NMC approves 1,875 MBBS seats for Assam

Assam had only four medical colleges until 2016. Now the state has 14 medical colleges, ten under construction and four more proposed in the state budget for the FY 2026-27. 

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The National Medical Council (NMC) has approved 1,875 MBBS seats in the 14 medical colleges in Assam in the academic session 2026-27. Though the number of MBBS seats in other states has gone up, that of Assam remains the same as last academic year.

The NCM approved 250 MBBS seats each for the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and the Assam Medical College (AMC), Dibrugarh; 150 for the Silchar Medical College (SMC); and 125 each for Jorhat Medical College, Tezpur Medical College, and Barpeta Medical College. The NCM approved 100 seats each for the remaining medical colleges, apart from 50 seats for the upgraded ESIC Hospital at Beltola.

The paucity of doctors is an issue that often rocks the state Assembly and outside it. The dearth of doctors in the state is an issue that the state government admits. To address the increasing demand for doctors, the state government is actively establishing medical colleges in every district.

According to Health Department sources, Assam produced around 750 doctors yearly until 2014, and now the state is capable of producing as many as 1,875 doctors annually. The state government's target, on the other hand, is to produce 2,500 doctors yearly by 2030.

The total allocation of MBSS seats in the country this year is 1,36,939 - 63,296 in government medical colleges and 73,643 in private medical colleges. The top three states that got maximum MBBS seats allocated are Karnataka (15,395), Uttar Pradesh (13,999) and Maharashtra (13,099).

When viewed from this angle, Assam is much lower on the list. This is because the successive past governments in the state accorded less importance to the setting up of medical colleges. Assam had only four medical colleges until 2016. Now, the state has 14 medical colleges and ten colleges at various stages of construction. The lopsided doctor-patient ratio in the state affects even the lower-level health centres, let alone the district hospitals and medical colleges. According to WHO standards, the ideal doctor-patient ratio is 1:1,000. However, the average doctor-patient ratio in Assam is 1:1216. A health official said, "We need five more years to meet the WHO standards for doctor-patient ratios. Our target is to provide an MBBS doctor at every health sub-centre. The problem with us is that 15 percent of the seats we get are from the central quota, leaving 85 percent of the seats for the state. A section of MBBS pass-outs go out for higher studies, and another section does not opt for government jobs. And hence, the problem persists."

In the 2026-27 budget speech, Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah said, "The government has proposed to establish four new medical colleges, one each in Goalpara, Hailakandi, Hojal and Bajali. With these, the total number of medical colleges in the state will be 28. The government also proposed to create around 33,240 posts comprising 6,814 MBBS doctors, 82 Ayush doctors, 22 dental surgeons and other medical staffers."

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