Kharagpur (West Bengal) [India], November 12 (ANI): In a landmark development for Indian higher education and healthcare, IIT Kharagpur, the country's first Indian Institute of Technology, has become the first IIT in India to introduce postgraduate medical degree programmes accredited by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Beginning with the academic session 2026–27, the Institute will welcome its inaugural cohort of MD students at the Dr BC Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre, marking a transformative expansion of the IIT system into postgraduate medical education.
For aspiring medical specialists, this is a rare opportunity to pursue postgraduate medical education within the interdisciplinary intellectual ecosystem of an IIT, where clinical challenges can inspire technological breakthroughs and scientific discoveries can translate into meaningful healthcare solutions.
As per the release, the Institute is introducing MD programmes in six disciplines—General Medicine, Radiology, Physiology, Pathology, Community Medicine and Biochemistry—with two seats in each discipline, taking the total number of seats to 12.
Admissions for the academic session 2026–27 will take place through the NEET-PG online counselling process, with the programmes available for consideration in Round 2, in accordance with the official counselling schedule, eligibility requirements and seat matrix.
The inaugural cohort will have the distinction of becoming the first generation of postgraduate medical students in the history of India's IIT system.
Modern medicine is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Artificial intelligence is redefining diagnostics, advanced imaging is revealing disease in unprecedented detail, biomedical engineering is creating new therapeutic possibilities, and digital technologies are extending healthcare beyond traditional hospital boundaries.
However, medical education and technological research have often evolved along separate institutional pathways. IIT Kharagpur's new postgraduate medical programmes represent an ambitious step towards bringing these worlds together.
The Dr BC Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre will provide the institutional setting for a research-driven medical education ecosystem, with opportunities for interdisciplinary engagement across the Institute's extensive technological and scientific capabilities. Students will have the potential to engage with research and innovation spanning AI-assisted clinical decision-making, next-generation medical imaging, computational pathology, biomedical devices, molecular diagnostics, precision medicine, population health and affordable healthcare technologies.
The Institute's established strengths in microfluidics and bioengineering, healthcare diagnostics, artificial intelligence, computational sciences and translational medical technologies provide a distinctive foundation for this vision. The larger aspiration is to nurture a generation of physician-scientists, clinician-innovators and medical specialists who combine clinical competence with scientific curiosity, technological fluency and a commitment to societal impact. Research-driven learning and opportunities for international academic exposure will further enrich this emerging academic environment.
Established in 1951, IIT Kharagpur was the starting point of India's IIT movement—a movement that transformed the country's technological capabilities and produced generations of engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and national leaders.
The initiative is aligned with the aspirations of Viksit Bharat 2047, where affordable, accessible, technology-enabled and high-quality healthcare will be central to India's development. It also opens possibilities for connecting specialist medical education with real-world healthcare challenges, particularly those affecting underserved populations, and for accelerating the journey from laboratory discoveries to clinical applications.
Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur, stated: “India's first IIT is now taking a historic step towards shaping the future of medical education. Our vision is not simply to train specialist doctors, but to create an ecosystem where clinical excellence meets engineering ingenuity, artificial intelligence and translational research. We want our medical graduates to be not only outstanding clinicians, but also innovators capable of addressing some of humanity's most pressing healthcare challenges. The inaugural batch of 2026–27 will be pioneers of this new journey."
"The future of medicine will increasingly belong to those who can connect deep clinical understanding with scientific discovery and technological innovation. IIT Kharagpur is uniquely positioned to nurture this convergence. We want to shape the future of medicine, not merely follow it," he further said. (ANI)
IIT Kharagpur becomes first IIT to introduce NMC-accredited MD programmes
