While other Northeastern states are building more medical colleges—whether with or without government support—Nagaland only has one district medical college, which opened its doors lately, in Kohima. The second district medical college, which is located in Mon, is operating slowly. Other states that have demonstrated confidence in their ability to have the necessary teaching faculty include Mizoram, Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya, which have previously built private medical colleges. The National Medical Council (NMC) has approved the PA Sangma International Medical institution of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), meaning that Meghalaya will soon have its first private medical institution.
Furthermore, the state will receive 40 more medical seats for the 2024–25 academic year with the approval of the new medical college, increasing the total number of MBBS seats available in Meghalaya to 130. Ampareen Lyngdoh, the state minister of health, expressed her satisfaction at the news, saying that more seats will provide Meghalayan students who want to study for the MBBS more options. Lyngdoh stated that the Chief Minister’s decision was still pending and that the state government was still debating whether or not to provide financial support to USTM.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal and the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Manipur are both supported by the Center. The first “homegrown” private medical institution in Northeast India was the third medical college in Manipur. The Shija Hospitals and Research Institute founded the college in Manipur at Langol, Imphal West (SHRI). There are now 13 medical colleges in Assam, including AIIMS as of 2023 and a medical college founded in 2020 in Diphu. Assam has partnered with private corporate hospitals to build world-class healthcare in a select districts, including Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, and others. The state is also working toward the establishment of medical colleges in each of its 35 districts.
