NMC freezes all medical college approvals for 2025-26 - Report
NMC Approval for New Medical Colleges
New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has frozen approvals for new medical colleges, seat increases, or renewals for the academic year 2025-2026, Mirror has reported. The decision reportedly follows the controversy that erupted over the NMC inspection bribery scandal involving fraudulent approvals being granted to medical colleges.
According to the CBI investigation, bribes were taken to grant approvals to medical colleges that lacked basic infrastructure, qualified faculty, and adequate patient care facilities. Amid this situation, NMC announced this decision aimed at restoring integrity in the medical education sector after the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted raids at 40 medical colleges across India.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported how CBI busted a systemic corruption racket in the medical education sector and booked 34 individuals, including officials from the Union Health Ministry and the National Medical Commission (NMC), for their alleged involvement in manipulating the regulatory framework for private medical colleges. Among those named in the FIR are eight officials from the Union Health Ministry, a National Health Authority officer, and five doctors from the NMC’s inspection team. Prominent private medical college figures have also been implicated.
CBI conducted raids at 40 medical colleges across multiple states, including Gujarat and Swaminarayan Medical College in Kalol, near Ahmedabad was also searched. Swami Bhagat Vatsalyadasji of Swaminarayan Medical College has been accused of paying bribes to secure recognition for the institution. In Chhattisgarh, a religious figure, Guru Ravishankarji, faces similar allegations of offering cash, adds the daily.
According to officials, several institutes secured approvals from the NMC by bribing its officials and circumventing the minimum regulatory requirements. So far, 36 people have been arrested, and the list includes 11 persons from central and state health departments. Three doctors linked to private medical colleges are also among those in custody.
Preliminary estimates suggest the scam may be worth over Rs 1,000 crores, reports Mirror
Moreover, according to the latest media report by Ahmedabad Mirror, amid this situation, to ensure that the existing institutes meet the prescribed standards, NMC will deploy teams of senior professors to carry out inspections in the coming weeks. All the medical colleges have been warned to comply strictly with NMC norms without any exceptions.
NMC's decision to halt permissions for new medical colleges or increase of seats is being viewed as an unprecedented freeze on the expansion of India's medical education infrastructure as many Industry insiders have pointed out that this decision will disrupt the plans of private players looking to launch new medical colleges or increase their intake.
Back in May 2025, CBI unveiled a bribery racket, where a Senior doctor working as an Assessor with NMC reportedly received bribes in exchange for granting a positive assessment report to a private medical college in Karnataka. The CBI booked some assessors, college authorities, and unknown persons in this connection.
In response to the incident, NMC decided to blacklist the said assessor, halt renewing the existing number UG and PG seats of the said college and put a stop to processing the applications for increase of seats and starting new courses for both UG and PG received by Medical Assessment and Rating Board for this academic year.
