

PUDUCHERRY: With the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) approval for the current academic year, the number of MBBS seats at the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (MGMC&RI) has gone up by 100, taking the total number of seats in the institute to 250.
At the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the number of seats has increased by 50, taking the total to 150.
With the number of MBBS seats increasing by another 150, the question being raised is whether the government will secure enhancement of seats through Centac.
MGMC&RI, a deemed institution, has surrendered 37 seats out of the total 150, but now with an increase by 100, the institute should surrender another 24 seats going by the formula of seat sharing. Similarly, PIMS which has surrendered 37 seats out of 100, should surrender 16 seats following the increase to 150 seats.
V Balasubramanian, president of Pondicherry State Students and Parents Welfare Association, urged the government to secure the seats from colleges for admission through Centac.
Meanwhile, 80 seats lie vacant in seven self-financing as well as government medical colleges for the third round of counselling on July 24, said Balasubramanian.