While neighboring Maharashtra has as many as 40 medical colleges and states of similar size like Karnataka has 38, Andhra has 33 and Tamilnadu has 30 medical colleges, Gujarat has just 14 medical colleges.

For last many years, the situation remained stagnant in Gujarat and not many new medical colleges came up.

However this year has been somewhat significant as Gujarat added 500 new medical seats in the state this year. In fact Gujarat has emerged as a state adding highest new medical colleges in the country this year.

The seats are added mainly through three new private medical colleges with 150-seat each: (1)Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences at G.K. Hospital, Bhuj by Adani Institute of Medical Sciences Society, (2) K.J. Mehta T.B. Hospital & College of Medical Sciences, Bhavnagar, and (3) A.M.C. Medical Education Trust Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Medical College Society. Also Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education & Research, Surat added 50 MBBS seats. Thus total medical seats in the state are now 2055.

Two medical colleges in Gujarat (1)Swami Vivekanand Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Valia, Distt. Bharuch, and (2) Kesar Sal Medical College, Ahmedabad were denied permission to carry out admission procedure.

Nationwide, ten new medical colleges opened this year, three of them were in Gujarat. Kerala, Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh each added two new medical colleges this year, while Madhya Pradesh added one.

It should be mentioned here that at present Maharashtra possesses highest 40 permitted medical colleges in the country. Karnataka has 38, Andhra Pradesh has 33 and Tamilnadu has 30 medical colleges. Kerala has 22 medical colleges, Uttar Pradesh has 21, Gujarat has 14, West Bengal has 10, Madhya Pradesh has 9, Rajasthan has 9, Bihar has 8, Pondicherry has 8, Punjab has 8, Orissa has 6, Delhi has 6, Jammu & Kashmir has 4, Uttaranchal has 4, Assam has 3, Haryana has 3, Jharkhand has 3, Chhattisgarh has 2, Tripura has 1, Sikkim has 1, Manipur has 1, Goa has 1, Chandigarh has 1 medical-college.

According to state health minister Jaynarayan Vyas, five more new medical colleges are in pipeline in the state and the government intends to start them in next academic year.

The Gujarat Government plans to start two new medical colleges in Ahmedabad by next year at Ahmedabad based Sola Civil Hospital under a charitable trust and another college at Asarwa Swadeshi Mill Compound by Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute(GCRI).The colleges each have 150 seats and a proposal is at present under process at Medical Council of India.

The government also plans to start three new medical colleges in next academic year at Vadodara, Patan and Valsad also will get new medical colleges . While medical college in Vadodara will be attached with TB hospital, the medical colleges in Patan and Valsad will be attached with the government hospitals there. Proposed colleges will need approval of Medical Council of India.