SRINAGAR: In a major development for medical education in the Union Territory, Government Medical College Srinagar has received approval for 10 new super-speciality seats for Doctorate of Medicine (DM) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) courses, officials said. The expansion is expected to strengthen the college’s position as a leading tertiary care teaching institution in the region.
Prof Iffat Hassan, Principal and Dean of GMC Srinagar, described the move as a landmark achievement that will enhance advanced medical education and healthcare delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.
The college, along with its associated hospitals—including SMHS Hospital, Lal Ded Hospital, Bone and Joint Hospital, IMHANS, Super Speciality Hospital, Chest Diseases Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and Kashmir Nursing Home—boasts a combined bed strength of over 3,200. Last year, these institutions treated more than 2.75 million patients and recorded over 257,000 admissions, making GMC Srinagar the largest specialised healthcare provider in the UT and a major medical educator in North India.
Under the new approval, the college has been granted two seats each in DM Pulmonary Medicine, DM Cardiology, DM Medical Gastroenterology, MCh Paediatric Surgery, and MCh Urology. GMC Srinagar had earlier introduced two MCh Urology seats in 2021 and two DM Neurology seats last year, marking the expansion to 10 new super-speciality seats as a significant step in the institution’s growth.
At the undergraduate level, MBBS seats have been increased from 180 to 200 for the 2025–26 session, while postgraduate MD/MS seats have risen from 259 to 277. Additionally, the DrNB Thoracic Surgery and FNB in Paediatric Nephrology courses, accredited by the National Board of Examination, were also sanctioned for the 2025–26 session. Other recent additions include Post-Basic Nursing (80 seats annually), MSc Nursing (25 seats), and a postgraduate diploma in Addiction Psychology (20 seats).
The college also trains around 1,000 students annually in Nursing and allied healthcare courses, including GNM, BSc Nursing, and BSc Allied Health programmes, while offering PhD in Clinical Biochemistry and MPhil in Clinical Psychology.
Health experts have described the approval of additional super-speciality seats as a transformative step for both GMC Srinagar and the entire Union Territory. They say the expansion is expected to produce a pool of highly specialised professionals, reducing the need for patients to seek advanced cardiac, neurological, gastrointestinal, and paediatric surgical care outside JK.
Experts emphasised that training more super-specialists locally strengthens the public health system, improves access to complex treatments, reduces delays, and lowers the financial burden on families. Public hospitals in Kashmir handle the majority of secondary and tertiary care and manage a significant burden of cardiovascular, respiratory, and chronic diseases, making in-state specialist training crucial for long-term workforce stability and continuity of care.
