Increased accessibility to medical education due to a larger number of seats and improved infrastructure.
* **Action Required:** No direct action required.
**Stakeholder: National Medical Commission (NMC)**
* **Impact:** Responsible for implementing and enforcing the new regulations and standards.
* **Action Required:** Ensure adherence to MSR, GMER 2023, MSMER-2023 and CBME 2024.
**Stakeholder: Government Medical Colleges**
* **Impact:** Possible expansion of infrastructure and/or faculty.
* **Action Required:** Ensure adherence to MSR, GMER 2023, MSMER-2023 and CBME 2024.
Key Entities Referenced
National Medical Commission: Apex regulatory body in India responsible for maintaining the quality of medical education.
Centrally Sponsored Schemes: Government schemes under which medical seats are being added in government colleges.
Minimum Standards Requirement (MSR): Regulations notified by the National Medical Commission related to medical education standards.
Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER) 2023: Regulations notified by the National Medical Commission related to graduate medical education.
Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations 2023 (MSMER-2023): Regulations notified by the National Medical Commission related to maintaining standards in medical education.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on Medical Education
MBBS Seats Increased by 48,563 and PG Seats by 29,080
from AY 2020–21 to 2025–26: National Medical Commission
Government Approves Addition of 10,023 Medical Seats
Under Centrally Sponsored Schemes from FY 2025–26 to
2028–29
Key Regulations Including MSR, GMER 2023, MSMER-2023
and CBME 2024 to Uphold Standards in Medical Education
Posted On: 13 FEB 2026 1:37PM by PIB Delhi
As informed by National Medical Commission (NMC), there is an increase of 48,563 MBBS seats and
29,080 PG seats in the country from Academic Year 2020-21 to 2025-26. The details of the increase in
MBBS and PG seats are at Annexure. Furthermore, the Government has approved the addition of 10,023
medical seats under Centrally Sponsored Schemes across government colleges from financial year 2025-
26 to 2028-29.
The expansion of medical seats reduces the gap in the healthcare workforce, particularly in underserved
region and has a direct bearing on the doctor-population ratio across States. The growing number of medical
seats, coupled with improvements in infrastructure and faculty, has made domestic institutions more
accessible to Indian students.
NMC, as an apex regulatory body entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the quality of medical
education has notified various Regulations namely Minimum Standards Requirement (MSR), Graduate
Medical Education Regulations (GMER), 2023, Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education
Regulations, 2023 (MSMER-2023) and Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum
Guidelines 2024 to ensure the adherence to prescribed standards in medical education. These regulations
are designed to uphold the integrity and quality of medical education and training across the country.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel stated this in a written
reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Annexure
Number of MBBS seats from academic year 2020-21 to 2025-26
Sr. No. Academic Year Increase in MBBS seats1 2020-21 2963
2 2021-22 8790
3 2022-23 7398
4 2023-24 9652
5 2024-25 8641
6 2025-26 11119
Number of PG seats from academic year 2020-21 to 2025-26
Sr. No. Academic Year Increase in PG seats
1 2020-21 4983
2 2021-22 4705
3 2022-23 2874
4 2023-24 4713
5 2024-25 4186
6 2025-26 7619
****
SR
HFW/ Update on Medical Education/13 February 2026/2
(Release ID: 2227421) Visitor Counter : 193
Read this release in: Urdu , ही , Marathi , Bengali , Tamil , Telugu