In a significant move aimed at addressing the persistent shortage of doctors across the country, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has decided to extend its temporary relaxation of MBBS intake norms for existing medical colleges. This policy will remain in effect for the 2026–27 academic year, permitting higher student admissions to accelerate the supply of medical professionals.
Flexible Intake Norms to Continue
The medical regulator has put on hold, for the upcoming 2024–25 admission cycle, a provision that previously capped MBBS intake at approximately 150 seats per college. This cap was linked to a norm of 100 seats per 10 lakh population. Under the continued relaxation, eligible colleges that meet stringent standards for faculty, infrastructure, and clinical workload can apply to increase their intake beyond the earlier limit.
An NMC official clarified that compliant colleges can safely admit students beyond the 150-seat mark, with a permitted maximum of 250 MBBS seats. The official noted that an earlier proposal to strictly enforce the cap had drawn strong representations from various states, warning that it could exacerbate the doctor shortage crisis. “This flexibility is critical if India is to achieve the target of adding 75,000 medical seats over the next five years,” the official stated.
Dual Strategy: Expansion and New Colleges
Alongside the continuation of relaxed norms for established institutions, the NMC has also opened the annual application window for setting up new medical colleges for the 2026–27 academic year. As per existing regulations, these new institutions will admit only 150 MBBS students in their first batch.
Officials explained that this twin approach—temporarily expanding capacity in proven colleges while steadily adding new institutions—aims to balance rapid capacity expansion with uncompromised quality control. The NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) is now accepting online applications for both new colleges and seat expansion in existing ones.
Application Process and Strict Quality Assurance
The application window on the NMC portal will be active from December 29, 2025, to January 28, 2026, with submissions closing at 6 PM on the final day. The regulator has emphatically stated that quality norms will not be diluted under any circumstances.
Only colleges fully compliant with the Undergraduate Minimum Standard Requirements (UG-MSR), 2023, and related regulations will be considered. Incomplete applications will be summarily rejected without further correspondence.
Key details of the expansion process include:
- Existing colleges can apply for a maximum of 100 additional MBBS seats at one time.
- Assessments will be conducted strictly for the number of seats sought.
- Inspections—physical, virtual, or hybrid—will verify faculty attendance, hospital patient load, infrastructure, financial capability, and academic readiness.
- Applications showing "work-in-progress" will not be entertained.
Officials described this continued relaxation as a calibrated effort to expand the footprint of medical education in India while rigorously safeguarding educational and infrastructural standards. This step is seen as vital for building a robust healthcare workforce to meet the nation's future needs.
