Maharashtra’s Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) has significantly reduced fees at its most expensive private medical college, Vedantaa Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), Palghar, while allowing modest hikes at several others for the 2025–26 academic year, as per a report by Career360.

At VIMS Palghar, postgraduate (MD/MS) fees have been reduced by a steep Rs 6.21 lakh, from Rs 19.32 lakh last year to Rs 13.11 lakh this year. The MBBS fees have also been cut, from Rs 17.03 lakh to Rs 15.57 lakh. 

This is one of the sharpest fee reductions announced by the FRA in recent years.

VIMS, which was previously Maharashtra’s most expensive private medical institution, is the only one established by a private limited company and has consistently drawn scrutiny for its high fees.

While VIMS still tops the MBBS fee list among colleges whose fees have been finalised, its PG course is no longer the priciest.

Other institutes

Conversely, the FRA has approved MBBS and MD/MS fee hikes in several private colleges, typically in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

The SMBT Institute in Nashik saw the highest hike in PG (MD/MS) fees, up from Rs 15.16 lakh to Rs 16.34 lakh. For MBBS, BKL Walawalkar Medical College in Chiplun saw the steepest rise, up Rs 1.06 lakh from last year.

Fees revision for MBBS courses in other institutes:

• Ashwini, Solapur: Rs 9,86,000 to Rs 10,33,000

• Vithalrao Vikhe Patil, Ahmednagar: Rs 12,10,000 to Rs 13,00,000

• BKL Walawalkar, Chiplun: Rs 10,59,000 to Rs 11,65,000

• Rajendra Gode, Amravati: Rs 7,71,000 (no change)

• SSPM, Sindhudurg: Rs 7,50,000 to Rs 7,64,000

• NY Tasgaonkar, Raigad: Rs 7,90,000 to Rs 6,21,500

• Prakash, Sangli: Rs 7,63,000 to Rs 8,51,000

• Parbhani Medical College: Rs 7,54,000 (no change)

• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pune: Rs 7,00,000 to Rs 7,50,000

In a recent policy reversal, the FRA restored the previous cap for management quota seats in PG courses. Initially, the regulator had reduced the cap from four times the standard fee to three times, aligning it with UG programmes. However, following objections from the Association of Managements of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges (AMUPMDC), the authority reversed its April decision.

This means PG medical management quota seats can once again be priced at up to four times the regular fee, as was the norm between 2018 and early 2025, added Career360.