Confusion Over Telangana's Medical Seats

With the expiration of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 on June 2, there is uncertainty about admission to medical seats in Telangana colleges established before 2014 under the "Competent Authority Quota." 

This Act allowed 15% of these seats to be shared between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, a 2023 Telangana Government Order (GO) specified that seats in colleges established post-bifurcation (after June 2, 2014) would be reserved exclusively for Telangana residents.

As the new MBBS session approaches, Telangana has not yet addressed the allocation of approximately 302 undergraduate and postgraduate seats in pre-2014 government medical colleges, while Andhra Pradesh has stopped allocating seats to Telangana students. 

The Telangana Health Department has not decided whether to reserve these seats exclusively for local students, a common practice in many states.

Five pre-2014 medical colleges—Osmania, Gandhi, Kakatiya, RIMS Adilabad, and Government Medical College Nizamabad—offer 149 MBBS and 153 postgraduate seats to Andhra Pradesh students. 

The Telangana Junior Doctors Association has demanded these seats be reserved for Telangana students only.

Calls for the Telangana government to act swiftly are increasing with concerns that local students might lose out on 500 to 800 MBBS and nearly 200 postgraduate seats if the issue remains unaddressed.