NMC Sets State-Level Cap of 100 MBBS Seats Per Million Population to Reduce 'Regional Disparities'

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has set a cap of 100 undergraduate (UG) seats per million population in each state. According to the commission, the decision to cap the number of seats at 100 per 10 lakh population aims to lessen “regional disparities” in healthcare professional availability.

“With an objective of providing the right teaching environment to the medical student and improving the overall quality of education, the provision of limiting UG seats in each state to 100 per million population has been included in the recently notified MSR guidelines 2023,” the commission said in an official notice. The NMC further stated that this provision will significantly contribute to effective quality assurance.

Upon making this announcement, the commission restated the observations made by multiple courts regarding the overcrowding of medical colleges. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, in the recent W.P. No. 17263 of 2020 case of K.R. Vasudevaa vs. State of T.N. and others, dated 30.07.2021, was one of the cases that NMC was cautioned about.

According to NMC, if medical institutions are dispersed equally, this ratio might result in an additional 40,000 MBBS seats being added to the nation. The medical fraternity as a whole, as well as several state branches of IMA and student groups, have praised NMC’s decision, as per reports. NMC will keep working to raise the standard of medical education in the nation, according to an NMC notification.

On the other hand, the new NMC regulations for the establishment of new medical colleges were rejected by every state in the South, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Kerala, however, made the decision to look for rest based on particular needs.

NMC’s Guidelines For MBBS Admission

Upon admission to MBBS programmes, medical institutions must make sure that the following criteria are satisfied, in accordance with the NMC Regulations:

–– Enrolling more than the authorised capacity for admission is not allowed.

–– Age requirements and qualifying marks for various categories must br followed according to Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023. In order to be admitted to the MBBS programme, candidates have to be at least 17 years old on December 31st of the year prior and must have completed the 10+2 Qualifying Examination.

–– To be admitted to the MBBS programme, students must have passed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG).