The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Education and Medical Research (Jipmer) has increased the number of its MBBS seats for 2020-21 academic session on its main campus in Puducherry and at its Karaikal facility following the implementation of the reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS).
Jipmer had 200 MBBS seats — 150 seats in Puducherry and 50 in Karaikal campus — the aggregate seats available across all quota categories has now been increased with the approval of competent authorities to 249 — a net increase of 49 seats.
The aggregate MBBS seats is now 187 in Puducherry (an increase of 37 seats) and 62 in Karaikal (an increase of 12 seats).
“The increase is across the board for various categories with the statutory reservation for Economically Weaker Sections,” Pankaj Kundra, Dean (Academic), Jipmer, said. The 10% EWS quota has been introduced in compliance with the Centre’s policy of complementing the seats already reserved for the Scheduled Castes (15%), the Scheduled Tribes (7.5%) and the OBCs (27%). “The additional seats have been established after a proportionate strengthening of facilities in both the campuses,” Jipmer spokesman and additional professor N.G. Rajesh said.
There was a certain gestation time before an order of this magnitude was implemented. Since these were notified by the Centre, there was one year window for improve the facilities to a matching level, officials said.
Local candidates
A change was reflected in the seats reserved for students who were Puducherry natives with 48 seats earmarked in this section under various categories. The quota of seats is 22 (21+1 for Persons with Benchmark Disability) in the unreserved segment, four in the EWS, 12 in the OBC (11+one PwBD), seven in the SC and three in the ST categories.
Jipmer has implemented 5% horizontal reservation for PwBD candidates as per the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, while provisioning eight out of the 187 seats on its Puducherry campus.
According to the revised matrix in a recently released prospectus, two seats for PwBD has been added to the unreserved seat quota at Jipmer Puducherry resulting in 57 seats (55+2) in this category.
The EWS quota is 13 seats (12 + one for PwBD) while an additional seat each under PwBD quota had been provided for OBC (36 - 35+1), SC (19 - 18+1) and ST (9 - 8+1). The NRI/OCI quota remains unchanged at five seats. For Puducherry residents, the seats under P-UR category aggregate 22 (21+1 PwBD), P-EWS 4, P-OBC 12 (11+one PwBD), P-ST 3 and P-SC 7.
Under the seat matrix for the 62 seats at Jipmer Karaikal, the UR quota is 20 (19+1 PwBD), EWS 4, OBC 12, SC 6 (5+1 PwBD) and ST 3.
The NRI/OCI quota has one seat while the distribution of other seats is P-UR 9, P-EWSs 1, P-OBC 3, P-SC 2, P-ST 1.
Admission counselling
Meanwhile, Jipmer has announced that it would no longer be conducting its flagship MBBS entrance test from this year after the Centre mandated National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as a single medical entrance exam for UG courses in the country, including for admission to Jipmer and AIIMS.
The Dean (Academic) said admissions to MBBS in Jipmer would be based on NEET score from the 2020 academic session.
The counselling would be done only through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), Directorate General of Health Services, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and not by Jipmer, Puducherry, the Dean said.