NMC rejects Karnataka's proposal for 3 new medical colleges over faculty, infrastructure gaps
Bengaluru: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has once again rejected the Karnataka Government's proposal to establish three new government medical colleges in Ramanagara, Kanakapura, and Bagalkot, due to a lack of teaching and non-teaching faculty and non-development of other infrastructure,.
Despite being previously rejected, the State Government plans to rectify the deficiencies and submit a fresh application for approval by October 2026.
The proposed institutions include Ramanagara Institute of Medical Sciences in Ramanagara, Kanakapura Institute of Medical Sciences in Kanakapura of Bengaluru South district, and Bagalkot Institute of Medical Sciences in Bagalkot district.
The colleges failed to meet the required norms because the State had not appointed the necessary teaching and non-teaching staff and had not completed the required infrastructure.
Following the rejection, the State Medical Education Department has decided to expedite the recruitment process and submit a fresh proposal to the NMC by October 2026 after addressing the shortcomings.
This is not the first time the state government has applied to the NMC to open medical colleges in Ramanagara and Kanakapura; in fact, this is the third consecutive year. The proposal was rejected in the previous two years due to a lack of necessary infrastructure.
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) decided to construct a 900-bed high-tech hospital and a college at its new campus coming up in Ramanagara. A proposal regarding this has been submitted to the government.
Earlier this year, Medical Dialogues had reported that the Karnataka government 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 had been deferred.
Explaining the delay, Dr B.L. Sujatha Rathod, Director, Directorate of Medical Education, told The Hindu, "The NMC has not given permission for the opening of medical colleges in Ramanagara, Kanakapura and Bagalkot districts this year as well. The main reason for this is that direct posts have not been recruited. The State government has recently given permission for new recruitments. The recruitment process will be completed soon and a proposal will be submitted to the NMC again by October 2026. By this time, the construction work of the medical college being constructed at the new campus of RGUHS in Ramanagara is also expected to be completed."
She said that as per the State budget announcement, proposals are also being prepared for the opening of new medical colleges in Puttur of Dakshina Kannada District, Kolar and Vijayapura districts.
While the State Cabinet had earlier approved setting up a medical college only in Kanakapura, construction work for the institution has already begun.
In Ramanagara, the new Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) campus is being constructed near Archakarahalli at an estimated cost of around Rs 600 crore, with nearly 70% of the work completed. The government had planned to start the medical college using the district hospital.
Meanwhile, the building work in Bagalkote has been completed and is awaiting inauguration. However, due to various reasons, including the implementation of internal reservation, the State government has not yet recruited the necessary human resources for the start of these colleges.
Also read- Karnataka to submit proposal to NMC for new medical colleges in Ramanagara, Bagalkot
