200 more MBBS seats for state; total now 1,900

The number of MBBS seats in 13 medical colleges across Punjab has increased to 1,900 this year from 1,700 in 2024.

Five of these colleges are government run and the rest are private.

According to officials, the number of available MBBS seats at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH) in Faridkot has been increased from 150 to 250.

“This is reflecting its growing infrastructure, patient load, and contribution to tertiary healthcare in the Malwa region,” said Dr Rajeev Sood, Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS).

Simultaneously, the college has secured approval for a substantial increase in postgraduate (MD/MS) seats in key specialties, along with the introduction of new courses.

The seat enhancement includes four additional seats in general medicine, two in orthopaedics, four in forensic medicine and two in dermatology.

New postgraduate courses have been introduced in family medicine (two seats), emergency medicine (two seats) and radiodiagnosis (four seats).

“Under the aegis of BFUHS, a total of 43 postgraduate seats have been added this year across Punjab — 20 at the Faridkot college, 15 at Government Medical College in Amritsar and 8 at Government Medical College in Patiala — signifying a strong state-wide push to expand specialist medical training and improve advanced healthcare delivery,” said Dr Sood.

Meanwhile, 50 seats each were increased at Dayanand Medical College and ESIC Medical College in Ludhiana. With the latest expansion, Punjab now has around 1900 MBBS seats in total, of which nearly 850 are in government medical colleges.

The state’s main government medical colleges include Government Medical College in Amritsar (250 seats), Government Medical College in Patiala (250 seats) and Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences in Mohali (100 seats).

In addition, AIIMSBathinda contributes another 100 MBBS seats under the central government quota.