Bengaluru:For the first time, theKarnataka Governmentis introducing 15 percentNRI quota seatsin government medical colleges. The Minister for Medical Education, Sharan Prakash R. Patil, made this announcement while addressing a press conference recently. The State's decision in this regard comes after theNational Medical Commission (NMC)sanctioned 450 additional medical seats for the State. Referring to this, Minister Patil said on Saturday that of the 450 newly approved seats, 15% have been earmarked for the NRI quota, with a fixed fee of Rs 25 lakh per seat. "This will help government medical colleges become more financially self-reliant instead of depending heavily on State grants," the Minister added, The Hindu has reported. had earlier reported that the National Medical Commission (NMC) approved the enhancement of 450 MBBS seats in Karnataka for the academic year 2025-2026. Out of these 450 MBBS seats, 400 medical seats have been added to eight government medical colleges, and the remaining 50 seats in Jagadguru Gangadhar Mahaswamigalu Moorusavirmath Medical College (JGMMMC), Hubballi. Even though earlier NMC had denied increasing MBBS seats in Karnataka Government Medical Colleges, the State submitted a fresh proposal for seat enhancement after NMC Chairman Dr. Abhijat Sheth announced that altogether 8,000 medical seats would be enhanced in medical colleges across the country. Also Read: Relief for Karnataka: NMC approves additional 450 MBBS seats for 2025-26 These NMC-approved 450 additional MBBS seats have been distributed equally among government medical colleges in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Chickballapur, Hassan, Raichur and Vijayanagara, with each receiving 50 seats. Further, the medical college run by the Moorusavira Mutt in Hubballi has also been granted 50 extra seats. These additional seats will be available from the academic year 2025-2026. As per the latest media report byThe Hindu, referring to these additional seats, the Minister said, "The number of students aspiring for medical education increases every year. Many meritorious students cannot afford the high fees of private colleges. Hence, we appealed for more seats, and I am glad our request has been approved." He further announced that a Skill Summit, modelled on the Bengaluru Tech Summit, would be held on November 4, 5, and 6. Additionally, a job fair will be organised in Mysuru after Dussera festivities and the registrations for this will open soon. A nursing summit would also be conducted in October, followed by an international roadshow to promote the job fair. NRI Quota Opposed by Students: The Government's decision to introduce a 15% NRI quota in GMCs has been opposed by All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO). The association on Sunday said that it would hold State-wide protests on September 10 to oppose the Government's decision,The Hinduhas reported. Issuing a statement, the Convener of the Dakshina Kannada committee of AIDSO Vinay Chandra, said that the government has claimed that its decision would generate funds for the medical colleges. However, he claimed, "But in reality, this approach is nothing short of auctioning off precious government seats to the rich, thereby pushing public institutions towards privatisation." He added that the government medical colleges were set up to provide quality higher education to deserving and meritorious students irrespective of their economic background. By reserving seats for wealthy NRI students, the government is deliberately shutting the doors of opportunity for hundreds of hard working, meritorious students from poor and the middle class who aspire to serve society as doctors, he mentioned. Pointing out that the fees in Karnataka GMCs are already highest across the country, he further added, "They are almost ten times higher than those in West Bengal and several other States in north India. Instead of reducing this unjust burden, the government is attempting to extract even more money from students. This exposes the anti-student and anti-people attitude of the State government." The association has expressed that instead of allocating adequate funds for strengthening medical colleges from the state exchequer, the government is "shifting the burden onto students and their families, while also commercialising education. Such policies will only allow all-out privatisation within government colleges." It highlighted that when 12,447 teaching posts are lying vacant in government medical colleges across Karnataka, the government should first focus on filling these posts and improving infrastructure.AIDSOmentioned that strengthening faculty and facilities are of prime importance currently, instead of selling off seats to rich under the garb of resource mobilisation. Also Read: Karnataka faces major Setback: NMC says NO to 3 new Medical Colleges, 800 additional MBBS seats