PG medical seats rise to 86,360 for 2026-27, govt targets 5,000 more seats

India has 86,360 postgraduate medical seats for the 2026-27 academic year, with Karnataka leading the country in seat availability, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the government informed the Lok Sabha.

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda provided the figures in response to a starred question raised by MP Km Sudha R regarding the expansion of postgraduate medical education.

The total number of seats includes those approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

Karnataka has the highest number of postgraduate medical seats in the country, with 10,092 seats. Of these, 2,805 are in government institutions and 7,287 are in private institutions.

Maharashtra ranks second with 9,216 seats, including 4,277 government and 4,939 private seats. Tamil Nadu follows with 8,023 seats, comprising 3,030 government and 4,993 private seats.

Uttar Pradesh has 7,437 postgraduate medical seats, with 3,568 in government institutions and 3,869 in private institutions. Telangana has 5,248 seats, while Andhra Pradesh has 4,782 seats.

The government has approved Phase III of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at upgrading existing state and central government medical colleges, standalone postgraduate institutes and government hospitals.

Under the initiative, the center is targeting the addition of 5,000 postgraduate medical seats between 2025-26 and 2028-29. The cost ceiling for creating each postgraduate seat has also been raised to ₹1.50 crore.

The government said the NMC has established a regulatory framework through the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 and Post Graduate Minimum Standards Requirement, 2024.

Medical institutions seeking approval for new postgraduate courses or additional seats are required to meet prescribed standards for faculty, infrastructure and clinical facilities.

The Centre also clarified that NBEMS does not currently have a proposal to convert all Diploma seats into Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats.

Medical course fees are determined by the respective states and Union Territories. For NBEMS programs, including DNB, DrNB, FNB and Diploma courses, the annual fee is ₹1.25 lakh.