NMC to examine Andhra Pradesh request for MBBS admission deadline extension, NEET percentile reduction

In short

The National Medical Commission (NMC) will review Andhra Pradesh's request to extend the MBBS admission deadline for the 2026-2027 academic year.
The State Government also sought a reduction in the NEET qualifying percentile to fill 112 vacant NRI-quota MBBS seats.
The current deadline for completing MBBS and BDS admissions is October 26, 2026, with the stray vacancy round concluded on October 23.
Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) requested a 15-day extension and percentile relaxation from the NMC.
Of the 112 vacant seats, 95 are in private medical colleges, nine in Paderu Government Medical College, and eight in Padmavathi Medical College.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) is set to examine a request from the Andhra Pradesh State Government to extend the deadline for MBBS admissions for the academic year 2026-2027. The state has also sought a reduction in the NEET qualifying percentile, citing 112 vacant MBBS seats under the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota even after the completion of the stray vacancy round of NEET UG counselling.

The current deadline for completing MBBS and BDS admissions is October 26, 2026. The Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS), acting on state government directives, formally requested a 15-day extension to finalize admissions and a relaxation of the NEET-UG qualifying percentile to ensure these remaining seats are filled.

Vacant NRI Seats and Extension Requests

Following the completion of the stray vacancy round of NEET UG counselling on October 23, 2026, a total of 112 NRI-quota MBBS seats in Andhra Pradesh remain unfilled. These vacancies are distributed across various institutions, with a significant majority in private medical colleges.

The registrar of NTRUHS has communicated these requests to the NMC Chairperson and the Director General of Health Services. Also, the Secretary-General of the Andhra Pradesh Private Medical and Dental Colleges Managements Association has also sought an extension of the MBBS admission deadline, proposing a new date of November 20, 2026.

Category	Number of Seats
Total NRI-quota MBBS seats vacant	112
Private medical colleges	95
Paderu Government Medical College	9
Padmavathi Medical College	8

In a related development, NTRUHS previously declared 106 candidates ineligible for NRI category MBBS/BDS seats for 2026-27 due to failures in document verification, which may have contributed to the current vacancy situation.

Historical Context of NRI Seat Vacancies

The issue of vacant NRI quota seats is not new to medical admissions. In 2018, nearly 80% of NRI category seats, specifically 731 out of 919, remained vacant across India in deemed universities after the mop-up counselling rounds. During that period, universities were permitted to admit students to vacant NRI seats after August 27, and some colleges converted unfilled NRI seats to management seats after the mop-up round.

Fees for NRI quota seats in some institutions in 2018 reportedly touched $60,000. Stakeholders have previously voiced concerns about this practice, with Manickavel Arumugum stating, “The universities should not be allowed to convert NRI seats to management after mop-up round. Had the DGHS itself converted it ahead of the mop-up round, all these unfilled NRI seats would have been available for eligible candidates, including NRI candidates. At least next year, this anomaly should be addressed.”

Category	Number of Seats
Total NRI quota seats across India (2018)	919
Vacant NRI quota seats across India (2018)	731
Students allotted seats in Round 1 (2018)	176
Students allotted seats in Round 2 (2018)	95
Students allotted seats in Mop-up round (2018)	58

NMC’s Role in Seat Approvals and Deadlines

The NMC has been actively involved in approving new MBBS seats and extending various deadlines. For the NEET UG 2026 academic year, the NMC approved a total of 1,36,939 MBBS seats across 823 medical colleges nationwide, marking an increase of 9,911 additional seats compared to the previous year. This includes the approval of 100 MBBS seats in Andhra Pradesh approximately two months ago, and 750 MBBS seats in five new Andhra medical colleges on July 24, 2025.

The NMC also scrapped the 150-seat cap and added 10,650 MBBS seats across 41 new colleges for the 2026-27 academic year on May 24, 2026. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) conducts multiple rounds of counselling, including Round 1, Round 2, Mop-Up Round, and Stray Vacancy Round, for 15 percent All India Quota seats, AIIMS, JIPMER, central universities, and deemed universities.

Candidates who qualified NEET UG 2026 are required to complete online registration, choice filling, seat allotment, and reporting to institutions. Timely registration is essential, as qualification in NEET alone does not automatically enroll a candidate in the counselling process.

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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