The National Medical Commission (NMC) has made major changes to its policy for approving new medical colleges, aiming to increase MBBS seats across the country.
One key change is the removal of the earlier cap of 150 seats. Colleges with sufficient infrastructure and faculty can now apply for higher intake, such as 200 or even 250 seats.
The NMC has also scrapped the population-based rule that allowed a 100-seat medical college only in areas with at least 10 lakh people. With this restriction gone, institutions can now set up medical colleges regardless of the population size of the region. This is expected to benefit states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, which are looking to expand medical education.
Another important revision is in the distance rule between a medical college and its attached hospital. Earlier, the hospital had to be reachable within 30 minutes. Now, the limit is defined as a maximum of 10 km in general areas and up to 15 km in hilly and northeastern regions.
Sources say these changes could significantly increase the number of medical seats, as approvals will now depend more on infrastructure and faculty rather than population criteria.
However, concerns remain about the timing. Over 100 institutions have already applied under the old rules, and it is still unclear whether their applications will be considered under the previous or the new guidelines, as the NMC has not yet clarified this.