ESIC Medical College Pune has received approval from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the institution expected to begin operations from the 2027-28 academic year and offer 50 MBBS seats initially, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a social media announcement.
The approval covers the ESIC Medical College and Hospital planned for Pune. Fadnavis described the decision as an important development for Maharashtra’s healthcare and medical education sectors and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda for the approval.
According to the announcement, the college will initially admit 50 MBBS students from the 2027-28 academic year. The source report did not provide details of the campus location, construction status, hospital bed capacity, admission process or the timeline for completing the associated medical facilities.
The new institution is expected to expand the state’s capacity to train doctors. The Chief Minister said the college would help make medical education more accessible to meritorious students and contribute to the availability of trained doctors in both urban and rural parts of Maharashtra.
The proposed college is also linked to the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation’s healthcare network. ESIC facilities primarily serve insured workers and their dependants, making the hospital component relevant to the delivery of medical services to the organised workforce covered under the social security scheme. The source report, however, did not specify the categories of services to be offered at the Pune hospital or when outpatient and inpatient services would begin.
Pune already functions as a major healthcare and medical education centre for western Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. The city has established public institutions, including Sassoon General Hospital and B. J. Government Medical College, alongside private hospitals and research facilities. Patients from Pune, western Maharashtra, Marathwada and adjoining areas depend on the city’s hospitals for treatment, according to the report.
The approval comes as Pune’s population and demand for healthcare services continue to grow. A new teaching hospital could add capacity to the city’s public and social-insurance healthcare system once it becomes fully operational. The scale of that contribution will depend on the hospital’s final infrastructure, staffing, clinical departments and service capacity, none of which were detailed in the announcement.
The source report said the institution would support the availability of modern and affordable healthcare for ordinary citizens and workers after reaching full operational capacity. It did not provide a detailed project cost, the implementing agency’s construction schedule or the regulatory milestones that remain before admissions can begin.
The immediate milestone identified in the announcement is the proposed commencement of the college from the 2027-28 academic year, with 50 MBBS seats available at the outset.
