Government To Add 75,000 Medical Seats By 2030 In Union Budget 2025-26

The government’s decision to create 10,000 additional medical seats next year has been met with enthusiasm by education experts and stakeholders, who believe the move will help reduce the outflow of medical students to foreign countries.

This announcement is part of the Union Budget 2025-26, which also includes significant investments in education, including infrastructure expansion at five new IITs and the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed the plans on Saturday, stating that the government aims to add 75,000 seats to medical colleges over the next five years.

This move will likely address the growing demand for medical education in India.

The India Edtech Consortium (IEC) welcomed the move, stating that the increase in medical seats is crucial to meet the country’s healthcare needs and reduce the number of students going abroad for medical studies.

Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder of PhysicsWallah (PW) and Chairman of IEC stated, “75,000 additional medical seats over five years is a crucial step in reducing medical student outflow to other countries, given that over 23 lakh students appear for NEET, but only 1.1 lakh seats are available.”

Geographical Imbalance In Medical Seats In India

The Economic Survey of 2024-25, tabled in Parliament, highlighted the geographical imbalance in medical education in India.

The report highlighted that southern states hold 51% of undergraduate seats and 49% of postgraduate seats.

Additionally, there is a significant urban-rural divide in doctor density, with a ratio of 3.8:1.

The survey also pointed out the low pass percentage of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in the qualifying exam to practice in India, suggesting that medical education abroad often lacks adequate clinical training.

In response to this, the survey recommended that costs for medical education in India should remain reasonable to discourage students from going abroad.

Support From Industry Leaders

Preety Kumar, Managing Partner at Amrop India, praised the increased budget allocation for education, especially for expanding capacity in IITs, medical colleges, and hospitals.

She asserted, “The focus on expanding infrastructure points to a strategic push to improve India’s higher education ecosystem. However, while the physical infrastructure is being expanded, there is an even more pressing need for high-quality faculty to meet the demand for new programs and institutions.”

Monica Malhotra Kandhari, MD of Aasoka (MBD Group), called the addition of 10,000 medical seats, with the goal of reaching 75,000 in the next five years, a significant step toward enhancing healthcare education and workforce capacity.

Indranil Manna, Vice Chancellor of BIT Mesra, Ranchi, welcomed the budget’s announcements for education but suggested that a greater focus on private educational institutions could have provided a stronger boost, as more students enrol in private institutions than in government ones.

Manna noted, “These measures, coupled with the emphasis on digital education and research fellowships, will certainly propel India toward becoming a global knowledge and innovation hub.”

Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice-Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, highlighted that adding 75,000 undergraduate medical seats over the next five years will significantly strengthen healthcare education and accessibility.

Supriya Pattanayak, Vice Chancellor of Centurion University, Odisha, also welcomed the move, noting that increasing the number of medical seats and hospitals will play a critical role in enhancing healthcare across the country.

Currently, there are over 1.10 lakh MBBS seats available in medical colleges across India, and a record 25 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG exam in 2024.

The Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) also saw a varying number of candidates, with 13,149 out of 44,392 passing the December 2024 session.

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