NEET UG 2026 likely in May; MBBS seats rise to nearly 1.3 lakh across India

Kota, Rajasthan: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduate courses (NEET UG) — the country’s single medical entrance examination — in May 2026. Online applications for the exam are expected to begin in February. NEET UG provides admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and nursing courses, with demand for MBBS seats continuing to remain extremely high across the country.

Last year, based on the guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) filled around 1.24 lakh MBBS seats, including 15 per cent All India Quota seats, through counselling conducted on the basis of NEET UG 2025 results. In addition, counselling was held by all state authorities for the remaining 85 per cent state quota seats. Following multiple rounds of counselling, the total number of MBBS seats saw a further increase, with nearly 5,000 additional seats being added nationwide.

Kota-based education expert Dev Sharma said the NMC website is being updated regularly to reflect the latest seat position. As per the current seat matrix available on the NMC portal, the total number of MBBS seats in the country has risen to 1,29,630. The total number of medical colleges has also increased to 824. Sharma said this updated MBBS seat data would be highly beneficial for the lakhs of students expected to appear for NEET UG 2026.

During the 2025 counselling process, there were 124,750 MBBS seats available across 808 medical colleges. However, not all of these seats were filled. In some existing medical colleges, MBBS seat capacity had not been updated at the time of counselling. As a result, admissions were effectively available only for around 1,23,700 seats.

In 2024, there were a total of 775 medical colleges in the country with 1,17,750 MBBS seats. Of these, 432 government medical colleges offered around 60,485 seats, while 346 private or deemed medical colleges had 57,265 seats.

For 2025, admissions were offered to 62,807 seats in 450 government medical colleges, while 358 private or deemed medical colleges provided 60,893 MBBS seats. Overall, 1,23,700 MBBS seats were available across 808 medical colleges during that year.

According to the latest seat matrix for 2026, India now has 450 government medical colleges with 63,160 MBBS seats. Additionally, 374 private and deemed medical colleges are offering 66,443 seats. In total, the country now has 824 medical colleges with 1,29,603 MBBS seats, marking a significant expansion in medical education capacity ahead of NEET UG 2026.