J&K Chief Secy pushes medical colleges to fast-track seat augmentation plans

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday chaired a meeting to comprehensively review the augmentation of undergraduate and postgraduate seats across government medical colleges dental colleges, Ayurvedic and Unani colleges by the Health and Medical Education Department.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department; Director, SKIMS; principals of Government Medical Colleges; Director, Coordination; and other senior officers of the department.

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During the meeting, the Chief Secretary took a detailed appraisal of the MD/MS, DM/MCh, DNB and MDS seats that were augmented during the previous academic year and reviewed the roadmap prepared by the medical colleges for further expansion in the coming session.

Emphasising the need to strengthen super-speciality Health care in the UT, he directed the two Super Speciality Hospitals and SKIMS Medical College to ensure allocation of DM and MCh seats from the next academic session.

The Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of additional MBBS seats sanctioned for various medical colleges and urged the remaining institutions to apply for an additional 50 MBBS seats as soon as the application portal is opened by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

He informed the meeting that a college-wise assessment would be undertaken immediately after the portal is opened to closely monitor progress and ensure timely submissions.

Further, the Chief Secretary directed the Principals of Government Dental Colleges at Jammu and Srinagar to take all necessary measures to introduce new MDS courses and increase intake capacity. He also called upon the Ayurvedic and Unani Colleges to actively pursue enhancement of seats in their respective institutions.

Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department, Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah, informed the meeting that each medical institution has designated a Nodal Officer for augmentation of UG and PG seats to ensure strict compliance with NMC norms and timely completion of statutory requirements.

He revealed that during the previous academic session, medical colleges across J&K were augmented with 128 MD/MS seats, 46 DNB seats and 2 DM/MCh seats, while for the forthcoming 2026–27 session, the institutions are proposing to add 284 MD/MS seats, 35 DNB seats and 36 DM/MCh seats.

Regarding MBBS admissions, the Secretary stated that 50 additional seats each were sanctioned for GMCs at Anantnag, Baramulla, Rajouri and Doda, while 20 seats each were added to GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu. He further informed that GMCs at Udhampur, Rajouri, Handwara and SKIMS Bemina are planning to apply for an additional 50 MBBS seats in the upcoming session.

Director, SKIMS, Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ganie, apprised the meeting of the Institute’s preparedness to apply for a substantial increase in seats during the forthcoming NMC application window.

He stated that SKIMS is set to apply for around 130 postgraduate seats and 50 undergraduate seats in the next academic session, expressing confidence in meeting all regulatory requirements for securing the approvals.