According to a report by The Indian Express, published on August 20, 2025, the country's medical education landscape is set for a significant boost with approximately 8,000 additional undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats expected this academic year, National Medical Commission (NMC) chief Dr Abhijat Sheth has announced.
The development comes as medical college assessments resume after being temporarily halted due to a major corruption scandal in the health ministry and NMC earlier this year. In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation exposed a network involving health ministry officials, NMC personnel, and private medical college representatives engaged in regulatory manipulation and corrupt practices.
NEET Counselling progresses amid seat concerns
With the first round of NEET-UG counselling already concluded, the second round is scheduled to commence by August 25.
The corruption revelation had initially raised fears about a reduction in medical seats, as the NMC had suspended seat expansion processes pending investigation.
The CBI case named 34 individuals, including eight health ministry officials, a National Health Authority official, and five NMC inspection team doctors, in what the agency described as "egregious" acts of corruption.
"Along with my appointment, the president of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) also has been appointed. We have taken up completion of inspection of UG medical seats on a priority basis," Dr Sheth explained in his interview.
Current medical seat distribution
The country currently offers 1,18,098 undergraduate medical seats, 59,782 in government institutions and 58,316 in private colleges. For postgraduate programs, there are 53,960 seats available, with 30,029 in government colleges and 23,931 in private institutions.
Dr Sheth acknowledged that undergraduate seats might have temporarily decreased due to the ongoing CBI inquiry, but expressed confidence that the overall numbers would eventually rise by 8,000 or more once inspections are completed.
For postgraduate medical education, the NMC chief indicated that inspections of colleges applying for new PG seats have begun, with counselling expected to take place in September. "We are confident that new seats will also be added to the PG counselling process," he stated.
National Exit Test implementation
Regarding the much-discussed National Exit Test (NExT) for final-year MBBS students, Dr Sheth described it as a "novel concept" requiring stakeholder consensus before implementation. He emphasised that student concerns must be addressed before the exam can be rolled out.
"The main unanswered questions are — how we are going to transit from the state level university examination to the central model," Dr Sheth explained, highlighting the need to determine appropriate difficulty levels and create positive stakeholder perceptions.
Balancing quantity with quality
Addressing concerns about the rapid expansion of medical colleges since 2014 and its impact on graduate quality, Dr Sheth stressed the importance of maintaining educational standards while increasing numbers.
The commission is also promoting a "phydigital model" that combines physical education with virtual education to enhance competency-based training and bring uniformity to medical education nationwide.
Dr Sheth emphasised NMC's commitment to "innovation, integration and implementation," including better utilisation of clinical resources from both private and government hospitals for medical education purposes.