NEET UG 2026: Every year, even students who score well in the NEET UG exam struggle to get an MBBS seat. The main reason for this is the limited number of MBBS seats available in India. To address this problem, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has started working on expanding the MBBS seat capacity, which may lead to a significant increase in available seats.

NEET UG and MBBS Admission

To pursue medical education (like MBBS or BHMS) after 12th grade in India, students must clear NEET UG with good scores. Every year, more than 20 lakh (2 million-plus) students appear for NEET UG, but only around 1.25 lakh can secure MBBS admissions due to limited seats. Because of this, many students go abroad for medical studies — but this trend is expected to change soon. With more seats and new medical colleges coming up, more students should be able to get admission within India itself.

Current Medical College Infrastructure in India

India has witnessed major growth in medical education infrastructure over the past decade. In 2011, there were 314 medical colleges.
Today, there are 731 medical colleges operating in the country. These colleges together offer more than 129,000 MBBS seats.

MBBS Seats to Increase — NMC Changes Rules

The article says that MBBS seats will increase mainly because new medical colleges will be established across India. To make this possible, the NMC has changed its rules. Previously, only Section-8 non-profit organisations were allowed to open medical colleges. But now the NMC has removed that restriction. This means that profit-seeking companies can also open medical colleges, including through public-private partnerships (PPP). The NMC has also put in place quality standards and procedures (SOPs) to ensure that these colleges meet required educational and clinical benchmarks.