SRINAGAR: The National Medical Commission has rejected a proposal by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence to place all its MBBS seats under the All India Quota counselling system, according to a report published by Jammu-based newspaper Daily Excelsior. The institute had sought that all 50 seats in its newly sanctioned medical college be allotted through the Medical Counselling Committee, enabling candidates from across the country to compete.
The proposal was sent to the NMC in May 2025, followed by multiple reminders. The institute argued that since it is fully funded by donations to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and receives no financial support from the Union Territory administration, the admissions process should reflect what it described as an all-India character of the shrine and its devotees. The college maintained that opening admissions nationally could also have avoided the recent controversy surrounding the selection of 43 candidates of one religion out of 50 seats.
As reported by Daily Excelsior, the NMC acknowledged the institute’s request but directed it to follow the counselling process designated by the Union Territory Government. Officials told the newspaper that the MCC had not been inclined to add the institute to the list of colleges whose seats are filled entirely under the All India Quota.
The medical college, located at Kakryal near Katra in Reasi district, received approval for 50 MBBS seats on September 8 this year and is set to admit its first batch in the 2025–26 academic session. While the college is currently functioning out of the administrative block of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, its associated teaching hospital will be the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspecialty Hospital, where students are expected to receive training across 26 specialties. The Shrine Board had given in-principle approval for establishing the college in August 2023, with a long-term plan to expand its capacity to 100 seats.
According to Daily Excelsior, sources familiar with the correspondence said the institute believed that inclusion under the MCC’s national counselling pool could have prevented the protests by organisations such as the Sanatan Dharam Sabha and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who have raised concerns over the current selection list. For its first-ever batch, 42 of the 50 seats were bagged by Muslims, which has triggered a controversy.
