New Delhi

India currently has over 86,000 post-graduate medical seats, with Karnataka accounting for the highest number, while there is no proposal to convert all diploma seats into full-fledged Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats, the government informed Parliament on Friday.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Health Minister J P Nadda said the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) have informed the government that there are a total of 86,360 PG medical seats across the country.

On whether there is a proposal to convert all DNB diploma seats into full-fledged postgraduate degree seats this year, Nadda said no such proposal is under consideration.

"As informed by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), there is no proposal under its consideration to convert all Diploma seats into full-fledged PG medical degree (DNB) seats," he said.

The minister said the NMC has put in place a regulatory framework through the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER), 2023, and the Post Graduate Minimum Standards Requirement, 2024, for starting new PG medical courses and increasing seats in existing courses.

Proposals received from medical colleges and institutions for new PG courses or additional seats are considered by the NMC on the basis of applications submitted by them. Seats are approved subject to fulfilment of prescribed norms relating to faculty, infrastructure, clinical material and other requirements, he said.

Nadda said the NBEMS has also undertaken several initiatives to increase the availability of PG medical seats. These include easing accreditation criteria without compromising teaching quality, introducing new postgraduate courses, implementing the Joint Accreditation Scheme, encouraging district hospitals to seek accreditation, and conducting outreach with state governments, public sector undertakings, the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and other stakeholders.

He said the government has approved Phase-3 of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for strengthening and upgrading existing state and central government medical colleges, standalone PG institutes and government hospitals to create 5,000 additional PG seats during 2025-26 to 2028-29, with the cost ceiling enhanced to Rs 1.50 crore per seat.

Replying to another part of the question on regulation of fees charged by private medical colleges and deemed universities, Nadda said fixation of fees for medical courses falls within the domain of the respective state governments and Union Territories.

He said the NMC had issued guidelines in February 2022 for determination of fees and other charges for 50 per cent seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities, but these guidelines have been challenged in various courts and are sub judice.

"Fixation of fees for medical courses, including post-graduate courses, falls within the domain of respective state and UT governments and differs from state to state," he said.

The minister added that fees for NBEMS courses, including DNB, DrNB, FNB and diploma programmes, are centrally regulated and uniform across the country, with the annual course fee fixed at Rs 1.25 lakh.

According to the state-wise data shared by the government, Karnataka tops the country with 10,092 PG medical seats, including 2,805 in government institutions and 7,287 in private colleges.

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It is followed by Maharashtra with 9,216 seats (4,277 government and 4,939 private), Tamil Nadu with 8,023 (3,030 government and 4,993 private), Uttar Pradesh with 7,437 (3,568 government and 3,869 private), Telangana with 5,248 (1,790 government and 3,458 private), Rajasthan with 5,025 (2,969 government and 2,056 private), Andhra Pradesh with 4,782 (2,303 government and 2,479 private), and Delhi with 4,729 seats (3,448 government and 1,281 private).