India expands medical education with increased college and seat capacity

India is significantly expanding its medical education capacity. According to data provided by Union Minister Anupriya Patel to the Lok Sabha, the number of medical colleges in the country has grown from 387 before 2014 to 846 currently. This expansion includes a 172.4% increase in MBBS seats, rising from 51,348 to 139,864, and a 176.9% increase in postgraduate (PG) seats, which now total 86,360.

The central government is supporting this growth through various schemes, including the approval of 157 new medical colleges under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme designed to upgrade district and referral hospitals. Further plans are in place to add more than 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate seats by the 2028-29 academic year.

At the state level, the Odisha government has approved 152 new faculty and resident positions across 10 government medical colleges to strengthen super-specialty departments. These new roles will cover fields such as cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, and nephrology at institutions including SCB Medical College in Cuttack and VIMSAR in Burla, aiming to improve specialized patient care and specialist training.