Rising NEET competition, high fees push Indian students to med colleges in Russia

Rising NEET competition, high fees push Indian students to med colleges in Russia 

After a surge in aspirants applying to pursue MBBS in Russia, the country added around 2,000 seats 

Ayushi.Gupta1@timesofindia.com 26.05.2025 TIMES EDUCATION

As Russia increased 2,000 additional medical seats for Indian students, it reflected mutually beneficial arrangements between Russian medical colleges and Indian students. In 2023, there were around 8,000 seats in Russian medical colleges, which have now increased to 10,000. Indian students constitute a major cohort of international students studying Medicine in Russia, and the latest initiative confirms that the country is ready to welcome more. 

Medical colleges in Russia follow the National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines and support the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations, 2021, which makes studying in Russia a suitable and affordable option for several Indian aspirants. With a surge in NEET competition and soaring fees at private medical colleges in India, many medical aspirants are choosing to study in Russia, besides countries including Malaysia, Nepal, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Poland that offer MBBS courses aligned with the NMC norms. 

The total pass percentage of FMGs from Russia at Foreign Medical Graduate Exams (FMGE) is 2025%, indicating promising results. Responding to the growing demand, Russia has increased its intake of international students in recent years. Speaking to Education Times , a spokesperson from the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Chennai says, “To meet the rising demand and align with the Unified Plan for Achieving National Development Goals approved by Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian Federation aims to increase the number of foreign students to 5,00,000 by 2030, up from the current 3,89,000. 

At present, there are approximately  Indian students in Russia, a significant increase from previous years. In 2023 alone, around 8,000 additional student visas were issued to aspiring Indian students.” The spokesperson added, “Russian medical universities are expanding their capacity to accommodate Indian students. For example, Volgograd State Medical University has increased its intake for Indian students from 140 in 2024 to 350 seats at present. Similar trends are observed at Kazan State Medical University, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Baltic Immanuel Kant Federal University, Far Eastern Federal University, Moscow Aviation University, and others.” Dr Sparsh Rawat, who completed his MBBS from Mari State University, Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El Republic, Russia, in 2023 and recently finished his internship at GMC Haldwani, Uttarakhand, calls it a mutually beneficial arrangement. 

Dr Rawat passed his NEET in 2017 but could not study in private Indian medical colleges due to high fees. “A school senior told me that MBBS in Russia was more affordable, so I chose to study there. My total fees for six years in Russia were about Rs 15 lakhs, whereas private colleges in India cost nearly Rs 1 crore in 2017. I knew I would face challenges like clearing the FMGE and completing an internship, but I was willing to take the risk instead of spending crores in India,” he says. Dr Rawat adds, “After completing MBBS in Russia, one needs to focus on passing the FMGE. It demands rigorous self-study while completing the course abroad. 

Indian FMGs must focus on topics relevant to India, such as diseases prevalent here, which differ from Russia’s disease profile. However, some universities assist Indian students by offering instruction in Hindi and inviting Indian guest lecturers. Similar support is also available in countries like Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Georgia.” Russia has over 600 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) offering varied courses, including 60 medical universities. The spokesperson says, “Indian students traditionally have been interested in studying Medicine, which aligns with NMC norms. Students begin learning the Russian language from the first year, which is crucial for patient interaction and clinical practice.” Dr Kaushal, media coordinator, All FMGs Association (AFA), says, “The scarcity of MBBS seats highlights systemic failures and harsh realities in Indian medical education.

 Over 20 lakh aspirants compete for just 1.18 lakh seats across government and private colleges, yielding a low success rate of only 4 to 5%. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka dominate more than half of the seats, while northern states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar receive only a fraction, leaving rural areas underserved by doctors and training facilities.” 

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