CHENNAI: The Union Health Ministry’s Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has announced Special Stray Vacancy Round counselling to fill 323 All India Quota (AIQ) MBBS seats, including 24 government quota ones in Tamil Nadu. The notification said the competent authority has decided to conduct the counselling online so AIQ, Central Institute, Central University, AIIMS, and JIPMER seats do not go waste. Candidates registered on the MCC portal but not holding any seat in the previous rounds of NEET-UG counselling, 2021 of AIQ or State quota are eligible.
Payment of security deposit for the special round, and choice filling and choice locking will be held on April 20 and 21. Seats will be allotted on April 22, and the results will be out the next day. The period to report to the allotted colleges is from April 24 to 5 pm on April 28. Every year the State hands over 15% of its MBBS and BDS seats to the Union Health Ministry for AIQ.
The ministry would return unfilled seats to the State after a second round of counselling. But this year, as per a Supreme Court order, it conducted first, second, and mopup or stray vacancy rounds. However, 24 State MBBS seats remained vacant. TN has been demanding that these 24 AIQ seats be surrendered back to the State so they can be filled.
Various political leaders have demanded that the Union health ministry surrender the seats. As per State Selection Committee data, this year, 18 MBBS seats, including four self-financing government quota seats at Annapoorna Medical College and 14 management quota seats remained vacant after the extended mop-up counselling conducted by the State Selection Committee. With the 24 AIQ seats, TN has a total of 42 vacant MBBS seats.