New Delhi, June 25 (INB) The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced that all Post Graduate (PG) Diploma medical courses across the country will be phased out and converted into Post Graduate Broad Specialty Degree programmes (MD/MS).
The admissions to diploma courses will after the academic year 2026-27, the commission said.
In a notification issued by the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), the Commission said the 2026-27 academic session will be the final year for admissions to PG Diploma courses.
No fresh admissions will be allowed from the academic year 2027-28 onwards, after which PG Diploma courses will cease to function.
The NMC has clarified that approval for conversion of diploma seats into degree seats will be subject to compliance with the standards and requirements prescribed by the Commission from time to time. The decision has been taken to standardise postgraduate medical education, improve the quality and recognition of specialist training, align qualifications with contemporary educational standards, and make better use of existing institutional resources.
The NMC noted that several medical colleges and institutions currently run both PG Diploma and PG Degree (MD/MS) programmes in the same specialties, while some offer only diploma courses. Many of the institutions already possess the necessary infrastructure, faculty, clinical material and other resources required for conversion to degree courses.
Medical colleges intending to convert existing diploma seats into corresponding MD/MS degree seats will be required to submit applications to the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) through an online portal.
The Commission said a dedicated application module will be made available by MARB, while detailed guidelines and timelines for the process will be issued separately.
The directive has been issued with the approval of the competent authority, according to the notification signed by Director C.K. Ramaswamy.
