The National Medical Commission (NMC) has approved the establishment of 25 new medical colleges for the 2026-27 academic session, significantly expanding undergraduate medical education ahead of the NEET UG 2026 counselling process.
According to the latest approvals issued by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), the Commission has sanctioned 9,911 additional MBBS seats, while renewing recognition for 1,27,028 existing seats. This brings the total number of MBBS seats in the country to 1,36,939, excluding the Institutes of National Importance (INIs).
With these additions, India now has 823 medical colleges offering MBBS programmes, comprising 441 government and 382 private institutions.
The updated seat matrix released by MARB reflects approvals for both new medical colleges and enhanced intake capacity at existing institutions for the 2026-27 academic year.
MARB has also instructed all private medical colleges that have received approval for new institutions or additional MBBS seats to submit the required Electronic Bank Guarantee (E-Bank Guarantee) within seven days of the public notice. The Letter of Permission (LoP) will be issued only after the guarantee is received and verified by the Board.
Among the 25 newly approved medical colleges, seven are government institutions, while the remaining approvals are in the private sector. Of the 9,911 newly sanctioned MBBS seats, 2,111 seats have been allotted to government medical colleges, whereas 7,800 seats have been approved for private medical colleges.
State-wise, Karnataka continues to have the highest number of MBBS seats with 15,395, followed by Uttar Pradesh (14,000), Tamil Nadu (13,999), Maharashtra (13,099) and Telangana (10,250).
In terms of fresh seat additions, Karnataka received the largest increase with 1,300 new MBBS seats, followed by Tamil Nadu (950), Rajasthan (900), West Bengal (825), Telangana (810), Uttar Pradesh (800) and Bihar (740).
