The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) holds a special stray vacancy round for undergraduate medical admissions, but more than 400 MBBS seats still go unfilled. Mint reports the round included 948 vacant MBBS seats, with 537 allotted to candidates and 411 remaining vacant.
Different outlets attribute the shortfall to the difficulty of recruiting applicants, particularly where private colleges charge higher fees. PravdaReport says the vacancies persist even after a fifth counselling round, and argues the seats not filled are concentrated in specific private colleges rather than broadly spread across government or established institutions. Times of India similarly frames the issue as likely linked to steep fees at private colleges.
Some coverage also provides context on whether vacancies are increasing. PravdaReport notes that, in a previous year, a health ministry official had indicated only about 60–70 seats were unoccupied, and contrasts that with this year’s larger number. Across outlets, the core figures for the special round—948 seats considered, 537 allotted, 411 vacant—are consistent.
