IIT Kharagpur becomes first IIT to introduce postgraduate medical courses

November 12, 2026 /Posted byBandy EW / 0

IIT Kharagpur has made a significant entry into postgraduate medical education, becoming the first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the country to introduce postgraduate medical degree programmes.

Beginning with the 2026–27 academic session, the institute will offer six Doctor of Medicine (MD) specialisations at its Dr B C Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre. A total of 12 seats will be available, with two seats in each discipline.

The six specialisations include General Medicine, Radiology, Physiology, Pathology, Community Medicine and Biochemistry.

Admissions will be conducted through the NEET-PG 2026 online counselling process. Eligible candidates can opt for these programmes during the second round of counselling, subject to the official schedule and seat availability.

The initiative aims to integrate conventional medical education with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), biomedical engineering and advanced healthcare research.

Students will have opportunities to explore areas such as AI-assisted clinical decision-making, advanced medical imaging, computational pathology, biomedical devices, molecular diagnostics and precision medicine.

The institute intends to develop a multidisciplinary academic environment that combines clinical expertise with technological innovation and scientific research. Its existing strengths in bioengineering, microfluidics, healthcare diagnostics and computational sciences are expected to support the new programmes.

IIT Kharagpur Director Professor Suman Chakraborty said the initiative seeks to build an ecosystem where clinical excellence intersects with engineering, AI and translational research. The broader objective is to nurture medical specialists who can also contribute to healthcare innovation and address emerging medical challenges.

Established in 1951, IIT Kharagpur was India’s first IIT. Its entry into postgraduate medical education marks a new chapter in the institute’s academic journey and reflects the growing importance of integrating technology with healthcare.

Candidates seeking admission are advised to check the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and IIT Kharagpur websites for details regarding eligibility, seat availability, choice filling and counselling schedules.

With the introduction of these six MD programmes, IIT Kharagpur is expanding its academic reach beyond engineering and technology, opening new possibilities for collaboration between medical science, research and innovation.

Inputs from India Today

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“Government medical college seats are 100% filled, vacancies are confined entirely to the private sector. Colleges and state fee-fixation committees must re-examine these fee structures, because lowering NEET qualifying cut-offs will not resolve an affordability crisis when millions of candidates already qualify. The vacancies are an indicator that qualifying for medical admission does not necessarily mean students could afford a seat. Institutions charge full fees to early applicants and offer discounts to late entrants to fill the vacant seats. It reflects a purely commercial approach that compromises merit while still failing to fill classrooms. High management-quota fees are putting seats beyond the reach of many candidates. Some 24 lakh students write the entrance test for 1.4 lakh seats. While the cream gets government seats, the rest of the students cannot afford a management-quota seat.”

- Divyansh Kumar, The Times of India, (2/11)

IIT Kharagpur becomes first IIT to introduce postgraduate medical courses

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