The Tamil Nadu State Health Department has approached the National Medical Commission (NMC) to seek approval for increasing 50 MBBS seats in each of the 11 medical colleges that were established in 2021. If approved, this will add a total of 550 MBBS seats across 36 government medical colleges in the state. Additionally, the state has requested the NMC to approve an increase of 70 postgraduate (PG) seats in 23 different specialties across 13 medical colleges.

Previously, the NMC had granted approval for new medical colleges in Tamil Nadu as part of an effort to ensure each district has at least one medical college. This resulted in the addition of 1,650 new MBBS seats, pushing the total number of government-reserved undergraduate medical seats in the state to over 5,000. The highest demand for PG seats is in Anaesthesia and Gynaecology, followed by Paediatrics.

Tamil Nadu is among the Indian states with the most medical colleges. Out of the 76 medical colleges in the state, 36 are government-run, while 38 are private, self-financing, or part of deemed universities. The state government is actively working to ensure that the number of government colleges is on par with private medical institutions. Additionally, district collectors in six districts have been asked to identify land for new medical colleges, further expanding medical education infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.