NMC proposes amendments to Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Assessment and Rating regulations 2023

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a gazette notification proposing draft amendments, including the addition and removal of clauses, to the Establishment of Medical Institutions, Assessment and Rating Regulations 2023.

The gazette notification, issued on February 17, 2026, proposes changes to the “Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023.”

Once finalised, the amended rules will be called the “Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Assessment & Rating (Amendment) Regulations, 2026.” The changes will come into effect from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

The notification signed by Dr Raghav Langer NMC secretary mentioned, "In exercise of the powers conferred vide subsection (2) of Section 57 read with Sections 26,28 and 29 of the National Medical Commission hereby makes the following draft regulations to further amend the “Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023” or “Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023” namely –

1. (i) These regulations may be called the – “Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment & Rating (Amendment) Regulations, 2026” in short “Establishment of New Medical Institutions Assessment & Rating (Amendment) Regulations, 2026”. (ii) They shall come into force from the date of the publication in Official Gazette."

Changes in Eligibility criteria:

Under the proposed amendments, Clause 6(a) will be deleted. Present Clause 6 of the regulations mentions: "No entity other than the following shall be eligible to apply for establishing a new medical college or medical institution or to start a new course or courses in medicine as the case may be... (a) The Central Government.."

Further, the existing Clause 6(g), which currently allows "A Section 8 Company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 or any other corresponding law in force during its establishment" will be revised.

The amended clause will now allow "a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 or any other corresponding law in force during its establishment."

After Clause 6(g), a new Clause 6(h) will be added to allow a trust registered under the relevant State law to establish a medical college. "A Trust registered under the respective statute meant to establish and regulate trusts in the respective State," said the notification.

Applications and Modifications in Document Requirements:

The Commission has proposed several changes under Clause 9 regarding documents required at the time of application. The previous clause 9, stating that “No application submitted by the eligible entity shall be entertained unless it is accompanied with- ” will be replaced with “The following documents shall be submitted by the eligible entity-”.

The clause 9 (a) which mentioned that "Essentiality Certificate (EC) issued by the concerned State Government or Union Territory administration or the appropriate authority as the case may be unless otherwise specified. The EC shall be valid at the time of application" will be substituted as “Essentiality Certificate (EC) issued by the concerned State Government or Union Territory administration or the appropriate authority as the case may be unless otherwise specified. The EC shall be valid at the time of application. This clause shall not be applicable for established colleges applying for starting of new Post-graduate courses.”

The current clause 9(b) mentions that "A Consent of Affiliation (CoA) letter obtained from a recognized university, issued in the name of the applicant entity in writing. The CoA shall be valid at the time of application".

Now this will be substituted as “A Consent of Affiliation (CoA) letter obtained from a recognized university, issued in the name of the applicant/the Medical College/ the entity in writing. The CoA shall be valid at the time of submission of application."

As per the notification, Clause 9 (c) will be removed which stated, "Documentary proof indicating the establishment of a corpus fund by the entity dedicatedly applicable to functioning of the new medical institution year after year;"

The clause 9 (d) related to "A solvency certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant within ninety days prior to the last date of submission of the application as mandated by the Notification issued by the MARB" will now be amended as "A solvency certificate based on last completed financial year issued by a Chartered Accountant within ninety days prior to the last date of invitation of the application."

The draft further mentioned that the previous first proviso after Explanation 3, under clause 9 states, "Provided any incomplete applications received, meaning applications without the mandated documents specified in the present Regulation, shall be rejected by the MARB."

Now, the revised explanation says, "Provided any incomplete applications received, meaning applications without the mandated documents specified in the present Regulation, shall not constitute a valid/eligible scheme as per Section 28(2) of National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and the same be rejected by the MARB without any opportunity as mandated under Section 28(3) of the NMC Act and clause 13 of this regulation."

A “new para” will be inserted after “first para” and before “the first proviso” of clause 15 as: "The applicant/entity shall submit an undertaking at the time of submission of application for earmarking a corpus fund dedicatedly applicable to functioning of the new medical institution. Further, all Medical Colleges already running will also have to maintain a corpus fund dedicatedly applicable to functioning of the medical college. The amount of such Corpus fund shall be determined by the Medical Assessment & Rating Board and shall be communicated through Notice. The amount of corpus fund shall be subject of revision time to time. The College will have to submit the documentary proof whenever directed by the MARB."

The previous clause 31 (c) which stated "Withholding processing of application for any new scheme/s for that academic year or for a such number of years," will be amended as, "Withholding processing or rejection of application(s) for any new scheme/s or for increase in seats for that academic year or for a such number of years."

Attempts to pressurise NMC:

The clause 31 (h) previously mentioned that "Any attempt to pressurize MARB or NMC through individuals or agency will lead to immediate halt of the processing the application/request by the medical Institution." This will be now amended as, "Any attempt to pressurize MARB or NMC through individuals or agency will lead to immediate halt of the processing or rejection of the application(s)/request(s) by the medical Institution."

NMC invites suggestions/objections:

The original 2023 regulations were officially published in the Gazette of India on 2 June 2023 through a notification issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Now the NMC is proposing amendments to that 2023 regulation, specifically changes in Clauses 6, 9, 15 and 31. These draft amendments have already been prepared and approved by the competent authority. However, before making them final, the Commission has invited the stakeholders for objections and suggestions within 30 days from the date the Gazette copy is made available to the public.

"The objections and suggestion be sent only on the above e-mail ID and objection/suggestions received in any other means i.e. physical or through other modes will not be entertained," mentioned the notice. 

To view the official notice, click on the link below: 

Also read- NMC invites applications for establishment of new medical colleges, starting, increase of MBBS seats, Check Details