The National Medical Commission has approved 9,911 additional MBBS seats for the 2026 to 2027 academic session, increasing the country's undergraduate medical education capacity to a record 136,939 seats across 823 medical colleges . The latest seat matrix includes 127,028 renewed seats along with the newly approved capacity and excludes Institutes of National Importance such as AIIMS and JIPMER. According to the Medical Assessment and Rating Board, the sharp increase is largely linked to the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, which allow eligible medical colleges to apply for higher student intake much earlier than under the previous framework.
Institutions can now seek an increase from the second year onward, provided they meet the prescribed regulatory requirements, instead of waiting until their first batch completes the course. Among the newly sanctioned seats, 2,400…
