Gujarat PG Seat Crisis: NMC Approves 247 of 800 Seats

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has created a significant hurdle for Gujarat NEET PG aspirants by approving only 247 additional MD/MS seats for the 2025-26 academic year, a massive shortfall compared to the 800 seats requested by the state's government and GMERS medical colleges. This decision affects 14 government and semi-government institutions, including major colleges in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara. The Gujarat Health Department has ordered all medical college deans to file immediate, formal appeals to the NMC, hoping to salvage the remaining seats and ease the intense competition in the State Quota counselling rounds.

The aspirants in Gujarat have taken a hit following a restrictive ruling from the National Medical Commission (NMC). The state government, through its Health Department and the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) colleges, had vigorously pursued the addition of approximately 800 new MD/MS seats for the academic session 2025-26, aiming to substantially expand postgraduate training capacity.

​However, the NMC, the apex regulatory body for medical education, has shown considerable restraint, granting approval for only 247 additional MD/MS seats across 14 government and semi-government medical colleges. This approval rate, falling short by over 70\% of the initial request, immediately heightens the competition in the highly anticipated State Quota counselling rounds. The immediate response from the Gujarat Health Department has been to issue urgent directives for the affected medical colleges to file formal appeals, hoping to persuade the NMC to reconsider and grant approval for the remaining seats.

• ​Request vs. Approval: The state requested approximately 800 additional MD/MS seats; only 247 were approved by the NMC.
• ​Affected Institutions: The 247 seats are distributed across eight GMERS colleges (receiving 173 seats) and six major government medical colleges in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat (receiving around 100 seats collectively).
• ​Total Seats: The addition of 247 seats brings the estimated total number of PG Broad Specialty seats in Gujarat for the 2025-26 session to approximately 3,719 (including MD, MS, and DNB seats).

​ The NMC’s Criteria and Reasons for Seat Cuts

​The NMC's decision to drastically prune the requested seats is not arbitrary but rooted in stringent regulatory compliance requirements, particularly the Minimum Standard of Requirements (MSR) guidelines. These rules ensure that any increase in intake is supported by adequate infrastructure, clinical load, and teaching faculty.

• ​Faculty-Student Ratio Compliance: One of the most common reasons for seat reduction is the failure to maintain the mandated PG teacher-to-student ratio. The NMC specifies that in Government Colleges, the ratio must be 1:3 for a Professor/Associate Professor Unit Head, and 1:2 for an Associate Professor. Any shortfall in qualified faculty directly restricts the number of seats that can be sanctioned .
• ​Infrastructure and Clinical Load: The colleges must demonstrate sufficient and proportional infrastructure, including lecture theatres, libraries, laboratory facilities, and most crucially, adequate hospital bed strength and a verifiable daily clinical workload. Expanding the number of residents without a proportional increase in clinical material (patient load) can compromise the quality of hands-on training, a red flag for the NMC.
• ​Appeal Process and Fee: Following the shortfall, the Gujarat Health Department has instructed the deans of the 14 affected colleges to submit formal appeals to the NMC's Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). Colleges are required to pay a non-refundable appeal fee, reportedly ₹50,000 per subject, to initiate the review process. This appeal allows the colleges to present documentary evidence or correct minor compliance issues that may have led to the initial rejection.
• ​GMERS vs. Government Colleges: GMERS colleges, which operate on a semi-government model, secured a larger share of the approved seats (173 seats across 8 colleges) compared to the older, major Government Medical Colleges (around 100 seats across 6 colleges). This differential approval rate suggests varied levels of compliance and infrastructure readiness among the institutions.

​ Direct Impact on NEET PG Counselling Cutoffs

​For the thousands of NEET PG aspirants vying for State Quota seats in Gujarat, the limited approval has immediate and significant implications for the NEET PG 2025 counselling cut-offs.

• ​Increased Competition and Rising Cut-offs: A smaller seat matrix means fewer opportunities, which directly translates to higher closing ranks in the Round 1 allocation. Candidates who were banking on the advertised 800 seat increase to secure a top clinical branch will face tighter competition. This will put immense pressure on mid-ranking candidates.
• ​Uncertainty in Choice Filling: Aspirants currently participating in the Round 1 choice-filling process (which is concurrent with the appeal) must make their selections based on the currently approved 247 seats. They cannot rely on the hoped-for seats from the appeal, leading to strategic uncertainty and potentially conservative choices.
• ​Round 2 Relief (If Appeals Succeed): If the NMC reviews the appeals favorably and grants approval for a significant portion of the remaining requested seats, these new additions would most likely be incorporated into the Round 2 (or the Mop-Up Round) of the Gujarat counselling process. This would then cause a welcome drop in the closing ranks, offering a crucial lifeline to candidates currently on the borderline of the Round 1 cutoff. .
• ​Tracking NMC Updates is Crucial: Aspirants, especially those seeking seats in the 14 appealing colleges (e.g., B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, and GMERS Patan), must meticulously track the official websites of both the NMC (nmc.org.in) and the ACPPGMEC (medadmgujarat.org) for updates on the appeal outcome.

​Conclusion

​The NMC's limited approval of only 247 out of 800 requested PG seats in Gujarat for the 2025-26 session is a high-stakes administrative event that significantly impacts the state’s medical aspirants. While the NMC maintains strict quality control by cutting seats where MSR norms are not met, the shortfall intensifies the competition for the existing seats. The success of the current appeal filed by the colleges, with the outcome expected before the final counselling rounds, will determine whether hundreds of candidates receive the crucial relief needed to secure their specialization.

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