National Medical Commission Approves 100 Additional MBBS Seats at New Medical College in Mehsana

Ahmedabad: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has recently given the green light to a new medical college in Gujarat, increasing the state's existing 6,850 MBBS seats by 100. The Bhagyoday Medical College, located in Mehsana's Kadi taluka, received approval on Friday, and the additional seats will be made available to students in the ongoing third round of medical admissions. Gujarat currently has 38 medical colleges, including govt-run, Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) colleges, and private institutions, among the approximately 500 medical colleges nationwide.

The state's total MBBS seats will now increase from 6,850 to 6,950 with the addition of the Kadi college. According to sources, the NMC received three applications for new medical colleges in Gujarat for the 2024-25 academic year. While the proposed colleges in Rajkot and Junagadh, with 150 and 100 seats respectively, were not approved this year, the Kadi college with 100 seats received the commission's nod.

In the past few years, the NMC has approved a significant number of new medical colleges and seats in Gujarat. In 2022-23, the commission had approved five new GMERS medical colleges in Rajpipla, Porbandar, Godhra, Navsari, and Morbi, each with 100 seats, adding 500 seats in the state. Moreover in 2019-20, the NMC approved an additional 700 MBBS seats across 14 existing medical colleges in the state. In total, the commission has approved 1,900 medical seats in Gujarat between 2019 and 2023, with the Kadi college being the latest addition.

The fee structure for the newly approved Kadi medical college will be determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) at a later date, as the college will need to apply for it separately. As the 100 seats will be offered in the third round of admissions, likely to commence after Oct 11, the college will have to seek an ad hoc fee structure from the FRC.