Karnataka to submit proposal to NMC for new medical colleges in Ramanagara, Bagalkot

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to submit a proposal to the National Medical Commission (NMC) seeking approval to establish two new government medical colleges in Ramanagara and Bagalkot during the current year. However, the proposal for a medical college in Kanakapura has been deferred for now.

This is not the first attempt to set up a government medical college in Ramanagara. Proposals for medical colleges in Ramanagara and Kanakapura were submitted in 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26, but were rejected each time by the NMC due to inadequate infrastructure and faculty shortages.

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Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said the situation in Ramanagara has improved considerably. “It has been decided to submit proposals for medical colleges in Ramanagara and Bagalkot. Around 50% of the construction work on the new Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) campus in Ramanagara has been completed, and the remaining work will be finished within the next six to seven months. The district hospital there has a capacity of about 300 beds, which meets the NMC requirements for starting a medical college,” he said, quotes TOI

In Bagalkot, the government has already floated a tender for setting up a medical college at an estimated cost of ₹450 crore.

Explaining the decision to defer the Kanakapura proposal, the minister said the district currently lacks adequate hospital infrastructure. “As per NMC norms, a minimum 220-bedded hospital is required to start a medical college with 50 seats. A tender worth ₹550 crore has now been floated for constructing a medical college and hospital in Kanakapura,” he said, adds TOI

To address faculty shortages, the state government is planning contractual recruitment, Patil said, while noting that the High Court has stayed new recruitment related to internal reservation. The government has also directed all eligible medical colleges in the state to apply for seat enhancement for the upcoming academic year. Last year, the NMC approved an additional 450 undergraduate and 421 postgraduate medical seats in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to put on hold the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) model medical college in Vijayapura. The previous government had planned eight PPP medical colleges and submitted project reports for locations including Vijayapura and Kolar. “There was public opposition to the PPP model, and we have therefore decided to keep it on hold,” the minister said.

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