NEET PG Updates: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that there are currently 86,360 postgraduate medical seats in India. These include seats approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).
The Central Government has also approved Phase-III of a centrally sponsored scheme to strengthen and upgrade existing state and central government medical colleges, standalone postgraduate institutes, and government hospitals. The objective of this scheme is to add 5,000 postgraduate medical seats between the financial years 2025-26 and 2028-29, with the per-seat cost limit raised to ₹1.50 crore.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda provided this information in response to a ‘Starred Question’ (which requires an oral reply in the House) raised by MP Kumari Sudha R regarding the expansion of postgraduate medical seats. According to data for the 2026-27 academic year, Karnataka has the highest number of postgraduate medical seats at 10,092, comprising 2,805 government and 7,287 private seats. It is followed by Maharashtra with 9,216 seats (4,277 government and 4,939 private), while Tamil Nadu has 8,023 seats (3,030 government and 4,993 private).
| State | PG Medical Seats |
| Karnataka | 10,092 |
| Maharashtra | 9,216 |
| Tamil Nadu | 8,023 |
NEET PG Updates: Uttar Pradesh has 7,437 PG Medical 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 medical seats, while Andhra Pradesh has 4,782 seats. The government stated that the NMC has formulated a regulatory framework under the ‘Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER), 2023’ and ‘Postgraduate Minimum Standards Requirements, 2024’ to facilitate the introduction of new postgraduate courses and the expansion of seats in existing ones.
Proposals submitted by medical colleges and institutions are evaluated based on established criteria and requirements regarding faculty, infrastructure, and clinical material. Additionally, the Minister noted that the NBEMS has taken several measures to increase the availability of postgraduate medical seats.
These include: simplifying accreditation norms without compromising the quality of teaching and training, introducing new postgraduate courses, implementing a joint accreditation scheme, encouraging district hospitals to seek accreditation for NBEMS postgraduate courses, and conducting outreach programs with state governments, public sector undertakings, and other stakeholders.
NEET PG Updates: Medical Seats Approved Since 2014-15
Additionally, the government provided annual data on the postgraduate seats approved by the NMC and NBEMS since the 2014-15 period.
In 2014-15, the NMC approved 415 seats and the NBEMS approved 612 seats. There was a significant increase in total approvals in subsequent years; in 2017-18, 4,965 NMC seats and 624 NBEMS seats were approved. During this period, the highest number of seats approved by the NMC was recorded in 2025-26, with 9,084 seats sanctioned. In the same year, the NBEMS approved 2,009 seats. For the 2024-25 academic year, the NMC approved 4,188 seats, while the NBEMS approved 1,667 seats. In 2023-24, these figures stood at 4,713 and 1,209, respectively.
NEET PG Updates: No Proposal to Convert all Diploma Seats into DNB Degree Seats
The government also clarified that there is currently no proposal under consideration by the NBEMS to convert all diploma seats entirely into postgraduate medical degree (DNB) seats. Regarding fees, the government stated that determining fees for medical courses (including postgraduate courses) falls under the jurisdiction of the respective state and Union Territory governments and varies across states. In February 2022, the NMC issued guidelines for fixing fees and other charges for 50 percent of the seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities.
However, these guidelines have been challenged in various courts, and the matter is currently sub judice. Fees for NBEMS programs, which include the Diplomate of National Board (DNB), Doctorate of National Board (DrNB), Fellowship of National Board (FNB), and diploma courses, are determined centrally and remain uniform across the country. The annual course fee for these programs is ₹1.25 lakh.
