J.P. Nadda Confirms Pause on ‘100 MBBS Seats Per 10 lakh’ Rule for Two Years

The Union Government has announced the deferment of the NMC’s controversial mandate to cap MBBS seats at 100 per 10 lakh population for the academic years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda shared this decision in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, confirming that the limitation will not be enforced immediately.

This postponement offers significant relief to several states, particularly in southern India, which had expressed strong reservations against the policy.

States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have already exceeded the proposed ratio, and lawmakers argued that the cap would unfairly penalize states that have successfully built robust medical education infrastructure over the years.

Minister Nadda stated that the decision to put the capping on hold was taken to address concerns regarding regional disparities in medical education access.

The government aims to ensure that the regulation of medical seats does not adversely impact states with existing high seat densities while it reviews the best way to balance medical education distribution across the country.

December 10, 2025