The number of government MBBS seats in the state would increase to 5,128 with the opening of thirteen new government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh in 2023. Alok Kumar, principal secretary of the department of medical education in the state of Uttar Pradesh, spoke about the expansion, meeting staffing needs, the government’s emphasis on nursing, and enhancing healthcare.

Speaking on the plans, Mr Alok said, “Principals have been appointed. The construction is complete and we are recruiting faculties and staff. We have applied to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for permission and NMC inspectors will come between June and July 2023 for assessment to provide permission to run the MBBS courses.”

“We had 8,300 MBBS seats in 2022-23. We will have around 1,000 more with the 13 new medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. MBBS seats will be added by private medical colleges as well. The exact number will be known once the NMC gives the requisite permissions and the seat matrix for admission counselling is ready. The number of seats may increase as a few private colleges may also start functioning from this year; existing colleges may expand,” he added.

In 59 of Uttar Pradesh’s 75 districts, there are 65 medical colleges total—35 public and 30 private. In contrast to areas like Lucknow, which have more than six, there are 16 districts without a medical college. The Uttar Pradesh government considers it a top priority to establish at least one medical college in each district. In order to construct medical colleges in underserved areas where the government is providing subsidies to private sector operators to set up medical colleges, the government has a public-private partnership (PPP) program. Four private organizations that plan to build medical institutions have been identified. The speed of their construction will determine how quickly they operate.