Getting an MBBS seat used to be very competitive in the country; however, the statistics from this year say otherwise.
According to a report by TOI, nearly 2000 MBBS seats are still vacant across the country. State governments and medical colleges are urging the government to permit another round of admissions so that these seats could be filled in private colleges.
Many seats under government quota still remain unfilled. Struggling to fill about 1000 vacant seats, the management of many colleges have asked the government to lower down eligibility the cut offs for MBBS admissions.
A vacancy list was released by the Medical Counselling Committee, under the Directorate General of Health Services, last week, according to which there are 800 vacant MBBS seats, including at deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
State counselling authorities in Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, and Rajasthan each reported over 100 vacant undergraduate medical seats, despite running multiple admission rounds. These committees manage admissions for government, self-financing private, and state private medical institutions.
Altogether, nearly 2,000 undergraduate medical seats remain empty nationwide. This vacancy equals the entire capacity of about 20 medical colleges.
According to the reports, Karnataka has 191 vacant MBBS seats even after completing 7 rounds of counselling. It is the first time in five years that the state is facing such a shortfall in the number of candidates. However, all the BDS seats have been filled.
To fill the vacant seats, the Directorate of Medical Education has asked NMC to lower the eligibility criteria for MBBS, and private colleges have started to offer discounts. Some Private colleges are quoting a price of 80 lakh for a four and a half year course, including hostel fees.
According to the reports for 2026, the qualifying marks were 213 out of 720 for general and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates, while the cut-off for Other Backwards Classes (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates was 177.
Affordability remains one of the main reasons behind the vacant MBBS seats. Many academically bright students in the country are able to qualify the NEET exam, but a lot of students cannot afford their college fees; hence, the seats remain vacant.
Even when securing government quota seats in private colleges, students still face crushing expenses.
These seats cost nearly Rs 10 lakh annually, while management quota fees soar up to Rs 20 lakh per year.
The problem was very prominent in states like Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Around 824 seats remain vacant across 14 deemed universities after the final round of centralised counselling. For these universities, academic fees reach up to 35 lakhs, making medical education a very pricey affair.
According to the reports, some high-fee institutions could fill their seats only after admitting candidates from much lower positions on the NEET rank list.
DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson demanded a cap on private medical tuition fees, arguing that skyrocketing costs increasingly price students out of medical education.
"Without a cap on tuition, institutions raise fees every year. There are more than 11 lakh qualified candidates, and there are less than 2 lakh seats. If the government is serious about merit, they must not reduce the cut-off," he said.
According to reports, medical graduates earn up to Rs. 60,000 at tier-one hospitals and around Rs. 35,000 at tier-two hospitals and Rs. 25,000 at tier-three hospitals.
The low salaries showcase why students might hesitate to get education loans to fund expensive private medical degrees.
With nearly 2,000 MBBS seats still empty, private medical colleges and state authorities are now calling on the NMC to step in.
(Rh/ARC)