National Medical Commission (NMC) removes cap on MBBS seats and eases population norms

Key facts

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) issued a gazette notification on April 27 to amend 2023 regulations governing new medical colleges and expansion of existing courses.
• The NMC removed the clause that capped the total number of MBBS seats at 150 per college for institutions seeking expansion from the 2024–25 academic year.
• The requirement for states to maintain a ratio of 100 MBBS seats per 10 lakh population has been removed.
• The maximum distance between a medical college and its teaching hospital is now prescribed as 10 km, replacing the previous 30-minute travel-time cap.
• For Himalayan and northeastern states, the maximum distance between a medical college and its teaching hospital has been relaxed to 15 km.
• The amendments were notified under the NMC Act, 2019, and apply to the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, and the Undergraduate Medical Education Board’s seat expansion guidelines.