2,849 MBBS seats went vacant in 2024 despite 39% rise in seats since 2020: Centre

India has seen a 39% jump in MBBS seats over the past four years—from 83,275 in 2020–21 to 1,15,900 in 2024–25. But the worrying bit? Thousands of seats are still going vacant each year.

In 2024–25 alone, 2,849 undergraduate medical seats remained unfilled, as per data presented in Parliament by Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel on August 1.

The biggest spike in vacancies was recorded



in 2022–23, when 4,146 seats (excluding AIIMS and JIPMER) went unclaimed. Since then, the number has dropped but hasn't disappeared.

Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are among the top states contributing the most MBBS seats.

These states led both in 2020–21 and 2024–25. For instance, UP’s seat count jumped from 7,428 to 12,325 and Tamil Nadu’s from 8,000 to 12,000.