New Delhi: India’s postgraduate medical education system is set for a major expansion, with 9,783 seats being added for the 2026-27 academic year. The increase takes the total approved postgraduate (PG) intake to 68,305, up from 58,522, with govt medical colleges accounting for the largest share of the new seats.Of the additional seats, 4,373 have been added in government medical colleges, 4,148 in private colleges and 1,262 in deemed universities, Dr M K Ramesh, President of the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) medical assessment and rating board (MARB), confirmed.PG medical seats are spread across several states, with five accounting for a little over half of the national intake. Karnataka has the highest number, with 8,998 approved seats for 2026-27, followed by Maharashtra with 7,682. Uttar Pradesh has 6,983 seats, Tamil Nadu 6,819 and Telangana 4,417. Together, these five states account for 34,899 seats, or around 51% of the total approved PG broad speciality intake of 68,305.Explaining the increase, Ramesh said a change in the rules has allowed medical colleges to apply for postgraduate courses much earlier than before. Earlier, colleges could apply to start PG courses only after four-and-a-half years of establishment, when their first MBBS batch had passed out. Under the revised process, they can apply from the second year itself.
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