New Delhi: The Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a notice inviting applications to launch new post-graduate (PG) medical courses at established institutions, establish standalone PG institutes, and increase seats for existing PG courses for the academic year 2025-2026. 

According to NMC, applicants must submit their online applications through the official NMC website by October 17, 2024. 

"The Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC), New Delhi, invites online applications to start new post-graduate medical courses in established medical institutions, establish new post-graduate medical institutions (standalone PG institutes), and increase seats in existing post-graduate medical courses via the web portal," NMC stated.

In its notice, NMC instructed the Directors, Principals, Deans, and HoDs of all medical colleges and institutes under the Commission to comply strictly with the guidelines issued by MARB.

"NMC regulations, MSR guidelines, and other orders, notices, and circulars issued by NMC and other authorities must be followed by any medical college or institution applying for these categories of applications," NMC emphasized. Applicants must complete the online applications according to the provided guiding document. 

Applicants must upload the following documents in PDF format for the online application: 

Valid Essentiality Certificate (EC) for starting new post-graduate medical courses or establishing a standalone PG institute, under the column "Essentiality Certificate."

 Valid Consent of Affiliation (CoA) in the prescribed Proforma.

Justification for the requested number of seats.

NMC clarified that applicants will only submit applications after paying the required fees online through the link generated during the application process. 

"Private medical colleges/institutions must submit a bank guarantee for the applicable amount, as specified in the attached document, within seven (07) working days of receiving the Letter of Intent (LOI). Government medical colleges/institutions will submit an undertaking within the same timeframe, if required," NMC further explained.

The Commission urged medical colleges to upload all required documents and information accurately before submitting their applications.

Guidelines for Submitting Online Applications for Post-Graduate Courses for the Academic Year 2025-2026:

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Application to NMC for Starting and Increasing PG Seats:

1. For AY 2025-26, NMC will accept only online applications, including enclosures and fees. It will not accept hard-copy applications.
2. Applicants must follow NMC regulations, MSR guidelines, and other relevant notices strictly.
3. Only those who meet the above criteria can apply.

Online Application Process:

1. Applicants must first register by visiting the registration page via the provided icon. After completing the registration form, NMC will send a unique ID and one-time password to the registered email ID.
2. Sign in using the unique ID and change your password.
3. Once logged in, click on the "Start Application—Starting of New PG Course/Increase of PG Seats" icon to begin the process.

NMC clarified: 

1. Applicants must pay fees for each course separately. Do not combine fees for multiple applications.
2. Applicants should reference the application number for each course in all future communications.

B. Evaluation and Assessment Process:

NMC will conduct the evaluation according to the applicable regulations, guidelines, and orders it and other relevant authorities have issued.

C. Scrutiny and Final Decision:

After reviewing the assessment report and supporting documents, NMC will make a final decision. Private medical colleges and institutions must submit the required bank guarantee within seven (07) working days of receiving the LOI, while government institutions will submit an undertaking if necessary. Upon receiving these documents, NMC will send the final Letter of Permission (LOP) via authorized email.

1. Fee for Various Applications/Processes Effective from 17th November 2023

1. Starting of PG Courses in Medical Colleges/Establishment of Standalone PG Institution
Fee: Rs 5 lakhs + 18% GST per course (up to 4 seats) 
Additional Fee: Rs 1 lakh per seat for more than 4 seats 

2. Increase of Admission Capacity for PG Courses
Fee: Rs 5 lakhs + 18% GST per course (up to 4 seats) 
Additional Fee: Rs 1 lakh per seat for more than 4 seats 

3. Verification of Additional Information or Evaluation of Corrected Deficiencies (if required) 
Fee: Rs 75,000 + 18% GST 

4. Appeal Fee 
Fee: Rs 50,000 + 18% GST 

2. Requirement to Furnish Single Performance Bank Guarantees/Electronic Bank Guarantee as Below

1. For PG (up to four seats of a specialty) 
Rate: Rs. 2 crore 
Tenure: 4 years 

2. For Additional PG Seats
Rate: Rs 25 lakhs for each additional seat of a specialty 
Tenure: 4 years 

NMC has also provided the format for the essentiality certificate, which the respective state government/UT must issue, along with the consent of affiliation. Medical colleges must also justify the number of requested seats, confirm they meet UG-MSR 2023 requirements, and explain how many years they have been running UG and PG programs.

Colleges must provide a detailed calculation of seat availability based on units, beds, and faculty, as per PG-MSR 2024 and PGMER-2023 guidelines. Additionally, they must submit information on clinical material and investigation workloads for the applied specialty according to the PG-MSR 2024 format.