A staggering corruption syndicate has allegedly been unearthed within the National Medical Commission (NMC) and its Medical Assessment & Rating Board (MARB). Dubbed the “Cash for Seats” MBBS / MS/MD scandal.
As per the information received from the sources the “Cash for Seats” scam is happening under Dr. M.K.R, who is at present the MARB President. It is alleged that a staggering number of colleges have been granted permissions through this “Cash for Seats” mechanism despite being ineligible under NMC norms.
The Corruption system is well oiled and operates in such a way to look as if everything has been done as per rules. However, beneath if we go deeper, it will be clear that institutions/ parties who agree to grease the palm of MARB officials, under the leadership of Dr. MKR get permissions for additional seats by arranging ghost faculty & fake patients for the day of the inspection.
The alleged corruption modus operandi is explained in step-wise manner. Step 1: MARB senior official network brokers approach colleges regarding inspection dates two days in advance; Step 2: Once the understanding is arrived at, these brokers, in consultation with a MARB senior official will give dates and names of the Inspection Team; Step 3: After delivery of cash, positive inspection report with all fake documents and ghost faculty is sent to MARB; Step 4: After the inspection report reaches MARB, these brokers arrange a meeting with a MARB senior official for settlement of the balance payment.
It is alleged that many Institutions have got approval from this “Cash for Seats” deal. To name a few, Nova Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, Nimra Institute of Medical Sciences, Krishna Dist.AP, Mahavir Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, Neelima Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, CMR Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, Krishna Mohan Medical College & Hospital, Mathura, Surabhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, Dr. Patnam Mahender Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana.
A glaring example from the above list is Nova Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, alleged to be a close associate of Dr. MKR, which secured 250 seats (150 initially + 100 increase) despite allegedly having “inadequate infrastructure” and only 27 full-time faculty with fake documents, and several complaints by students’ associations and parent bodies were overlooked by NMC. It is shocking that 10-year-old colleges are struggling to get 250 seats, but Nova Institute got the 250 seats in the beginning of the second year.
As per the evaluation report of the experts on the applications w.r.t. increase intake of MBBS Seats in Private Medical College (AY 2025 – 26), it has been noticed therein, that in cases where the recommendation of the Committee is for disapproval for various reasons, including lack of infrastructure, non-availability of Essentiality Certificate (EC) from the State Government etc., the medical institutions have been approved additional seats ranging from 50-100 at the sole arbitrary decision by Dr. MKR.
Those colleges who refused to pay money had their applications deliberately rejected by MARB on frivolous grounds by manipulating the assessors to write a negative report. Consequently, genuine colleges are forced into litigation to survive, while having their investment of hundreds of crores stuck.
The central question remains: How did the NMC and MARB grant these approvals initially? While state governments have in some cases rejected these colleges for lack of facilities, the MARB, reportedly overrode these decisions to grant approvals by accepting huge bribes.
