Karnataka proposes 3 new medical colleges, 600 more MBBS seats
Karnataka: The state's Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil recently announced that the Karnataka government has proposed opening three new medical colleges and adding 600 more MBBS seats.
Medical Dialogues had recently reported that the government had 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 was deferred for now.
Meanwhile, speaking to Deccan Herald recently, the minister said there is a proposal to open new medical colleges in Bagalkot, Ramanagara, and Kanakapura. He added that a 400-bed Jayadeva Hospital in Hubballi will be inaugurated in August this year. The state budget this year will include a proposal to establish two to three more Jayadeva hospitals in the state.
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.
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.
In Bagalkot, the government has already floated a tender for setting up a medical college at an estimated cost of ₹450 crore.
