It was stated by the Union government in Parliament on Friday that there are currently 86,360 postgraduate medical education seats across the country, and that there is no plan at present to convert all medical diploma courses into postgraduate DNB degree courses.
Responding to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on this matter on Friday, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said:
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has stated that there are currently 86,360 postgraduate medical education seats across the country.
Similarly, according to information provided by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), there is currently no proposal under consideration to convert all diploma medical courses into postgraduate DNB medical degree courses.
Medical colleges have submitted requests to start new postgraduate medical courses and to increase the number of seats in the postgraduate medical courses already being offered. Colleges that meet the conditions based on NMC guidelines, in accordance with the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2023 and the Postgraduate Degree Minimum Standards and Requirements 2024, will be granted approval for the same.
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is also taking various steps to increase postgraduate medical education seats. In particular, the board is taking measures such as simplifying the approval process without affecting the quality of education, a joint accreditation scheme, and encouraging district hospitals to apply for approval for postgraduate courses.
Furthermore, the government has approved the third phase of the central government’s scheme to strengthen and upgrade state and central government medical colleges, institutions offering only one course, and government hospitals, with the aim of creating an additional 5,000 postgraduate medical seats during the period from 2025-26 to 2028-29. Under this, the cost ceiling for one postgraduate medical seat has been raised to Rs. 1.50 crore, he said.
Responding to a question on regulating the fees collected in private self-financing medical colleges, he said, “Fixing the fees for medical courses falls under the authority of the respective state governments. At the same time, the NMC issued guidelines in February 2022 for determining the tuition fees and other charges for 50 percent of the seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities. Several cases have been filed in various courts by private medical colleges challenging this. These cases are pending,” he said.
Karnataka has the highest number of postgraduate medical seats
According to statistics released by the government, it has been found that Karnataka state has the highest number of postgraduate medical education seats.
State-wise details of postgraduate medical education seats (government medical college seats in parentheses):
State - Postgraduate medical seats
Karnataka 10,092 (2,805)
Maharashtra 9,216 (4,277)
Tamil Nadu 8,023 (3,030)
Uttar Pradesh 7,437 (3,568)
Telangana 5,248 (1,790)
Rajasthan 5,025 (2,969)
Andhra Pradesh 4,782 (2,303)
Delhi 4,729 (3,448)