Uttarakhand to open 2 new medical colleges, 200 MBBS seats to be added
Dehradun: Uttarakhand is set to get 200 new MBBS seats from the upcoming academic session as the state government moves ahead with the opening of two new medical colleges in Pithoragarh and Rudrapur.
After completion of the construction work at both institutions, the Medical Education Department has applied to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for recognition. An NMC team is expected to inspect the colleges soon. Once approved, both colleges will start admitting 100 MBBS students each from the new session.
With the addition of these seats, the total number of MBBS seats in Uttarakhand will rise from 1,125 to 1,325, representing more than a 14 per cent increase in a single academic session.
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According to Health Secretary Vinay Shankar Pandey, Uttarakhand currently has 1,125 MBBS seats across government and private medical colleges. These include the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, six government medical colleges, and four private medical colleges.
The increase in seats is expected to provide major relief to students from Uttarakhand who qualify NEET every year but fail to secure MBBS admission due to limited seats in the state.
Jagran reported that a large number of students are forced to either travel to other states or enrol in expensive private medical colleges. Opening medical colleges in border areas like Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar will strengthen the health infrastructure.
The Pithoragarh Medical College is likely to particularly benefit students from the Kumaon division, where access to medical education opportunities has remained limited compared to cities like Dehradun, Haldwani, and Rishikesh.
At present, the major MBBS seat distribution in Uttarakhand includes Doon Medical College with 150 seats, Srinagar Medical College with 150 seats, Haldwani Medical College with 125 seats, Almora Medical College with 100 seats, Haridwar Medical College with 100 seats, Himalayan Medical College Jolly Grant with 150 seats, Subharti Medical College with 50 seats, and Indira Medical College with 200 seats.
Also read- Uttarakhand CM assures Work on three medical colleges start soon
