NBE introduces 11 new DNB, Diploma, FNB, DrNB academic programmes
nbe 11 new courses
New Delhi: In a major push towards strengthening advanced medical education and specialised healthcare services in India, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has introduced 11 new academic programmes across Diploma, DNB, FNB and DrNB disciplines, including oncology, pulmonology, trauma care, surgery, immunology and nuclear medicine.
The new courses were officially launched during the 23rd NBEMS Convocation Ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, where Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said the initiative would help expand specialist healthcare delivery and improve patient care across the country.
The newly introduced programmes include:
DrNB Paediatric Haemato- Oncology
FNB Paediatric Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
FNB Upper GI Surgery
DNB Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
FNB Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery
Diploma in Nuclear Medicine
DrNB Head and Neck Oncology
DrNB Pulmonary Medicine
FNB Allergy, Asthma and Applied Immunology
FNB Interventional Pulmonology
FNB Breast Surgery
The occasion also marked the launch of the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative, a Government-approved initiative aligned with the vision of building an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The initiative seeks to provide nationwide access to high-impact scholarly research articles, journals and academic publications for students, faculty members and researchers, thereby promoting equitable access to quality academic resources and strengthening the research ecosystem in medical education.
The Union Health Minister informed that the number of medical colleges in the country has increased from 387 to 818, while undergraduate medical seats have risen to nearly 1.28 lakh. Similarly, postgraduate medical seats have expanded from around 31,000 to nearly 85,000. He further noted that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced the addition of 75,000 more UG and PG medical seats over the next five years, out of which nearly 23,000 seats have already been established in the past two years.
He further informed that the Government has sanctioned nearly ₹15,000 crore for the period from 2026 to 2029 towards strengthening undergraduate and postgraduate medical education infrastructure and enhancing quality standards in government medical colleges.
In December 2025, the NBE launched an online programme on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Education for postgraduate doctors, faculty members, trainees, and alumni, and achieved a historic milestone by being officially recognised by Guinness World Records for "Most viewers of an Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare lesson live stream on YouTube". The AI training initiative was conceptualised by NBEMS under the leadership of Dr Abhijat Sheth, President of NBEMS and Chairman of NMC, to empower doctors with foundational and applied knowledge of artificial intelligence.
There are 20 modules in the programme being delivered across six months by reputed national and international faculty from Harvard USA, IIM Lucknow, IISc Bengaluru, etc. T
