Maharashtra government will establish 8 New Government Medical Colleges with 100 seats each and 403 Crore for infrastructure development.
Maharashtra will soon welcome 8 new Government Medical Colleges (GMCs), each offering 100 seats, for the academic year 2024-25. The approval comes from the central government’s Health and Family Welfare department.
Maharashtra’s GMCs will rise to 4,850
The central government has issued separate directives for the National Medical Council (NMC) to provide Letters of Permission (LoPs) for GMCs located in Gadchiroli, Amravati, Washim, Jalna, Buldana, Ambernath, Bhandara, and Hingoli districts. This addition of 800 seats will supplement the 100 seats approved earlier this August—50 each in Mumbai and Nashik. With these new approvals, the total number of seats available in Maharashtra’s GMCs will rise to 4,850.
The recent approvals followed a second appeal from the state’s Medical Education department in September. The orders issued on September 30 noted that the central government considered the submissions made by the state, leading to the directive for the NMC to issue LoPs.
Earlier this year, Maharashtra applied to establish ten new GMCs across different districts, each intended to accommodate 100 students. However, only two of these applications received approval for a total of 100 seats, while the remaining eight were rejected due to deficiencies identified during inspections by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). Following these rejections, the state government filed an appeal.
New directives from the Government of India highlighted that the colleges have submitted sufficient documentation justifying their compliance with the NMC’s minimum standards. However, it was noted that should inspections reveal any deficiencies in faculty or infrastructure, the NMC may revoke the permissions granted.
403 Crore for infrastructure development
Currently, Maharashtra has GMCs in 35 districts, providing a total of 4,850 seats. “With so many medical aspirants studying abroad, this expansion creates significant opportunities for students within the state,” stated Hasan Mushrif, Maharashtra’s Medical Education Minister.
Each of the new GMCs will receive funding of Rs 403 crore for infrastructure development. Although none of the colleges fully meet the requirement of 88 teaching faculty for every 100 students yet, officials assured that faculty support for the first-year courses is in place, and recruitment is ongoing.
While the decision has been positively received by many medical aspirants and their families, concerns remain about missed opportunities for admission, as the admissions process is already underway. Parent Brijesh Sutaria commented, “The fee structure at private medical colleges is prohibitively high. The addition of 800 government seats is a relief, but the government must ensure fair access to these seats for all applicants.”
In the meantime, the Maharashtra CET Cell has announced a delay in the selection list for the second round of ongoing medical admissions due to a technical error.
