VIJAYAWADA: In good news for medical seat aspirants, Andhra Pradesh has secured 175 additional MBBS seats across two government medical colleges for the 2026–27 academic year.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) issued official Letters of Permission (LoP) on Monday, granting initial approval for a 100-seat intake at the newly established Government Medical College in Piduguralla, along with an expansion of 75 additional seats at the Government Siddhartha Medical College in Vijayawada.
The total number of new government MBBS seats secured for the current academic year alone has touched 275, following the NMC’s earlier clearance of a 75-seat expansion for the Government Medical College in Kadapa and a 25-seat hike for the ACSR Government Medical College in Nellore.
The successful allocation is being viewed as a significant milestone for Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav, whose direct intervention proved vital in clearing the inspections. He held multiple high-level coordination meetings with Union Health Ministry and NMC officials in New Delhi to expedite the pending clearances.
AP govt expands medical education footprint
For the Piduguralla campus, where technical issues had initially stalled approvals, the health department worked on a war footing under his supervision to scale up faculty strength, construct necessary infrastructure, and deploy advanced medical equipment so that the first batch of students could take admissions this year.
This latest round of approvals brings the overall intake expansion under the current coalition government to a cumulative total of 1,005 MBBS seats, heavily expanding the state’s medical education footprint. This comprehensive pool comprises 455 additional seats across government medical colleges over the past three academic terms alongside 550 seats added within the private sector.
The government-side additions progressed progressively with 150 seats in 2024–25, followed by a minor addition of 30 seats in 2025–26, and a massive surge of 275 seats in the current 2026–27 cycle. In parallel, the private sector witnessed an addition of 550 seats over recent terms, distributed across multiple key institutions. In the 2024–25 session, KIMS Amalapuram added 50 seats, VIMS Kurnool gained 100 seats, NRI Visakhapatnam added 100 seats, and Nimra Vijayawada expanded by 50 seats.
This momentum continued into the 2025–26 academic year, with SRMC Nandyal adding 100 seats, while the newly established Anna Gouri Medical College in Puttur formally commenced operations with an initial intake of 100 seats.
Welcoming the development, the Andhra Pradesh NEET Aspirants and Medicos Parents Association (APNAMPA) issued a statement expressing gratitude to the State government and Satya Kumar. Association President P Arun Chowdary, Working President D Tarakesh, and Secretary K Ranga Rao noted that the administration’s proactive measures in leveraging relaxed NMC guidelines to secure 275 additional government seats serves as a major boon for nearly 30,000 families across the state.
The parents’ association urged the government to leverage revised NMC norms to add up to 1,000 more MBBS seats. It said increased government and Convenor Quota seats would benefit NEET aspirants.