This year, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has declared that out of 22.09 lakh students who appeared, 12.36 lakh have cleared the exam -- slightly fewer than the 13.15 lakh who qualified last year.

That’s slightly more than half of all candidates clearing one of the most competitive entrance exams in the country. However, the next hurdle is steeper: securing an MBBS seat.

As per the National Medical Commission (NMC)’s revised UG seat matrix for 2025-26, there are a total of 1,18,190 MBBS seats available across 780 medical colleges (both government and private) in India. These include institutions like AIIMS, JIPMER, and state-run as well as private colleges.

That means nearly 12 lakh qualified students will not get an MBBS seat, unless they choose to study abroad or consider alternate medical or allied health pathways.

TOP 5 STATES WITH THE HIGHEST MBBS SEATS

Here are the five states with the largest share of MBBS seats in the country, according to the NMC’s UG seat matrix 2024-25 PDF:

• Tamil Nadu: 11,725 seats

• Uttar Pradesh: 11,225 seats

• Karnataka: 11,045 seats

• Maharashtra: 10,595 seats

• Telangana: 8,540 seats

Together, these five states contribute over 53,000 seats, which is nearly 45% of the national total.

Some states and union territories continue to struggle with medical infrastructure, offering very few MBBS seats to local aspirants:

• Arunachal Pradesh: 50 seats

• Meghalaya: 50 seats

• Andaman & Nicobar Islands: 114 seats

• Dadra & Nagar Haveli: 177 seats

• Sikkim: 150 seats