NEET PG 2026: Karnataka has emerged as the state with the highest number of postgraduate (PG) medical seats in India for the 2026-27 academic session, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, according to data shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Parliament on Friday.
The information was provided by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda in response to a starred question in the Lok Sabha regarding the expansion of postgraduate medical education in the country as per the Indian Express Report.
India currently has 86,360 postgraduate medical seats, including those approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).
Karnataka tops PG medical seat matrix
As per the state and Union Territory-wise data for the 2026-27 academic year, Karnataka has the largest number of postgraduate medical seats in the country as per the reports.
Top states by PG medical seats
Karnataka: 10,092 seats (2,805 government, 7,287 private)
Maharashtra: 9,216 seats (4,277 government, 4,939 private)
Tamil Nadu: 8,023 seats (3,030 government, 4,993 private)
Uttar Pradesh: 7,437 seats (3,568 government, 3,869 private)
Telangana: 5,248 seats
Andhra Pradesh: 4,782 seats
Centre plans 5,000 additional PG seats
The Centre informed Parliament that it has approved Phase III of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for strengthening and upgrading government medical colleges, standalone postgraduate institutes and government hospitals.
Under the scheme, the government aims to add 5,000 postgraduate medical seats between 2025-26 and 2028-29. The cost ceiling has also been enhanced to Rs 1.50 crore per seat.
Regulatory framework for increasing PG seats
The government said the National Medical Commission (NMC) has introduced a regulatory framework through the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER), 2023 and the Post Graduate Minimum Standards Requirement (PGMSR), 2024.
Medical colleges seeking new postgraduate courses or additional seats are assessed based on factors such as:
Availability of qualified faculty
Infrastructure
Clinical material
Other prescribed academic and institutional requirements
Steps taken by NBEMS to expand PG medical education
The government said the NBEMS has undertaken several initiatives to increase the availability of postgraduate medical seats without compromising training quality. These include:
Relaxing accreditation norms while maintaining academic standards
Introducing new postgraduate programmes
Implementing a Joint Accreditation Scheme
Encouraging district hospitals to obtain NBEMS accreditation
Conducting outreach programmes with state governments, public sector undertakings and other stakeholders
PG medical seats approved since 2014-15
The Centre also shared year-wise data on postgraduate seats approved by the NMC and NBEMS over the years, indicating a significant rise in capacity.
2014-15: NMC – 415 seats | NBEMS – 612 seats
2017-18: NMC – 4,965 seats | NBEMS – 624 seats
2023-24: NMC – 4,713 seats | NBEMS – 1,209 seats
2024-25: NMC – 4,188 seats | NBEMS – 1,667 seats
2025-26: NMC – 9,084 seats | NBEMS – 2,009 seats (highest NMC approvals during the period)
No proposal to convert diploma seats into DNB degree seats
The government clarified that NBEMS is not currently considering any proposal to convert all Diploma seats into full-fledged Diplomate of National Board (DNB) postgraduate degree seats.
PG medical course fees
On the issue of fees, the Centre said the fixation of fees for postgraduate medical courses is decided by the respective state and Union Territory governments, resulting in variations across the country.
The government also noted that the NMC's February 2022 guidelines regulating fees for 50% of seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities are currently under judicial consideration.
However, fees for NBEMS programmes—including DNB, DrNB, FNB and Diploma courses—are uniform across India, with the annual course fee fixed at Rs 1.25 lakh.
NEET PG 2026 exam details
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has opened the NEET PG 2026 selective edit window on July 31 and it will remain available till August 10, 2026. The NEET PG 2026 examination is scheduled to be conducted on August 30, 2026.
