On 24 September 2025, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Phase-III of a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at strengthening and upgrading medical education infrastructure across India. Under this plan, 5,000 postgraduate (PG) seats will be added across government medical colleges and standalone PG institutes, and 5,023 MBBS seats will be created by expanding existing medical colleges.

The total estimated cost of implementation from 2025-26 to 2028-29 is 15,034.50 crore, of which the central government will contribute ₹10,303.20 crore and states will share ₹4,731.30 crore. The scheme aims not only to increase the number of medical seats, but also to introduce new specialties, improve access to specialists especially in underserved regions and utilize existing infrastructure more efficiently.

As of now, India has 808 medical colleges and an annual MBBS intake capacity of 1,23,700. Over the past decade, India added more than 69,000 MBBS seats (growth ~127 %) and over 43,000 PG seats (growth ~143 %) to meet rising health needs. To support faculty expansion, the government has also issued updated “Medical Institution (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations 2025” adopting more inclusive and competency-based criteria.

The scheme is expected to yield several benefits: more opportunities for students, improved quality of medical education, balanced regional distribution of healthcare, and generation of employment in the health sector. Detailed guidelines will be issued by the Health Ministry to ensure smooth execution and monitoring.