Medical College (India)

In India, a medical college is an educational institution that provides medical education. These institutions may vary from stand-alone colleges that train doctors to conglomerates that offer training related in all aspects of medical care. The term is synonymous with "medical school" as used in the US and some other countries. MBBS is a degree in medicine established by Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and continued in National Medical Commission Act 2019. After MBBS, doctors register with state medical councils.

Recognition

Indian law requires these institutions to be recognized by the National Medical Commission, which replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 2019. The Indian government keeps an updated list of these approved medical colleges.^[1] Many persons without MBBS degrees practice like doctors in India. They are called quacks. According to National Medical Commission Act 2019, punishment for quackery has been enhanced to up to 1 year imprisonment and up to INR 5 lakh fine.^[2]

Admissions and education

The standard entry-to-practice degree in modern medicine in India is the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), earned upon completion of a five-and-a-half-year undergraduate program. The curriculum is divided into one year of preclinical studies in general science subjects and three and a half years of paraclinical and clinical studies, followed by a one-year clinical internship. Before beginning the internship, students are required to pass several examinations, the final one of which is conducted in two parts. Graduate education in medical science typically takes three additional years of study after the MBBS and concludes with the award of the Master of Surgery or Doctor of Medicine. Postgraduate diplomas in medical specializations may also be awarded upon completing two-year training programs.

Medical college

According to the World Federation for Medical Education, India is the country with the greatest quantity of operational medical schools (550). A list of schools by region is provided below:

National rankings

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), released annually by India's Ministry of Education, ranks medical colleges based on five parameters: Teaching, Learning & Resources (30%), Research & Professional Practice (30%), Graduation Outcomes (20%), Outreach & Inclusivity (10%), and Perception (10%).

NIRF Ranking (2025) of Medical Colleges in India
Rank[4]	Name	City	State/UT	NIRF Score	Budget	Ownership	Institutional classification
1	All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, New Delhi)	New Delhi	Delhi	91.80	₹5,500.92 crore (US$570 million)	Government of India	Public
2	Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER, Chandigarh)	Chandigarh	Chandigarh	82.58	₹2,504.65 crore (US$260 million)		Public
3	Christian Medical College (CMC, Vellore)	Vellore	Tamil Nadu	76.48	₹1,738 crore (US$180 million)	CMC Vellore Association	Private
4	Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER, Puducherry)	Pondichéry	Puducherry	73.30	₹1,496.46 crore (US$160 million)	Government of India	Public
5	Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS, Lucknow)	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	70.09	₹1,160.5 crore (US$120 million)	Government of Uttar Pradesh	Public
6	Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS-BHU, Varanasi)	Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	70.05	—N/a	Government of India	Public
7	National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS, Bengaluru)	Bengaluru	Karnataka	69.77	₹917.21 crore (US$96 million)		Public
8	King George's Medical University (KGMU, Lucknow)	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	68.77	₹1,640 crore (US$170 million)	Government of Uttar Pradesh	Public
9	Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham	Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	68.52	—N/a	—N/a	Private
10	Kasturba Medical College	Manipal	Karnataka	68.05	—N/a	—N/a	Private
11	Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	66.50	—N/a	—N/a	Private
12	Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre	Pune	Maharashtra	65.17	—N/a	—N/a	Private
13	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh (AIIMS, Rishikesh)	Rishikesh	Uttarakhand	65.02	—N/a	Government of India	Public
14	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar (AIIMS, Bhubaneswar)	Khordha	Odisha	64.31	—N/a		Public
15	Siksha 'O' Anusandhan	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	63.73	—N/a		Private
16	Madras Medical College	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	63.71	—N/a	Government of Tamil Nadu	Public
17	Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology	Thiruvananthapuram	Kerala	63.36	—N/a	Government of India	Public
18	SRM Institute of Science and Technology	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	63.22	—N/a		Private
19	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur	Jodhpur	Rajasthan	63.18	—N/a	Government of India	Public
20	Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research	Wardha	Maharashtra	62.37	—N/a		Private
21	Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	61.62	—N/a		Private
22	Vardhman Mahavir Medical College	New Delhi	Delhi	61.50	₹2,179.58 crore (US$230 million)	Government of India	Public
23	Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGMER, Kolkata)	Kolkata	West Bengal	61.07	₹784.33 crore (US$82 million)	Government of West Bengal	Public
24	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	61.00	—N/a		Private
25	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal (AIIMS, Bhopal)	Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	60.15	—N/a	Government of India	Public
26	Maulana Azad Medical College	New Delhi	Delhi	59.47	—N/a	Government of Delhi	Public
27	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna	Patna	Bihar	59.24	—N/a	Government of India	Public
28	Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences	New Delhi	Delhi	59.22	—N/a	Government of Delhi	Public
29	Aligarh Muslim University	Aligarh	Uttar Pradesh	58.82	₹1,036 crore (US$110 million)	Government of India	Public
30	St. John's Medical College	Bengaluru	Karnataka	58.74	—N/a		Private

Statistics

Yearwise Medical colleges Numbers in chart^[5]

Note: Mar 16, 2023 Data

Andhra Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Assam

Bihar

Chhattisgarh

Chandigarh

Delhi

Goa

Gujarat

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu and Kashmir

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Manipur

Meghalaya

Mizoram

Nagaland

Odisha

Punjab

Rajasthan

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) ("NEET-UG") is conducted annually by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to undergraduate medical programmes in India.^[6]

Rajasthan is one of the Indian states with a large number of medical institutions offering the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. As of January 2026, the state has one All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), 33 government medical colleges, and 15 private medical colleges, making a total of 49 MBBS-offering institutions.^[7]

Admissions to MBBS programmes in Rajasthan are conducted through centralized counselling based on NEET-UG merit. Seats at AIIMS Jodhpur are allotted through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the All India Quota.^[8]

All medical colleges in Rajasthan are regulated and approved by the National Medical Commission.^[7]

Sikkim

Tamil Nadu

Telangana

Tripura

Uttar Pradesh

Uttarakhand

West Bengal

References

External links

• National Board of Examinations