The Central government has set aside four MBBS seats for the 2024-25 academic year specifically for families affected by terrorism. These seats are reserved for spouses and children of civilian victims of terrorist activities, aiming to provide educational opportunities and support to those who have been impacted by such acts of violence.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently communicated this decision, originally made by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to all state chief secretaries and Union Territory administrations. The announcement, made on August 23, calls for wide publicity to ensure eligible candidates can apply for these medical seats.
The reserved seats are distributed across three prestigious medical institutions: AN Magadh Medical College in Gaya, Bihar; Grant Medical College in Mumbai, Maharashtra; and Pt. JNM Medical College in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, has been allocated two seats.
The eligibility criteria for these seats align with standard MBBS admission requirements. Candidates must be at least 17 years old by December 31 of the admission year and must be Indian nationals.
As per the Graduate Medical Education Regulation of the National Medical Commission, the candidate must have passed in subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Bio-Technology, and English individually and must have obtained a minimum of 50% marks (40% for SC/ST /OBC and 45% for Gen-PH and 40% for SC-PWD/ST-PWD/OBC-PWD (persons with disability) category candidates) taken together in Physics, Chemistry, Biology at the qualifying examination of 12th class.
As per the Graduate Medical Education Regulations of the National Medical Commission, it shall be necessary for the candidates to obtain minimum marks at the 50th percentile at NEET (UG)- 2024
However, regarding candidates belonging to Schedule Castes Schedule Tribes, and Other Backward Classes the minimum marks shall be at the 40th percentile. Regarding candidates with a special disability, the minimum marks shall be at the 45th percentile. The percentile shall be determined based on the highest marks secured in the All India common merit list in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test for admission to MBBS/BDS courses.
The MHA has outlined a priority system for allocating these seats, giving precedence to children who have lost both parents to terrorism, followed by those whose families have lost their sole breadwinner, and then to wards of victims with permanent disabilities or serious injuries resulting from terrorist activities.
Interested candidates are urged to submit their applications, along with all necessary documents attested by their state or UT Home Department, to the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the MHA. The deadline for applications is set for September 17, 2024, with the ministry emphasizing that no extensions will be granted.
(Inputs from ANI)