15% NRI quota proposed for all govt medical colleges in Karnataka

Bengaluru: The Directorate of Medical Education has proposed to the govt to introduce a 15% non-resident Indian (NRI) quota in all state-run medical colleges.Last year, the NRI quota was introduced for the increased seats – for the seats added after the first round of counselling. As many as 67 seats were available under the NRI quota as it was applicable only to 450 additional seats. This year, the proposal is for all the seats. There are around 4,200 seats in medical colleges in the state, of which 15% are under the all-India quota.While the directorate has recommended Rs 25 lakh for MBBS seats, it has suggested a differential fee structure for postgraduate programmes. "We have recommended a uniform fee structure for MBBS seats across colleges. However, for PG, we suggest different rates for clinical and paraclinical programmes," said Sujatha Rathod, the director of medical education.The medical education department said no decision has been taken on it yet. Sources said that the finance dept has raised queries about the cost-benefit of the proposal.The department has been proposing the NRI quota to increase the revenue for the medical institutions, which are otherwise largely dependent on grants from the state govt, along with fees collected from the students. However, the department has pointed out that these grants are grossly insufficient to meet rising expenses.In this context, the introduction of an NRI quota is being considered as a viable solution. In Karnataka, NRI admissions are currently limited to private medical colleges, where fees reportedly range between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2.5 crore for an MBBS seat. Agriculture and veterinary universities in the state have already implemented an NRI quota of up to 15%.While many states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have a similar practice, the issue met with resistance from several quarters in Karnataka last year when it was first proposed. The proposal still would need clearance from the finance department and a cabinet approval.