Fake docs: Med council faces  dissolution demand

TNN | Sep 14, 2026, 03:36 AM IST

Kolkata: A renewed demand for dissolving West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) has surfaced after Association of Private Hospital and Nursing Home (APHNH) accused it of providing licences to doctors with fake degrees. One of them is allegedly working as a gynaecologist in Burdwan and the other as a general surgeon in North 24 Parganas. Doctors’ bodies have also demanded a thorough probe into the issue.

“We have lodged a complaint with the health minister about these two persons. We feel there is a bigger scam operating where WBMC has given registration without proper verification,” said Rajiv Pandey, secretary, APHNH.

“We demand a judicial inquiry into this allegation,” said Sajal Biswas, general secretary, Service Doctors Forum.

On Thursday, doctors from APHNH protested in front of WBMC’s office in Salt Lake. tnn

Can MBBS student be given one grace mark? HC to medical univ chancellor

Can MBBS student be given one grace mark? HC to medical univ chancellor

14.09.2026

Bhopal/Jabalpur: MP high court has asked the chancellor of state-run MP Medical Science University based in Jabalpur to apprise the court whether he has an extraordinary power to grant one grace mark to a student according to the statute of the university. 

The student of the varsity-affiliated Gajra Raja Medical College in Gwalior had requested the court to intervene and help him get one grace mark in the MBBS first year exam so that he doesn’t have to lose a year. On Sept 8, the division bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice A K Singh asked additional advocate general Jahanvi Pandit to find out from the chancellor of the MP Medical Science University as to whether there is any provision for granting one grace mark to the petitioner “to save a year of an otherwise bright medical student“. 

The petitioner, Ramnaresh Kushwah, contended that he failed the first year MBBS exam by just one mark. He is regularly attending the second-year classes but may not be allowed to appear in the exam because of a deficiency of one mark in the first-year exam. He said the chancellor of the university has an extraordinary jurisdiction under clause 32 of the Madhya Pradesh Universities Common Ordinance No 6 to grant grace marks in cases of such extraordinary hardships. The court has placed the case among 10 top cases for hearing on Sept 15

NMC adds over 13K MBBS seats, total intake tops 1.4 lakh

NMC adds over 13K MBBS seats, total intake tops 1.4 lakh

 Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com 12.09.2026

New Delhi: National Medical Commission (NMC) has approved 13,186 additional MBBS seats for the 2026-27 academic year, taking the total approved undergraduate medical intake to 1,40,214 seats across 836 medical colleges, excluding seats in Institutes of National Importance (INIs). 

The updated seat matrix, as on Sept 1, incorporates permissions for new medical colleges and increases in the annual intake of existing colleges. The expansion comes as NEET-UG counselling for the 2026-27 MBBS batch is underway, with the counselling schedule pushing back the start of the academic session and subsequent rounds, including the stray vacancy round, expected to continue into Oct. 

The increase is heavily driven by the private sector, which accounts for 10,400 of the 13,186 additional seats, or nearly 79%, while govt medical colleges have added 2,786 seats. The total intake has risen from 1,27,028 renewed seats to 1,40,214, an increase of about 10.4%. 

Karnataka has recorded the highest increase with 1,650 additional seats; followed by Tamil Nadu with 1,250; Bihar with 1,240; UP with 1,200 and Rajasthan with 1,100. Telangana has added 1,010 seats and West Bengal 975. 

Karnataka’s total MBBS intake now stands at 15,745 seats, including 4,600 in govt colleges and 11,145 in private colleges. Tamil Nadu has 14,299 seats, Uttar Pradesh 14,400 and Maharashtra 13,249. The addition of 13,186 seats will widen the pool of MBBS seats available during the 2026-27 admission cycle, although the actual allocation of these seats will depend on the ongoing counselling process. Among other major increases, Andhra Pradesh has added 525 seats, MP and Jharkhand 520 each, Maharashtra 550, Haryana 350, Kerala 300, Gujarat 250, Puducherry and Uttarakhand 200 each, and Jammu & Kashmir 175. 

The NMC matrix shows zero increase in Delhi, while Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have also recorded no additional seats. The NMC has made it clear that admissions must be restricted to the number of seats approved in the matrix

Newborn infected with Cov in womb, saved at city hosp

Newborn infected with Cov in womb, saved at city hosp

Prithvijit.Mitra@timesofindia.com 07.09.2026

Kolkata: The pandemic may have ended four years ago, but coronavirus continues to throw up an occasional scare. Last week, a newborn, who contracted the virus in her mother’s womb, was saved from the jaws of death at a city pvt hospital. Numerous such cases were reported during the height of the pandemic between 2020 and 2022. 

While the baby had life-threatening symptoms, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in neonates (MIS-N) ‘associated with peri-natal SARS Covid infection’ and sepsis leading to severe breathing distress, irregular heart beats and fluctuating blood pressure, her mother had no symptoms that prevented doctors from suspecting Covid. The infant had to be put on ventilation but was eventually diagnosed and saved by using Gamma Globulin, a blood protein that acts as antibodies against viruses and bacteria. Born on Aug 24 at Belle Vue Clinic to Arpita Santra, the baby girl developed a severe breathing distress soon after birth. Symptoms started multiplying and she was soon found to have sepsis, which is an extremely toxic response of the body to an infection. But doctors could not gauge the trigger. The newborn was first put on oxygen and as her condition worsened, she was shifted to ventilation. 

“We decided to conduct a pro-BNP test to help gauge the infection. It detected MIS-N and sepsis which pointed at Covid. Both conditions were life-threatening and the symptoms were getting severe by the hour. But since the Covid test result could not be obtained before five days, we decided to go ahead with treatment,” said paediatrician Santanu Ray, who led the treatment at Belle Vue. A high pro-BNP test result indicates that the heart muscles are stretched, overworked or under extra pressure. When the heart chambers experience increased volume or pressure, they release this protein into the bloodstream to help regulate fluid balance and blood pressure. “MIS-N has a mortality rate of 50%. Since her other parameters were deteriorating fast, we had to be quick. While MIS-N increases the risk of a heart failure, she also had sepsis. We decided to administer Gamma protein which is an effective method to counter severe infection and its symptoms,” added Ray. It helped counter the symptoms and put the baby on a recovery path. “By the time Covid was confirmed on the fifth day, she had started showing signs of improvement. While the worst period was over, she was kept under screening for several more days till she could be weaned out of oxygen support completely,” said Ray

Four attempts for MBBS cover supplementary exams: court

Four attempts for MBBS cover supplementary exams: court

The Hindu Bureau

KOCHI. 31.08.2026

Both regular and supplementary examinations count towards the “four attempts within four years” rule for clearing the First Professional MBBS Degree examination, the Kerala High Court recently held.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas found that a candidate could avail of only four attempts, whether regular or supplementary exams, and no further opportunity could be granted once those attempts had been exhausted. This was evident from the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023, and the guidelines prescribed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), the court stated.

The court said regulations framed by academic bodies should not be subjected to casual judicial interference, especially when the issue concerned medical students, whose competence affects public health and safety.

The petitioner, a first-year medical student from Kollam, contended that the four attempts prescribed in the rules must be interpreted as regular exams and should not include supplementary exams. She had not cleared the course, having failed in three subjects and used up all four attempts.

She had sought directions to write the next First Professional MBBS Degree examination, either as a mercy chance or as a chance available to her within the four years.

The State government, Kerala University of Health Sciences, UGC, and NMC opposed granting any leniency based on the regulations.

Petitioner in Kerala had contended that the four attempts prescribed in rules must be interpreted as regular exams

Issue circular on duties of doctors acting as witnesses: HC

Issue circular on duties of doctors acting as witnesses: HC

The medical professionals appearing as expert witnesses must exercise a high degree of care, said the court.

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI. 20.08.2026

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Health Secretary and the Director of Medical Education and Research to issue a circular/guidelines comprehensively dealing with duties and responsibilities of government medical professionals while acting as expert witnesses before courts.

Justice B. Pugalendhi said the privilege of assisting the court carried with it a corresponding responsibility to provide objective, accurate and consistent testimony. Even an inadvertent lapse by the medical expert while testifying created confusion, prolonged judicial proceedings and affected the rights of either the victim or the accused.

Therefore, the medical professionals appearing before courts as expert witnesses must exercise a high degree of care. Equally important was the duty to carefully read and verify the deposition before affixing their signature, the court said.

The duty to assist the court was an integral part of their professional obligations. It was not a matter of discretion or favour, but a statutory and professional duty, it said.

The court directed that the comprehensive circular/guidelines be issued to all government medical colleges, government hospitals, district headquarters hospitals, primary health centres and other government health care institutions.

It said the instructions should include the ethical standards expected of every expert witness.

It was necessary to ensure that Accident Registers, Wound Certificates, Medico-Legal Reports and all other medico-legal records accurately recorded the clinical findings and professional opinion formed at the time of examination in a legible and unambiguous manner.

Such records might be generated in a typed or computer-generated format for easy comprehension by investigating agencies, prosecutors, defence counsel and courts.

There was a necessity to prepare revised proforma for Medico-Legal Examination of Survivors/ Victims of Sexual Violence, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in cases involving sexual violence, including POCSO Act cases. The medical professionals should familiarise themselves with relevant medical records before entering witness box and depose.

The court stressed the need to understand every question during examination and cross-examination; to seek clarification before answering if there was ambiguity; to carefully read and verify the deposition before signing it; and to immediately bring to the notice of the court any omission or inadvertent error noticed therein.

The efficacy of the justice delivery system depended, to a considerable extent, upon the credibility of expert evidence. It was, therefore, imperative that every medical professional entrusted with this responsibility discharged it with the highest standards of competence, objectivity and professional integrity, the court said.

NMC proposes single licence for doctors to practise across India

NMC proposes single licence for doctors to practise across India

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI. 20.08.2026

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed a registration system under which a medical practitioner, once registered with a State Medical Council and allotted a Unique Identification (UID) number in the National Medical Register, would be eligible to practise across India without obtaining fresh registration or a licence in another State.

The proposal is part of the draft Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notified by the NMC on August 11. The NMC has invited objections and suggestions for 30 days from the date of notification. Under the proposed system, the State Medical Council would continue to scrutinise applications and grant registration and the licence for doctors to practise, but the approval would be reflected in both the State Medical Register and the National Medical Register.

NEET toppers skew the curve in 2026, MBBS cut-off may go up by 40 marks Admissions Won’t Get Tougher, Say Experts

NEET toppers skew the curve in 2026, MBBS cut-off may go up by 40 marks Admissions Won’t Get Tougher, Say Experts

 

Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com 11.08.2026

Chennai: The cut-offs for MBBS/BDS admissions to govt colleges in Tamil Nadu are likely to increase by up to 40 marks for the open category and between 21 and 41 marks for some reserved categories this year. This is because the number of top scorers in NEET 2026 is higher than that of the previous year. This may not mean that admissions will get tougher now, experts say, as the selection committee will allot seats based on the order of merit in the eligibility test and 69% rule of reservation. 

Counselling for MBBS and BDS will begin on Aug 13. Offline counselling will be held for candidates under special category on the same day. The MBBS/BDS rank list for 2026 admissions was released on Monday by health minister K G Arunraj. There were 90 students with a score above 700 in 2024, 29 students in 2023, and five in 2022. The number of students above 500 marks in 2026 was more than 6,000 compared to less than 4,000 in 2025. Between 350 and 499, there were 15,800 students, fewer than 17,431 recorded in 2025. This year, TN has 9,999 MBBS seats. After surrendering seats to the Centre under all India quota, the seat matrix will open with 7,157 seats—4,473 state-quota seats in govt colleges and 2,684 govt quota seats in self-financing colleges. 

For the first time in five years, the state has 50 MBBS seats each in three existing medical colleges. At least 700 MBBS seats have been added to private colleges, taking the additional seat tally to 850. But this will not reflect in the seat matrix. Four institutions with 800 MBBS seats were removed from the state list and added to the Centre’s list as they were granted deemed university status. While the health minister said the new seats will ease competition, counsellors say the loss of seats will also mean higher fee, no quota for meritorious students, no reservation under 60% or for govt school students. 

This year too, the middle is crowded,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. Analysis shows more than 3,800 students are bunched between 500 and 599 marks. Open category seats in govt run medical colleges, which ended at 1,508 rank in 2025, and a cut-off score of 533, will now have a cut-off hovering above 570. The BC cut-off will hover around 535, compared to 506 last year, while BCM and MBC will be around 523 and 525 respectively. In the SC/SCA and ST, cut off will be around 465, 435 and 430. Scores of students in the 7.5% quota, where seats were reserved for govt school students, have improved in 2026. Top six students under this category had scores hovering between 585 and 599, compared to last year’s topper who had a score of 572 out of 720. 

For BDS, there are 1,383 seats: 213 in govt colleges and 1,170 govt quota seats in selffinancing colleges. “Seats have come down as one college has been derecognised and one has been sent to the central pool after it was granted deemed university status,” Arunraj said. Experts say it is difficult to predict the cut-offs for dental seats, as BDS is no longer the natural choice for students who don’t get into MBBS—many wait to retake NEET.

NMC plans to tighten norms to make MBBS colleges fully ready before admissions

NMC plans to tighten norms to make MBBS colleges fully ready before admissions 

EDUCATION TIMES 06.08.2026

Regulations require complete academic and teaching hospital facilities before permissions are granted, abolishing the State-issued Essentiality Certificate

 Divyansh Kumar | Posted August 03, 2026 01:00 PM

First-year MBBS students may no longer have to study in colleges with half-built anatomy halls, under-equipped labs, or temporary teaching hospitals. To strengthen the quality of medical education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed draft amendments that would require aspiring medical colleges to complete all academic and hospital infrastructure before applying for regulatory approval, effectively ending the practice of admitting students while facilities are still under construction.

Medical educators have welcomed the proposed ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to incomplete infrastructure, saying it could substantially improve the learning experience from the very first day of medical training. However, questions remain over whether the reforms could slow down the expansion of medical colleges and lead to a greater concentration of institutions in urban centres.

The proposed draft amendments to the Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023 represent one of the most significant overhauls of the approval framework since the NMC replaced the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI). Besides mandating 100% infrastructure readiness, the draft proposes abolishing the State-issued Essentiality Certificate, introducing a mandatory institutional corpus fund, requiring solvency certificates verified by CAs, expanding the list of eligible applicants, and prescribing stricter penalties for incomplete applications or attempts to influence the approval process.

Explaining the rationale behind the changes, an NMC official tells Education Times that the objective is to make the approval mechanism more objective, transparent and quality-oriented. “The amendments are intended to further strengthen the regulatory framework for establishment of new medical colleges by making the approval process more objective, transparent and quality-oriented. The emphasis is on ensuring that essential infrastructure and institutional readiness are in place before applications are considered, thereby reducing avoidable deficiencies and facilitating a more efficient assessment process,” the official says.

Infrastructure Gap

For faculty members, the proposal directly addresses a longstanding concern that students often bear the consequences of infrastructure deficiencies during the crucial first year of training. “The first year lays the foundation for the entire medical career as students require well-equipped anatomy dissection halls, physiology and biochemistry laboratories, libraries, skills laboratories and digital learning facilities from the very first day,” says Dr Roy R Chandran, professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Government Medical College, Kozhikode. He adds that when infrastructure is incomplete, practical teaching suffers, faculty spend valuable time overcoming logistical challenges instead of focusing on academics, and students lose confidence in the quality of their training.

Welcoming the proposal to prohibit temporary hospital arrangements during inspections, stressing that medical education is fundamentally patient-centred, Dr Chandran says, “A teaching hospital develops its academic culture over time. It has established departments, multidisciplinary teams, standard treatment protocols, adequate patient load and regular academic activities. Temporary hospitals created merely to satisfy inspection requirements cannot replicate this environment. If we expect to produce competent doctors, the teaching hospital must be fully functional from the very beginning, not just on the day of inspection.”

State Stake

One of the most debated proposals remains the abolition of the State-issued Essentiality Certificate, a mandate that historically allowed state governments to assess the requirement of a new medical college in a particular region. While the NMC argues that removing the certificate will simplify approvals, experts caution that it could encourage private investment to concentrate in already developed urban markets. “Dispensing with the Essentiality Certificate is intended to simplify the regulatory process while retaining the Commission’s focus on academic, clinical and infrastructural standards,” says the NMC official.

Clinical learning depends on adequate patient exposure, and if more medical colleges are clustered in the same city, they compete for the same patient population. “This can reduce the diversity and volume of clinical cases available to each student. Expansion should be guided by regional healthcare needs rather than simply increasing the number of colleges, rather than adding that strengthening existing government hospitals may often deliver greater benefits than opening new institutions,” adds Dr Chandran.

NMC draft amendment scraps essentiality certificate requirement for setting up new medical colleges

NMC draft amendment scraps essentiality certificate requirement for setting up new medical colleges 

Written By : Barsha Misra Published On 4 Aug 2026 4:30 PM | Updated On 4 Aug 2026 4:30 PM

New Delhi: Under the new amendment introduced to the Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses and Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023, approval from the State government may no longer be required for setting up new medical colleges.

While earlier, obtaining an essentiality certificate from the State was mandatory for setting up a new medical college, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has removed this requirement under the proposed Establishment of New Medical Institutions Assessment & Rating (Amendment) Regulations, 2026.

According to the proposed amendment, a Consent of Affiliation (CoA) letter obtained from a recognized university, issued in the name of the applicant/ the Medical College/ the entity in writing, is required.

Also Read: NMC draft amendment bars approval for new medical colleges, courses, seat hike without complete infrastructure

Under the 2023 regulations, Clause 9 specifies the documents that the applicant medical college needs to submit to the Commission. Previously, the following documents were required:

a. Essentiality Certificate (EC) issued by the concerned State Government or Union Territory administration or the appropriate authority as the case may be unless otherwise specified. The EC shall be valid at the time of application; and

b. A Consent of Affiliation (CoA) letter obtained from a recognized university, issued in the name of the applicant entity in writing. The CoA shall be valid at the time of application; and

c. Documentary proof indicating the establishment of a corpus fund by the entity dedicatedly applicable to functioning of the new medical institution year after year; and

d. A solvency certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant within ninety days prior to the last date of submission of the application as mandated by the Notification issued by the MARB; and

e. Documents by way of proof that such reasonable area of land is either owned or arranged under lease or such other arrangement by the eligible entity; and

f. Capabilities with regard to the provision of required basic infrastructure, administrative and financial support of the applicant, if the eligible entity is other than Central or a State Government or Union Territory administration; and

g. Documentary proof of owning or running a hospital of required capacity as indicated in the MSRs.

h. Proof indicating remittance of prescribed application fee and bank guarantee; and

i. Any such other documents are to be notified from time to time by the MARB.

NMC has proposed to remove clause 9 (a)- therefore removing the need for an essentiality certificate. Modifying clause 9 (b), the Commission has proposed that a Consent of Affiliation (CoA) letter obtained from a recognized university, issued in the name of the applicant/ the Medical College/ the entity in writing, will be required.

Clause 9 (c) has also been deleted- therefore the documentary proof indicating the establishment of corpus fund by the entity dedicatedly applicable to the functioning of the new medical institution year after year may also no longer be required.

The Commission has further proposed that Clause 9(d) shall be amended as: A solvency certificate based on the last completed financial year issued by a Chartered Accountant within ninety days prior to the last date of invitation of the application.

It added that (9) Clause 9 (k) shall be inserted as:" Infrastructure and other statutory requirements as per the regulations shall be complete at the time of application. Temporary arrangement for the Hospital and college building shall not be permitted. A work-in-progress status of the applicant institute shall not be considered for further processing of the application."

NEET-PG aspirants to face Aadhaar checks Candidates To Get Test City Details 3 Wks In Advance

NEET-PG aspirants to face Aadhaar checks Candidates To Get Test City Details 3 Wks In Advance 

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com  02.08.2026

New Delhi: More than 2.73 lakh medical graduates have registered for NEET-PG 2026, an increase of over 12.5% over last year, as National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences rolls out enhanced authentication measures and candidate-friendly initiatives for the Aug-30 examination.

Candidates will undergo Aadhaar-based authentication during registration and on the examination day, while iris-based biometric verification will be used wherever fingerprint authentication is unsuccessful. They will also have to indicate three preferred states for allotment of examination centres, with their correspondence state as the mandatory first preference. 

Test city information will be issued nearly three weeks before the examination, enabling candidates to plan travel and accommodation in advance. Examination will comprise 180 questions that have to be answered in 210 minutes, giving candidates more time per question while retaining the overall duration of examination. 

Union health minister J P Nadda reviewed preparations for the examination on Saturday and directed officials to ensure its smooth, transparent and technology-enabled conduct while maintaining the highest standards of security and integrity. He also urged candidates not to fall prey to rumours or fraudulent claims regarding question paper leaks, saying the final paper is selected through a highly encrypted, time-bound process shortly before the examination, making any claim of prior access entirely false. 

Officials said examination will be conducted under a multi-layered security framework, which includes CCTV surveillance, biometric authentication, candidate frisking, signal jammers, dynamic computer allocation, live monitoring through central and regional command centres, and independent observers. 

More than 60,000 examination personnel will be deployed to oversee the examination. The end-to-end question paper preparation and delivery process has been reinforced through multiple layers of encryption, secure offline preparation, time-bound finalisation of paper shortly before the examination and controlled digital decryption at the scheduled commencement of the test.

No promotion, no pay rise: TN’s super specialty seats go begging

No promotion, no pay rise: TN’s super specialty seats go begging 

31.07.2026

Chennai: Govt doctors in Tamil Nadu are shunning super specialty training because the additional qualification brings no assured promotion, salary increase or posting in whichever field they train in, doctors’ associations said, leaving the state with hundreds of unfilled seats in disciplines critical to public hospitals. 

Supreme Court this week directed Tamil Nadu to surrender 151 unfilled super specialty seats to the Directorate General of Health Services, triggering a political tug-of-war. While DMK accused the govt of failing to defend the seats, the ruling TVK said the order protects the state’s claim if cut-offs are lowered. But doctors’ bodies say the deeper question remains unanswered: why would a govt doctor spend years in advanced training if the job that follows does not change? 

Records show that 119 seats in 2024 and 145 seats in 2025 were surrendered to All India Quota during the previous regime. “We are an army of more than 20,000 doctors. If seats are vacant, it is because the govt has failed to expand specialist care in govt hospitals,” said Service Doctors and Post Graduate Association general secretary A Ramalingam. 

Doctors who complete a DM or MCh course say the state does not consistently reward that training through promotions, adequate pay rises or appointments in their specialty. Tamil Nadu Govt Doctors Association, welcoming SC judgment, said the govt must increase at least 350 super specialty seats if it wants to place doctors where they are needed. “We must have a wide range of specialists in all medical colleges. 

Without opportunities, it will be difficult to encourage govt doctors to study further,” said association state president A Srinivasan. Beyond pay and postings, mid-career doctors are also bound by service rules mandating them to remain in govt employment until retirement. Specialists in some branches say the workload is high, the risks are greater, and the incentives are too modest. 

TN Medical Officers Association said the loss of seats would eventually weaken public hospitals. “These posts and facilities are created by the state with taxpayers’ money. The quota exists because service doctors will serve in govt hospitals until superannuation,” said general secretary M Akilan.

SC verdict on super speciality seats ‘historic’, says Minister

SC verdict on super speciality seats ‘historic’, says Minister

He attributes the verdict to the timely filing of writ petition by T.N. government; a section of govt. doctors is sceptical, saying important seats will be filled in the All India second-round counselling

Health Minister K.G. Arunraj presenting the award for Professional Excellence in the field of Medicine to Thara Rangaswamy during the Tamil Nadu Medical Council Awards 2026 held in the city on Tuesday.

B. Jothi Ramalingam

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI. 29.07.2026

Tamil Nadu will surrender the unfilled super speciality medical seats for the second round of the All India Quota (AIQ) counselling. If the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) decides to reduce the percentile after the counselling, 50% of the vacant seats should be reverted to the State, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said, quoting the Supreme Court (SC) verdict.

T.N. reserves 50% of its DM/MCh super speciality seats for in-service candidates. This year, 151 super speciality seats remained unfilled in the State. In its order, the apex court directed the State to revert the unfilled 151 superspeciality seats to the DGHS by Wednesday (July 29). The DGHS should complete the process of the second round of counselling expeditiously.

The court also directed that the counselling should be conducted on the same percentile, and if, after the second round of counselling, a decision is to be taken to reduce the percentile, then 50% of such seats should be reverted to T.N., and the remaining 50% seats should be filled through subsequent counselling by the DGHS as per the renewed percentile, the order said.

Dr. Arunraj called the verdict “historic”, attributing it to the timely writ petition filed by the State government and appropriate arguments in the apex court. Seats reserved for in-service candidates that fall vacant had to be surrendered to the AIQ.

In the past, no proper measures were taken, and no proper cases were filed in the court, creating a situation in which doctors of Tamil Nadu could not secure the seats, he said.

With Tuesday’s verdict, if seats remain vacant after the second round of counselling, DGHS cannot reduce the percentile and fill the vacant seats on its own. If they decide to reduce the cut-off, 50% of the unfilled seats should be reverted to the State pool, he told reporters during the sidelines of an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC).

Doctors’ concern

However, a section of government doctors is sceptical, as all important seats such as Cardiology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery and Nephrology will be filled in the All India second round counselling. If seats remain vacant and the percentile is reduced, service candidates may get seats such as in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Paediatric Surgery. In fact, some seats in these specialities have remained vacant for the past few years. “The number of service doctors appearing for NEET super speciality examination has dropped, and those opting for difficult super speciality branches have also reduced due to lack of promotional opportunities, reduced super speciality posts and absence of financial increments,” a senior doctor noted.

TNMC awards

At the TNMC awards function, the Minister presented awards to 20 doctors.

Addressing the gathering, he listed the various initiatives taken by the present government. This included reforms at the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation.

Noting that some persons held posts for 10 to 15 years, he said that no extensions were given, and deputations/special postings were withdrawn.

Noting that Tamil Nadu aims to grow into a $1.5 trillion economy, Health Secretary Darez Ahamed said that the health sector has to contribute significantly. He requested doctors to create new products, take up more research and create intellectual property in the State. TNMC’s Ad-hoc committee members A. Muruganathan, convenor, S. Sivaram Kannan, R. Prabhakaran and G. Srinivas, and registrar A. Senthil Vadivu were present.

NEET PG 2026 tightens anti-leak measures

NEET PG 2026 tightens anti-leak measures 

Candidates will undergo multistage authentication during registration

 Divyansh.Kumar@timesofindia.com 27.07.2026

Education times 

To insulate the upcoming NEET PG 2026 entrance exam from the malpractice that derailed NEET UG, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is deploying a multilayered digital security framework.

 The exam scheduled on August 30 will have mandatory Aadhaarbased authentication at multiple stages, alongside technology-enabled analytical monitoring introduced this year, to flag suspicious answering patterns. The measures come less than three months after the NEET UG 2026 paper leak triggered the cancellation of exam, followed by a retest. 

While NEET PG has long been conducted as a ComputerBased Test (CBT), officials say a post-crisis review led to additional safeguards aimed at preventing impersonation, organised cheating and unauthorised access to examination content. “After concerns raised in other examinations, NBEMS undertook a comprehensive review of the exam processes in consultation with the stakeholders concerned, including the technology partner and security agencies to identify areas where safeguards could be further strengthened. 

The review resulted in additional preventive measures and refinement of existing protocols,” a senior NMC official tells on the condition of anonymity. Aadhaar authentication is introduced to control the impersonation loophole that has plagued entrance exams. “The objective is to ensure that the genuine registered candidate appears for the examination, thereby preventing impersonation and protecting the interests of honest candidates. Checks would apply at several stages: application submission, entry into the exam hall and even after bio-breaks, as efforts to prevent organised cheating,” the official added. Beyond biometrics, the architecture of CBT mode exam itself serves as a deterrent to networkdriven leaks. “Unlike paper-based exams, there is no mass printing, transportation, storage or physical distribution of question booklets to thousands of examination centres. 

Digital delivery through secured systems considerably limits exposure of examination content,” adds the official. System-driven question randomisation also helps control cheating inside exam halls, under which each candidate receives questions in a different sequence. “This ensures that neighbouring candidates are extremely unlikely to view questions in the same order. Randomisation changes only the presentation of questions and not the assessment standard, and all candidates are evaluated against the same paper despite differing sequences on candidate consoles,” he says. NBEMS has also deployed technology-enabled analytical processes to detect unusual answering patterns. 

However, no adverse action is taken on automated flags alone. “Any flagged instance is subjected to detailed review process using multiple sources of evidence before any conclusion is reached,” adds the official. After assessment, the testing body has identified high-risk centres or regions, where it has deployed enhanced monitoring, and closer coordination with test delivery partners and law enforcement agencies. Changed Pattern Medical aspirants preparing for the single-shift exam will also contend with a revised pattern. NEET PG 2026 will have 180 questions instead of 200, within the same threehour, 30-minute duration, split into five sections of 36 questions each with a strict 42-minute time-lock per section, and candidates cannot return to a completed section once its window closes. Maximum marks drop from 800 to 720, though the fourmark award and one-mark penalty per question remain unchanged. 

“The NEET PG exam now includes more problem-oriented and clinically oriented questions, which are lengthy at times and require more time,” says the official. 

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NDC scraps provisional registration rule to save dental students from suffering internship delays

NDC scraps provisional registration rule to save dental students from suffering internship delays 

Divyansh.Kumar@timesofindia.com 27.07.2026

Around 25,000 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) graduates will not have to wait for the administrative approvals as the National Dental Commission (NDC) aims to smoothen their transition from college to dental hospitals. The NDC abolished the mandatory requirement of acquiring provisional registration from State Dental Councils (SDCs) before commencing their mandatory internship. 

This will reduce paperwork, lower financial burden, and accelerate the entry of young dentists into the healthcare workforce. In the earlier process, introduced by the erstwhile Dental Council of India (DCI) in November 2021, the students had to submit multiple documents, frequent council offices, and wait for approval before starting their clinical training. 

The SDCs will now immediately issue permanent registration directly after successful completion of the internship, removing an entire layer of regulatory compliance. Dr Sarjeev Singh Yadav, principal, Government Dental College and Hospital, Hyderabad, says, “The reform removes an unnecessary administrative bottleneck, ensuring timely commencement of compulsory internship. It reduces administrative workload for both institutions and regulatory authorities. This is a landmark student-centric reform embodying the vision of Ease of Doing Business and Minimum Government, Maximum Governance by simplifying regulatory processes without compromising quality.” 

Timely internship completion will now enable smoother eligibility for postgraduate admissions, employment and career progression, he says.

 Seamless Transition

For students, however, the biggest gain is time. Dr MD Manzur Ahmed, national president, All India Dental Students & Dental Surgeons Association (AIDSA), says the reform eliminates one  of the biggest administrative hurdles that delayed graduates despite having completed all academic requirements. “Before November 2021, students began their compulsory rotatory internship immediately after passing their final BDS exam. However, once provisional registration became mandatory, many were forced to wait for administrative approvals before starting clinical training,” he says. “Depending on the SDC, this reform could save several weeks to a few months. More importantly, it eliminates uncertainty. 

Students can now move seamlessly from graduation to internship, obtain permanent registration on time, become eligible for postgraduate admissions sooner, and enter the dental workforce without unnecessary administrative delays,” Dr Ahmed adds. Delays in internship commencement automatically postpone internship completion, which in turn affects eligibility for permanent registration, postgraduate admissions, government recruitment and private employment. “Their career progression gets delayed not because they lack competence, but because of avoidable administrative procedures,” he says. 

Financial Stress

Provisional registration contributed little to patient safety or academic supervision and had largely become a bureaucratic exercise. Dr Divakar Moodautiya, assistant lecturer, Maharana Pratap College of Dentistry, Gwalior, says, “Provisional registration was purely paper pushing that burdened students. It made no tangible contribution to responsible clinical care or patient safety on the ground.” The process also imposed an unnecessary financial burden on graduates. “Beyond the procedural chaos, graduates faced a compounding financial strain, paying twice for both temporary and permanent registration fees, alongside out-of-pocket expenses for legal documentation, affidavits, and mandatory travel to state council headquarters for physical verification,” says Dr Moodautiya.

Medical PG student dies by suicide

Medical PG student dies by suicide 

26.07.2026

Hyderabad: A 29-year-old postgraduate medical student died after allegedly jumping from the terrace of her family’s five-storeyed apartment in Nagaram under Keesara police station limits on Friday. 

Her family told police that she may have taken the extreme step due to academic stress and said they had no suspicion against anyone. The deceased was identified as Vadlakonda Dikshitha, a postgraduate student of ophthalmology at a medical college in Karnataka. 

According to police, Dikshitha had recently returned home and was staying with her family at Nagaram. In a complaint lodged with Keesara police, her father, V Anandam, a farmer, stated that Dikshitha had been pursuing her medical postgraduate course at a college and hospital in Agalkot, Karnataka, for the past six months. TNN

NMC ends routine faculty eligibility clearances, puts onus on colleges

NMC ends routine faculty eligibility clearances, puts onus on colleges

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com 

New Delhi : 19.07.2026

Medical colleges across the country will now decide faculty appointments and promotions on their own, with National Medical Commission (NMC) ending routine eligibility clearances. Only exceptional cases involving regulatory ambiguity will be taken up by regulator for a non-refundable fee of Rs 25,000 plus GST. 

The decision comes after the regulator observed that a large number of requests from faculty members, medical colleges, universities and NBEMS-accredited hospitals were being referred to it despite the Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025, clearly laying down the qualifications, teaching experience, research publication and training requirements for teaching posts. 

Officials said the responsibility for deciding whether a candidate is eligible for. promotion or designation rests with the appointing authority, medical institution or university concerned. Accordingly, Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) will no longer entertain cases where eligibility can be decided directly under the regulations. 

Only cases involving genuine ambiguity, difficulty in interpreting regulations, equivalence of qualifications or transitional provisions will be considered by PGMEB. Such references must be routed through the dean, director, principal or registrar of the institution with supporting documents.

Individuals may approach NMC directly only if their institution fails to forward a genuine case within 60 days, after fulfilling the prescribed conditions and paying the stipulated fee.

 “Many candidates approached the NMC even in straightforward cases because an NMC eligibility certificate was rarely questioned,” MARB president Prof M K Ramesh told TOI. NMC has also introduced a review mechanism for applicants dissatisfied with an institution’s decision.

NMC adds 950 MBBS seats to state roster Clears Decks For 9,911 More Seats In India

NMC adds 950 MBBS seats to state roster Clears Decks For 9,911 More Seats In India

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK 16.07.2026

Chennai : Medical colleges across Tamil Nadu together expanded MBBS seats by 950 this year, with 13 existing institutions raising their intake. A new private college, APS Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, was added to the roster with 150 seats, according to a seat matrix released by the National Medical Commission. 

The additions bring the state’s capacity to 13,999 seats across 78 medical colleges for the academic year 2026-27, up from 13,049 seats at 77 colleges. 

Across India, NMC has cleared the decks for 9,911 additional seats — including 2,111 seats in govt colleges. The list does not include central govt institutions such as AIIMS. Namakkal, Thiruvallur and Tirupur govt colleges each expanded their intake from 100 to 150 seats, adding 150 seats in the public sector, taking the seat tally in 37 govt colleges to 5,349. Among private institutions, NMC has permitted an increase of 800 seats, including the newcomer. 

Of these, 150 are added to three deemed universities. The remaining 650 will be added to the state matrix, for which the state selection committee will conduct admissions. The additions come as a consolation for a state that has lost 800 MBBS seats from its own counselling matrix after some self-financing colleges and private universities were granted deemed university status. Seats from at least four institutions are expected to be removed from the state list and included instead in the Central pool overseen by Medical Counselling Committee. 

Admission to deemed universities, conducted by the MCM, follows merit in NEET but has no reservations. The annual tuition fee is at about ₹20 lakh. In Tamil Nadu, selffinancing colleges and private universities offer up to 60% seats for govt quota, for which the selection committee follows 69% rule of reservation, and sets aside 7.5% seats for govt school students. 

The annual tuition fee varies from ₹4.35 lakh to ₹5.40 lakh for govt quota seats, and ₹15 lakh to ₹16.20 lakh for managementquota seats. The net effect may not be a squeeze, said a senior official. “150 seats in govt colleges and 650 from private colleges will be added in the state basket,” he added. Health minister K G Arunraj said the state is going ahead with negotiations and moving courts against the grant of deemed university status to some universities. “But the state will ensure new seats are added to the seat matrix,” he said.

NMC flipflops, puts onus on minister for patient appeals

NMC flipflops, puts onus on minister for patient appeals

 5 Months Ago, Panel Had Said Will Hear Pleas 

Rema.Nagarajan@timesofindia.com 12.06.2026

National Medical Commission (NMC) continues its flipflop over whether patients and their families should be allowed to file appeals before it. The commission decided in Sept 2024 that its ethics board would entertain all appeals, including those filed by nonmedicos, and confirmed this decision in Dec 2025. Five months later, in May, the commission’s ethics section claimed any interpretation of NMC Act’s provisions ought to be done by health ministry. “NMC had agreed that all appeals received by EMRB will be entertained. Further, as regards action not being taken by State Medical Councils on complaints filed by non-medicos even after issuance of reminders by the boards, it was decided to send acommunication by EMRB to State Medical Councils to complete the process in a timebound manner. 

In case of failure by the concerned SMC to act upon, EMRB may take over the complaint/matter from the SMC and dispose the same. This is noted by EMRB, and board will proceed further accordingly,” state minutes of the 16th meeting of NMC held on Sept 3, 2024, which were confirmed in the 17th meeting on Dec 16, 2025. However, NMC chairperson Dr Abhijat Sheth, when asked why NMC, as an autonomous body, was seeking health ministry’s interpretation for what was decided in the NMC meeting, claimed wider stakeholder consultation and examination of statutory/regulatory provisions was going on. He added “NMC has not framed a SOP in this regard yet”. When the ministry was asked to intervene on behalf of patients to allow appeals before NMC, the ministry stated the commission was the apex statutory body constituted under NMC Act, 2019, for regulating medical education and profession in the country. “All matters relating to framing, amendment, and implementation of medical education regulations fall within the domain of NMC,” stated the ministry response. 

“There would be issues if unrestricted appeals are allowed and the members/experts are also deliberating regarding the need for a filtering mechanism. Meanwhile, patients and complainants are not left without remedies. They can also avail other legal remedies under applicable civil, criminal or consumer laws,” said Sheth. 

Since Sept 2020, when NMC was constituted, it has received 273 patient appeals against decisions of SMCs that have all been rejected. That’s barely 55 complaints a year or roughly one a week on average which, the chairperson claims, needs a filtering mechanism. NMC initially insisted that only doctors had the right to appeal before it. However, clause 8.8 of the ethics regulation of 2002, which is still in force, clearly allows patients and their families to appeal before NMC. The incorporation of this clause in the regulation was the result of a Supreme Court order.