India hits record 1.37 lakh MBBS seats; private colleges hold 54% share
Private medical colleges now account for a majority of MBBS seats, with 73,643 seats (54%) compared with 63,296 seats (46%) in government colleges, according to
Private medical colleges now account for a majority of MBBS seats, with 73,643 seats (54%) compared with 63,296 seats (46%) in government colleges, according to the Medical Commission’s 2026-27 seat matrix released recently for the academic year 2026-27. In just one year, the distribution of MBBS seats has flipped from 51% government and 49% private to 46% government and 54% private, marking a shift towards private medical education. Of the 9,911 MBBS seats added for the 2026-27 academic year, 7,800 seats (79%) have come up in private medical colleges, while 2,111 seats (21%) have been added in government colleges. “This marks the first time that a majority of India’s undergraduate medical seats are in the private sector,’’ said former national president of the Indian Medical Association, Ravi S.
Wankhedkar. He added that while the number of MBBS seats has expanded, the affordability of medical education has now emerged as a pressing concern. 72,627 applications received for MBBS, BDS courses Government medical colleges in India typically charge ₹5,000 to ₹1 lakh per year, with the total MBBS tuition ranging from about ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh for the entire 5.5-year course. In some States such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi, tuition is well below ₹1 lakh for the full course, while in a few States it is higher. Hostel and other charges are extra. Meanwhile, India now has 1,36,939 MBBS seats across 823 medical colleges, the highest ever and according to the Health Ministry this is a significant step towards addressing the country’s doctor shortage.
India has witnessed an expansion in undergraduate medical education over the past decade, with MBBS seats increasing from 51,348 in 2014-15 to 1,36,939 in 2026-27. The number of seats rose from 54,348 in 2015-16, 58,756 in 2016-17, 67,352 in 2017-18, 73,435 in 2018-19, 80,312 in 2019-20, 91,927 in 2020-21, 96,077 in 2021-22, 1,01,043 in 2022-23, 1,08,848 in 2023-24, 1,18,190 in 2024-25, 1,23,700 in 2025-26, before reaching 1,36,939 seats this year across 823 medical colleges. Over the past five years, the overall number of MBBS seats has grown steadily, but until recently, government medical colleges retained a slight majority. The balance, however, narrowed every year as private colleges expanded rapidly.
For most of the past five years, government medical colleges accounted for a marginal majority of MBBS seats, with the public-private split hovering around 51:49. The gap narrowed to 50.8% versus 49.2% in 2025-26 before reversing for the first time in 2026-27.
The BriefWire