The Indian medical regulatory body, National Medical Commission (NMC) has approved 100 MBBS seats for a new government medical college in Odisha's Keonjhar district, an official said. The college, to be functional soon, will promote medical education in tribal regions, the official said.

In a letter to the college dean on Tuesday, the NMC informed that the Medical Assessment and Rating Board has approved 100 seats for the health institute, which will function under the aegis of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada.

This is the second health institute in the state to get approval from the NMC in the past few days, with Sundargarh Medical College having received one last week.