Margao's medical college to start MBBS admissions with 50 seats this year
Goa: To promote medical education in Goa, the central government has approved the establishment of a second government medical college in the state.
With this, the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has initiated the process of establishing a medical college within the ESI Hospital premises in Margao, Goa. The new medical college will be established with a total of 50 MBBS admissions and is expected to commence operations from the academic year 2026-27, reports The Goan.
A central ESIC team under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is currently in Goa to conduct site inspections and complete the necessary formalities.
In response, government sources stated that the proposal had been submitted by the state government last year and was awaiting central government approval. It was being seriously considered and has now been given the green light. Officials are working on obtaining the remaining necessary clearances. The source also indicated that if all approvals are received by the end of this month, admissions could begin from the 2026-27 academic year.
Sources also told the Goan that the institution will initially offer 50 MBBS seats, of which 50 percent will be reserved for students from Goa. The National Medical Commission (NMC) is currently not approving more than 150 seats for any medical college, so GMC has reached its maximum permissible capacity under the existing guidelines and cannot expand further without significant infrastructure upgrades.
The government had proposed increasing the number of seats at GMC from 200 to 250 last June, but the proposal has not yet been considered due to infrastructure requirements. Sources said that they were fortunate to have even received approval for 200 seats.
Furthermore, sources at Goa University have confirmed that ESIC has held informal discussions with the university regarding the necessary affiliation. They have been advised to follow the prescribed procedure and are currently in the process of submitting their application.
According to The Goan media news report, the proposed medical college will be managed by ESIC, and the state government is planning to provide additional land for the future expansion of both the college and hospital facilities.
This will be Goa's second government medical college, after Goa Medical College (GMC). GMC is one of the oldest medical institutions in India. GMC currently has a capacity of 200 MBBS seats, of which 85 percent are reserved under the state quota.
