SRINAGAR, AUG 11: Jammu and Kashmir has 12 medical colleges offering 1,875 MBBS seats, with government institutions accounting for nearly 92 per cent of the total capacity, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Data tabled in the Upper House, showed the Union Territory has 11 government medical colleges with 1,725 seats and one private college with 150 seats.
Nationally, the number of medical colleges has increased from 606 in 2021 to 846 as of July 2026, while MBBS seats have risen from 92,065 to 1,39,864 during the same period. Postgraduate medical seats have also gone up from 60,202 to 86,360, the Union Health Ministry said.
A total of 19,99,895 candidates appeared for NEET-UG in 2026, compared to 15,44,273 in 2021, with numbers peaking at 23,33,297 in 2024 before declining to 22,09,318 in 2025. For NEET-PG, candidates rose from 1,66,249 in 2021 to 2,30,114 in 2025, with the 2026 examination scheduled for August 30.
The Ministry said filling vacant faculty posts in AIIMS and other central institutions was a continuous process, subject to availability of qualified candidates and reservation rosters. To address shortages, the government has constituted Standing Selection Committees in each institute, permitted engagement of retired faculty on contract up to 70 years, and introduced a Visiting Faculty Scheme.
The National Medical Commission has also framed the Medical Institutions (Qualification of Faculty) Regulations, 2025 to tackle faculty shortages in medical institutions.
On stipend delays, the Ministry said the NMC’s internship regulations require interns to be paid stipends fixed by the competent authority. The NMC, through a public notice issued on March 12, 2026, reiterated the provisions and directed all institutions to ensure compliance.
Meanwhile, In a separate submission, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir received central releases totalling Rs 3,974.88 crore under NHM and PM-ABHIM during the five financial years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said NHM accounted for Rs 3,973.74 crore, while PM-ABHIM contributed Rs 171.25 crore. NHM releases rose from Rs 459.10 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 1,040.76 crore in 2024-25, before settling at Rs 1,017.14 crore in 2025-26.
The government said 25 lakh families in J&K are covered under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY in convergence with AB-PMJAY SEHAT. Of these, 6.70 lakh families are covered under the central scheme, while the remaining are covered exclusively under SEHAT.
District-wise data showed Jammu recorded the highest authorised hospital admissions under PM-JAY from 2021-22 to 2025-26 at 2,10,408, followed by Srinagar at 1,97,433 and Baramulla at 1,67,555. Kishtwar recorded the lowest at 27,623.
The government said eSanjeevani was operational across the Union Territory, with 18,85,362 teleconsultations recorded till July 2026. A total of 3,174 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, including AAM-Ayush facilities, are now functional.
Budgam recorded the highest number of teleconsultations at 1,92,567, followed by Rajouri at 1,80,423 and Anantnag at 1,37,565. Kishtwar recorded 13,410 consultations.
The Centre said 6,554 TB cases were notified in J&K between January and June 2026, according to Ni-kshay portal data as of August 6. Jammu accounted for 2,478 cases, followed by Srinagar with 687, Udhampur with 656 and Doda with 596.
The Ministry said NHM supports healthcare infrastructure and human resources, while PM-ABHIM supports Sub-Health Centres, Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Block Public Health Units, Integrated District Public Health Laboratories and Critical Care Hospital Blocks. It added that public health and hospitals are state subjects, with implementation falling under the respective State or UT governments.
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