With the declaration of the NEET UG 2026 results, the admission process for undergraduate medical courses is set to move into the counselling phase. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is expected to release the counselling schedule shortly for admissions under the 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) for MBBS, BDS, and other participating courses. Candidates are advised to regularly check the official portals of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the MCC, and their respective state counselling authorities for the latest updates. Last year, the registration process for the first round of counselling commenced on July 21, and a similar timeline is anticipated this year.
The counselling process will be conducted separately for different categories of seats. While the MCC will oversee admissions under the 15 per cent AIQ, the remaining 85 per cent state quota seats will be filled through counselling conducted by individual state authorities. Meanwhile, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has released the state-wise MBBS seat matrix for the 2026-27 academic session, revealing a significant increase in medical education capacity across the country. A total of 9,911 new MBBS seats have been approved in addition to 1,27,028 renewed seats, taking the total number of MBBS seats to 1,36,939 across 823 medical colleges, excluding the Institutes of National Importance (INIs).
According to the NMC, the expanded seat matrix includes approvals granted by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) for the establishment of new medical colleges as well as the enhancement of intake capacity in existing institutions. Karnataka recorded the highest increase with 1,300 additional MBBS seats, taking its total to 15,395. Tamil Nadu followed with 950 new seats, raising its overall capacity to 13,999, while Rajasthan added 900 seats to reach a total of 8,080. The increase is expected to improve access to medical education and accommodate the growing number of qualified candidates seeking admission across the country.
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This year, more than 11.21 lakh candidates qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH, and allied health science programmes. Female candidates outperformed their male counterparts, accounting for over 58 per cent of all qualifiers. Nearly 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination conducted on June 21 across 5,440 examination centres in 551 cities across India and 14 cities abroad. The examination was held in 13 languages, making it one of the country's largest entrance examinations.
Among the successful candidates, 138 scored above 690 out of a maximum 720 marks, with over 93 per cent of these high scorers being first-time aspirants. Additionally, around 99 per cent of the candidates scoring above 690 belonged to the 17-19 years age group. The highest score of 715 out of 720 was jointly secured by Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana. With counselling expected to begin soon, candidates are now assessing their admission prospects by comparing their scores with expected cut-offs and identifying institutions that align with their preferences.
One of the most important considerations during the choice-filling process is the quality and ranking of medical colleges. According to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 rankings, the top five medical institutions in India are the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore; Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry; and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. Other leading institutions featured in the top 50 include Banaras Hindu University, NIMHANS Bengaluru, King George's Medical University, Kasturba Medical College Manipal, AIIMS Rishikesh, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Maulana Azad Medical College, St. John's Medical College, Kasturba Medical College Mangaluru, Osmania Medical College and Ramaiah Medical College, among several others that continue to attract top-ranking NEET candidates each year.
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