S. Vishnu Sharma
Medical colleges of India is about medical education scenario in India and deals with colleges and their popularity, courses available and competitive exams associated with medical admission.
Medical colleges and seats
There are over 1650 medical colleges located across India. Over 500 are MBBS education and around 600 of them are said to offer post graduate medical courses.
The number of undergraduate (MBBS) seats in medical colleges of India are around 82,926, dental seats at undergraduate level are 26,949 seats.
The post graduate seats in medical colleges of India are 10,821 (Master of Surgery, MS) seats. The number of Doctor of Medicine (MD) seats in medical colleges of India are 19,953.
Best Medical colleges of India
There are colleges offering courses in traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, Homeopathy and Unani. The seats for these conventional courses are about 52,720.
Medical education
Medical education in India is divided into three categories – namely – graduation, post graduation, doctorate level, diploma courses and certificate courses.
The courses available at above said levels in medical colleges of India are given below:
Undergraduate
MBBS – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science
BDS – Bachelor of Dental Surgery
BASLP – Audiology and Speech Language Pathology
BOptom – Optometry
BSc – Medical Imaging Technology
BSc – Medical Laboratory Technology
BSc- Nursing
BOT – Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
BPharm – Pharmacy
BPT – Bachelor of Physiotherapy
BSc – Renal Dialysis Technology
PBBSc – Nursing
Postgraduate
MD – Respiratory Medicine, Radio Diagnosis, Anaesthesiology, Paediatrics, etc.
MS – Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology, General Surgery, etc.
MDS – Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, etc.
MSc – Medical Anatomy, Medical Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology, Medical Physiology, etc.
MPH – Health Management, Bio-Statistics
MOT – Hand Rehabilitation, Neurosciences, Mental Health, etc.
MPharm – Pharmaceutical Analysis, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, etc.
Diploma courses
Diploma in Nursing
Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology
Diploma in Optometry
Diploma in Medical Record Science
The eligibility
Criteria for eligibility for seeking admission in medical colleges of India for undergraduate courses (MBBS) is a pass in plus-two with science subjects namely – physics, chemistry, botany, zoology.
The pass percentage in plus-two should be 50 to 55 percent minimum.
Candidates willing to seek admission in post graduate courses in medical colleges of India must have passed MBBS from recognised institution with 50 to 55 percent pass marks.
Applicants for doctorate courses must be a pass in the respective course at post graduate level with minimum of 50 to 55 percent pass marks.
The types of colleges
Medical colleges of India can be mainly classified into three types – namely – private, government and deemed universities.
The government colleges can be classified into two types – the state government colleges centra government colleges.
The admission
Candidates willing to seek admission in medical colleges of India to study MBBS course has to write NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) UG exam conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA).
Students seeking to study medical courses at post graduate level in medical colleges of India have to write NEET PG exam.
Candidates willing to undertake research (doctorate) in medical courses have to write an all India entrance test.
In case of graduate and post graduate medical admissions, candidates after writing NEET UG and NEET PG respectively have to attend counselling.
For doctorate admissions, post attending the all India level entrance test, applicants have to attend a personality test conducted by colleges where they seek admission.
The quota
The number of seats in medical colleges of India are divided into two types – namely – ‘All India Quota’ and ‘State Quota’.
About 15 percent of seats in medical colleges of India are filled in all India quota, the rest 85 percent seats are filled in the state goverment quota.
Both the state and all India quota seat filling are done as per well planned schedules.
Candidates can visit the websites of medical colleges of India or medical admission authorities of central and respective state governments for admission related information.
Medical colleges statewise
While medical colleges are located across the nation, states where maximum of them are concentrated are Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Karnataka is the state in India which has highest number of medical colleges. The number of medical colleges in Karnataka is 60.
The medical colleges in Kerala are 32, the same in Andhra Pradesh is 31. Maharashtra stands second with 56 medical colleges.
Other state to have large number of medical colleges is Uttar Pradesh with 55 medical colleges. Tamil Nadu is also a place to have large number of medical colleges.
The number of medical educational institutions in Tamil Nadu is 50.
The states in India with lower number of medical colleges are Arunachal Pradesh (1), Goa (1), Jharkhand (7), Manipur (2) and Meghalaya (1).
The ratings
There are many ratings available that rank medical colleges of India. Most popular of them is National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) by Union Education Ministry of Government of India.
The other popular rating agencies are Times Higher Education (THE), Outlook India and India Today.
These ratings reflect the achievements of medical colleges of India and also their reputation.
THE rating for medical colleges of India takes into account factors namely – Teaching (the learning environment), Research (volume, income and reputation), Citation (research influence), International look (staff, students and research) and Industry income (innovation).
Also read ‘The eighth convocation at IIT Mandi remained a grand affair with over 300 students receiving degrees‘
NIRF rating of medical colleges is done based on parametres – namely – Teaching, Learning resources, Research practices, Graduation outcome, Professional practices, Inclusivity and Perception.
Outlook India rating of medical colleges of India is done on parametres – Learning, Research, Facilities in the educational institutions, Perception.
India Today rating of medical colleges of India is based on factors – Reputation of College, Quality of Academic Input, Student Care, Infrastructure and Job Prospects.
Top colleges
There were many agencies which rank medical colleges of India from time to time.
These ratings give a wholesome view of what these institutions are about and how they stand in terms of academic excellence.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi (AIIMS New Delhi), Christian Medical College (CMC, Vellore, Tamil Nadu), Armed Forces Medical College (Pune, Maharashtra).
Among those institutions that featured in the top positions newly are National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHNS, Bengaluru), Amrita Vishwa Vidya Peetham (Coimbatore).
Overview of top institutions
AIIMS (New Delhi)
A generous grant from New Zealand under the Colombo Plan made it possible to lay the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 1952.
The AIIMS was finally created in 1956, as an autonomous institution through an Act of Parliament to serve as a nucleus for nurturing excellence in all aspect of health care.
The Institute has comprehensive facilities for teaching, research and patient-care.
As provided in the Act, AIIMS conducts teaching programs in medical and para-medical courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and awards its own degrees.
Teaching and research are conducted in 42 disciplines. In the field of medical research AIIMS is the lead, having more than 600 research publications by its faculty and researchers in a year.
AIIMS also runs a College of Nursing and trains students for B.Sc.(Hons.) Nursing post-certificate) degrees.
The official website is ‘https://www.aiims.edu/en.html’
Armed Forces Medical College (Pune, Maharashtra)
Armed Forces Medical College, Pune is a premier medical institution in India.
Armed Forces Medical College was established on 1 May 1948.
AFMC has the distinction of being the first medical college set up by the Armed Forces of any country in Asia.
The college is a unique institution which combines medical education with training specific to the health care needs of the Armed Forces.
AFMC has been consistently rated among the top three medical colleges in India by surveys published by reputed newsmagazines for the past decade.
It has received accreditation from NAAC with ‘A’ Grading and during re-accreditation carried out recently has been awarded cumulative grade point average of 3.51 out of a maximum 4, which was the highest ever awarded to any institution in India, till that time.
The institution conducts training of medical undergraduates and post-graduates, nursing undergraduates and post-graduates, dental postgraduates and paramedical staff.
The official website is ‘https://www.afmc.nic.in/’
Top colleges across India
Medical colleges of India are of high reputation and they are located at all corners of the country.
A couple of worth mentioning medical colleges of India located in eastern, western, northern and southern parts of India are given below:
North
AIIMS, New Delhi
Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (AMU), Aligarh
BHU Varanasi
East
R G Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata
IPGMER, Kolkata
Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata
Darbhanga Medical College, Darbhanga
Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata
West
Armed Forces Medical College(AFMC), Pune
Seth G S Medical College, Mumbai
Dr. D Y Patil Education Society’s D Y Patil Medical College, Kolhapur
K J Somaiya Medical College, Mumbai
Grant Medical College, Mumbai
South
Christian Medical College, Vellore
Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute (SRMC),
Kasturba Medical College(KMC), Manipal
Bangalore Medical College And Research Institute, Bangalore
St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore
The medical fees
The cost of pursuing medical courses in India varies from one college to another. The fee collected at medical colleges of India ranges from low to medium to high.
Sources say that over 50 percent of medical colleges of India have an annual fee of more than Rs 3 lakh.
On the other hand, about 24 percent of medical colleges are said to have economical fee structure of less than Rs 1 lakh.
About 14 percent of medical colleges of India have a fee structure in the range of Rs 1 to 2 lakh.
About five percent of medical colleges of India have a fee range of Rs 2 to 3 lakh. The same percentage of medical colleges of India have a fees ranging from Rs 3 to 5 lakh.
Candidates who can afford higher fees can opt those medical colleges of India where fees is higher.
Students willing to study medicine at affordable prices have to target goverment medical colleges of India.
But the applicants targeting government medical college of India must remember that admission there is based on merit strictly.
Candidates who have the right cutoff only can target admission in government medical colleges of India.
Some of the medical colleges of India under the above said four types of fee structure are given below:
Economical (Rs 1 lakh or below)
AIIMS Delhi
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry
JSS Medical College, Mysore
S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur
Medium 1 (Rs 1 to 2 lakh)
KGMU – King George’s Medical University, Lucknow
Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh
Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati
Medium 2 (Rs 2 to 3 lakh)
Christian Medical College, Vellore
High (Rs 3 lakh and above)
Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Ambala
Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai
St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore
Kasturba Medical College, Manipala
Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar
Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana
Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha
M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore
Top colleges and recruiters
There are companies that recruit students of medical colleges of India.
Some of the top medical colleges of India from where students are recruited are Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Chandigarh), Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (Delhi) and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (Chennai).
Top recruiters at PGIMER in Chandigarh were PGI Hospital, UNICEF, WHO. The same at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College were Safdarjung Hospital, Ottobock and Endolite.
Similarly, top recruiters at SRIHER in Chennai were Abbot, Anthem BioSciences and Astra Zenca Ltd.